National Shawarma day: Recipe to discover dish from the Middle East

Shawarma can be found in many street food joints across Israel.
National Shawarma DayNational Shawarma Day
National Shawarma Day

And, to celebrate National Shawarma Day (October 15), you can re-create the dish at home with an authentic Israeli recipe.

Shawarma has its culinary origins in the Middle East, but has since been adapted by a variety of influences in Israel, and today, is one of the country’s most famous and delicious street foods. In Israel, shawarma is made from slices of seasoned meat cut from a vertical spit into a pita or wrap and is garnished with fresh Israeli salad, diced tomatoes, pickles, and typically served with hummus, tahini, or amba mango sauce.

Find the recipe below...

Serves: 4

Ingredients

500g (shawarma) turkey thighs – (boneless)

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1 tablespoon shawarma seasoning (or to make the seasoning from scratch, combine 4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tsp cardamom powder and 50 grams of lamb fat, chopped (optional)

Pitta bread

Salad of fresh cucumber and diced tomatoes

Pickles 

Chopped spring onions

Tahini 

Shawarma Spice Mix - Shawarma spice mix can be found in most large supermarkets or Middle-Eastern supermarkets or can made at home using the below ingredients. 

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cardamom (or cloves)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 Tbsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or 1/2 tsp ground black pepper)

1 – 2 tsp Baharat

Baharat spice mix recipe 
1 tablespoon black ground pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin 

2 teaspoons ground coriander 

1 teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground cardamom 

1½ tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Season the meat with dry spice mix*     

Place the seasoned meat in the hot oven for 25 minutes

While the meat cooks, heat a pan with a little olive oil and add lamb fat and season with salt

Remove the roasted meat from the oven slice 

Mix the lamb fat and add the shawarma chunks to the pan

Season with the shawarma seasoning and a little cardamom and stir until cooked

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Open the pitas in two halves, add the freshly chopped cucumber tomatoes, season with salt, drizzle with a little olive oil and arrange the shawarma 

Serve with tahini and chopped green onions


*for a real Israeli flavour add a little ground cardamom (even if you don’t have some of the other spices) and a little olive oil and massage it well.

For more information, visit: Goisrael.com

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