Admittedly, I used to lean more towards restaurant shawarma! In my Lebanese upbringing—whether chicken or meat—shawarma was a restaurant or street delicacy not a home cooking thing, until I had to write a cookbook where I had to test more than 8 meat shawarma recipes, one of which made me convinced that it could be doable at home with good results. Shawarma, an Arabic word thought to take its name from the Turkish, çervirmek, meaning to rotate or spit-roast; it is cooked with spiced chicken steaks stacked on a large skewer and grilled slowly against a gas roaster where the cooked chicken is basted in its own fat, resulting in a juicy chicken meat with caramelized edges that are shaved with a sharp knife and wrapped in a sandwich. An iconic popular street food in Lebanon and the Middle East that still can be doable at home with good results even without a vertical gas roaster but requires an investment in time, a recipe that you’re going to fall in love with!

Smoky Chicken Shawarma (Video Below)

Looks like a long list of ingredients to make the marinade! Don’t let that put you off, most probably you are familiar with all ingredients!

Chicken shawarma marinade is made up of three essential components: an acid (a combination of vinegar, orange juice and lemon juice), oil such as sunflower oil or any other neutral oil; and a flavoring agent, that incorporates various blend of spices to capture the flavor of authentic chicken shawarma. Yes, obviously, a great chicken shawarma starts with a well-seasoned marinade; it is a crucial step to bring out the best flavor in chicken shawarma and a must for game changing result; it does require a wide variety of spices: cumin, paprika, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cornstarch and coriander – which are blended with yogurt, oil, orange juice, lemon juice to form a moderate thin paste marinade. After 6 (or up to 24 hours), the chicken is diffused with exciting flavors. Lemon juice, vinegar and orange juice are acidic ingredients, that help break down the protein and round out the flavor. Yogurt is probably an ingredient that truly tenderizes the chicken. Watch the video tutorial below!

You may have noticed that I have used cornstarch in the marinade. Yes this is my secret ingredient. The cornstarch seals in the juices of the chicken and will help the liquid to coat the chicken strips, ensuring that each bite receives the same degree of flavor as the next, plus it makes your chicken shawarma crispier. Make sure the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for 24 hours or a minimum of 4.

Cook the shawarma in the oven!

 Add the chicken shawarma and the marinade to a large baking dish. The chicken will absorb some of the marinade, you will have marinade leftover, so add everything and spread everything evenly over the baking dish. Bake in the oven until the chicken is browned and crisp on the edges, for about 50 minutes, for a crispier top, employ the broiler at the very end, for about 2-3 minutes to give everything a little char and browning.

Lebanese Garlic Toum

Lebanese Garlic Toum is the soulmate of chicken shawarma. The magic is in the sauce that will bring out the whole flavors together in perfect harmony. If you ask any Lebanese and tell them that you pair your chicken shawarma sandwich with yogurt or mayonnaise, this will make you look unreliable! Apparently, I have seen so many online recipes that serve shawarma with garlic yogurt or mayonnaise, far from authenticity! Chicken are leaner than other meats because of the lower fat content – Lebanese garlic toum will liven up the flavors! Watch the video tutorial below to learn how to make Lebanese garlic toum!

Can I use lemon tahini sauce (taratour) instead of garlic toum?

Both sauces are the lifeblood that bring some great Middle Eastern dishes to life! But, in Lebanon, when it comes to pairing proteins with sauces you cannot break the rules, especially if you want to stick to authenticity; while the (taratour) lemon tahini goes incredibly great with meat shawarma, falafel and tons of other dishes including fish and veggies, this is not the case with chicken dishes. The Lebanese garlic toum is the  soulmate of chicken shawarma, a condiment that famously coats, chicken shawarma, shish tawook, grilled chicken and lots of other foods.

There is nothing richly pleasing as the luscious smoky taste you get when grilling chicken or meat over a charcoal! Watch the video tutorial below to learn this tip!

This step is optional, but recommended! You will receive an irresistible smoky effect, making you think that the shawarma has just came out of a charcoal grill without the struggle of firing up the barbecue at home. You start with a small piece of coal, use natural lump charcoal, and avoid using the ones that have chemicals added to them, light a piece of coal on your stove, keep it until you will be able to see the white ashes appearing on the lit end, then transfer it to a small heat proof cup, put it in the center of the grilled shawarma, add 3 tablespoons of ghee to the charcoal, a dense dark smoke will be emited. Immediately, cover the cooked shawarma with a lid, and keep it for 1 minute, allowing the flavors to infuse together, this technique gives an intense charcoal barbecue taste to your shawarma.  optional!

Use Arabic bread, saj bread or other thin flatbread, smear the Lebanese garlic toum, (and to keep it authenitc Lebanese, please skip any other sauce, because they can dull the flavor of the other ingredients). On top of the sauce, goes the chicken shawarma cuts, and last shingle on thinly sliced pickles and some shredded Romain lettuce, wrap it tightly and put it in a panini press or oven to crisp it! Watch the video tutorial below!

• Author:Hadia Zebib Khanafer, 
• Recipe: Smoky Chicken Shawarma
• Prep Time: 15 minutes preparation + 24 hours of marinade
• Baking time: 53 minutes
• Serving 4- 5 persons

Smoky Chicken Shawarma Video:

Ingredients:

For the shawarma:

• 1kg /2 lb 4 oz chicken breasts or thighs
• 1/3 cup whole milk yogurt
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 leveled teaspoon tomato paste
• 1/3 cup sunflower oil, or a combination of olive oil and sunflower oil
• 1 freshly squeezed lemon juice, do not use bottles lemon juice, squeeze and strain lemon over a mesh sieve to catch any seeds.
• 1 freshly squeezed orange juice, squeeze and strain lemon over a mesh sieve to catch any seeds
• 1 tablespoons white or red vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• ½ teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• ½ tablespoon white pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 heaped tablespoon cornstarch

For the garlic sauce

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 10 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 200 ml neutral oil, sunflower oil

• Arabic bread, saj bread or other thin flatbread

Directions:

To make the marinade:

1. Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally, then cut into 1 inch /3cm thick strips.
2. Combine together the salt, paprika, cumin powder, cardamom powder, ginger powder, cinnamon powder, grated nutmeg, white pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, coriander powder, cornstarch, yogurt, tomato paste, crushed garlic , oil, lemon juice, orange juice and vinegar. The lemon, orange and vinegar provide an acid hemp that will tenderize the chicken, whisk together to homogenize. Add the chicken strips and make sure the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for 24 hours or a minimum of 4 hours.
3. To make the garlic sauce: In a saucepan, dissolve cornstarch and water, place on high heat and whisk continuously until the sauce bubbles and totally thickens. Remove from heat and set aside to completely cool down.
4. Combine the garlic cloves, ½ cup water, lemon juice and salt.  Puree until smooth, the garlic will be more dominant after blending, stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
5. Add the cornstarch paste to the food processor, and pulse a few times to integrate the garlic mixture with the cornstarch paste.
6. Slowly, add the oil, drizzling it in a slow steady stream, while your food processor is running, keep on adding the oil in the same gradual fashion until you used all the oil. It is crucial to add the oil gradually while the food processor is running to help emulsifying the garlic sauce. The end result should be loose and fluffy but not runny. If it is too thick add 3 tablespoons oil and pulse a  few times to incorporate the mixture. Taste it to adjust salt to your taste preference.
7. Preheat oven to 220°C/ 430 °F.
8.  Add the chicken shawarma and the marinade to a large baking dish. The chicken will absorb some of the marinade, you will have marinade leftover, so add everything and spread everything evenly over the baking dish. Bake in the oven until the chicken is browned and crisp on the edges, for about 50 minutes, for a crispier top, employ the broiler at the very end, for about 2-3 minutes to give everything a little char and browning.
9. This step is optional, but recommended! You will receive an irresistible smoky effect, making you think that the shawarma has just came out of a charcoal grill without the struggle of firing up the barbecue at home. You start with a small piece of coal, use natural lump charcoal, and avoid using the ones that have chemicals added to them, light a piece of coal on your stove, keep it until you will be able to see the white ashes appearing on the lit end, then transfer it to a small heat proof cup, put it in the center of the grilled shawarma, add 3 tablespoons of ghee to the charcoal, a dense dark smoke will be emitted. Immediately, cover the cooked shawarma with a lid, and keep it for 1 minute, allowing the flavors to infuse together, this technique gives an intense charcoal barbecue taste to your shawarma.  optional!
10. To assemble the chicken shawarma wraps: Use Arabic bread, saj bread or other thin flatbread, smear a generous layer of the garlic toum Layer chicken, pickles and fries and some shredded Romain lettuce, wrap it tightly and put it in a panini press or oven to crisp it!

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