With the curfew back in place I thought I would test out my culinary skills and try some Omani favourites. I’ve recently made lemon mint which was delicious but it made me feel a little sick just looking at the amount of sugar that goes into a drink. This week I decided to make my own shawarma. After a lot of research I found that there are LOTS of variations with different sauces, breads and spices, so I combined a couple or recipes and this is what I came up with.
Now, I know shawarmas aren’t the healthiest so I cut all the fat off the chicken, I swapped olive oil for fat free Greek yoghurt so that the chicken wouldn’t dry out. I also squeezed half a lemon on my mixture, despite the recipe saying to use Suac instead of lemon I thought both would be best for optimum flavour.
After combining all the spices, yoghurt and chicken together I cut an onion in half and layered the chicken on top of half the onion using a wooden skewer and used the other half as a lid/hat and put in the oven at 200C for half an hour.
I’m not going to lie I finish my show on Hi FM at 7pm so there was no way I was making my own pitta breads. I ummed and ahhed about what bread to use as some people use tortillas, pides and some even use paratha, but I went for a flatbread/pitta which is what most restaurants serve with their hummus.
After quickly warming my bread on the microwave I layered it with a garlicky sauce; literally consisting of light mayo, garlic powder, fresh garlic gloves and black pepper, yes I may have overdone the garlic but it was banging. If you don’t wake up tasting garlic the next day after eating a shawarma have you even eaten one?
Now this is where people kick off as some say add red cabbage, some say pickles, I did both. I also included three chips which was super easy I literally cut up and part boiled a potato, tossed it in corn flour, salt and dry light [which is a healthy cooking oil replacement] and put in the oven for 20 minutes, topped with the juicy chicken and the onion this was a combination from heaven!
Being the Tik Tok obsessed person that I am, I filmed a video and received some mixed reviews one guy said “Rachel!!!! I am Lebanese and I am a chef and what you have done is a crime Lebanese police don’t punish for.” So, I’m guessing he wasn’t happy. I want to make shuwa next, but I don’t have a garden so I’m not sure how to do this just yet. Feel free to send my suggestions @RachelBethanyChew on Instagram and Tik Tok.
FOR THE CHICKEN:
¾ tbsp ground cumin
¾ tbsp turmeric powder
¾ tbsp ground coriander
¾ tbsp garlic powder
¾ tbsp paprika
½ tsp ground cloves
3 cardamond seeds
¾ tbsp suac
½ tsp cayenne pepper, more if you prefer
Salt
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large onion, cut in half
Half a lemon
Skewer
3 Tbsp fat free Greek yoghurt
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION
1 Potato
Light mayo
1 tbsp Garlic powder
Red cabbage
Pickles
2 garlic cloves
Pitta bread/flat bread/wrap
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