Homemade chicken shawarma with pita, tahini, amba and zhug

Name: Homemade chicken shawarma with pita, tahini, amba and zhug
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 155 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Israeli and Mediterranean
Ingredients: 450 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) (4 skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot), cut into 1 cm strips by the kosher butcher); 240 g Pita breads (3 pitas of 80 g: one and a half per person); 55 g Extra virgin olive oil (5 1/2 tbsp: 30 g for the marinade, 10 g for the pan (1 tsp per batch), 5 g for the salad, 10 g for the zhug); 4 g Ground cumin (1 heaped tsp); 3 g Ground coriander (1 1/2 tsp); 4 g Sweet paprika (1 heaped tsp); 2 g Turmeric (2/3 tsp); 3 g Baharat spice blend (1 very generous tsp); 1.5 g Ground black pepper (1/2 heaped tsp); 1 g Ground cardamom (1/2 tsp); 0.5 g Ground cinnamon (1 pinch (baharat already contains some)); 0.5 g Hot red chilli powder (1 pinch, for a background warmth); 25 g Garlic (5 grated cloves: 3 for the marinade, 1 for the tahini, 1 for the zhug); 120 g Lemon (1 lemon, about 50 g juice: 15 g for the marinade, 25 g for the tahini, 10 g for the salad); 60 g Yellow onions (1/2 onion, thinly sliced into half-moons, softened in the pan); 70 g Tahini (raw sesame paste) (4 1/2 tbsp raw sesame paste, well stirred); 105 g Water (75 g iced water for the tahini, 30 g (2 tbsp) for deglazing); 150 g Tomatoes, vine or round (1 large firm tomato, in 5 mm dice); 120 g Cucumbers (2 small Israeli cucumbers, in 5 mm dice); 40 g Red onions (1/3 onion, sliced as thinly as possible); 2 g Sumac (2/3 tsp, for the onions); 10 g Flat-leaf parsley (A few sprigs, leaves chopped, for the onions); 50 g Gherkins / small pickled cucumbers (2–3 small pickled cucumbers (khamutsim), sliced); 50 g Amba (fermented mango condiment) (3 tbsp (1 per pita); 30 g for a subtle flavour); 30 g Hot green chillies (2 deseeded chillies, for quick zhug; otherwise 10 g harissa (1 tsp)); 15 g Fresh coriander (A small handful, for the zhug); 8.5 g Fine salt (4.5 g for the chicken (1% of its weight, 1 level tsp), 1.5 g for the tahini, 2 g for the salad and onions, 0.5 g for the zhug)

meat main dish · Israeli and Mediterranean · 3/5 · medium · 45 min, including 30 hands-on

Israeli street-stall pita at home: chicken thigh strips marinated for 2 hours in shawarma spices, seared with onion in a smoking-hot pan, then chopped with a knife for crisp edges and tucked into pita with tahini, finely chopped salad, sumac onions, gherkins, amba and zhug.

regular version

Ingredients for two

450 g	Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) 4 skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot), cut into 1 cm strips by the kosher butcher
240 g	Pita breads 3 pitas of 80 g: one and a half per person
45 g	Extra virgin olive oil 30 g for the marinade, 10 g for the pan, 5 g for the salad
4 g	Ground cumin 1 heaped tsp
3 g	Ground coriander 1 1/2 tsp
4 g	Sweet paprika 1 heaped tsp
2 g	Turmeric 2/3 tsp
3 g	Baharat spice blend 1 very generous tsp
1.5 g	Ground black pepper 1/2 heaped tsp
1 g	Ground cardamom 1/2 tsp
0.5 g	Ground cinnamon 1 pinch (baharat already contains some)
0.5 g	Hot red chilli powder 1 pinch, for a background warmth (optional)
20 g	Garlic 4 cloves: 3 for the marinade, 1 for the tahini
120 g	Lemon 1 lemon, about 50 g juice: 15 g for the marinade, 25 g for the tahini, 10 g for the salad
60 g	Yellow onions 1/2 onion, thinly sliced into half-moons, softened in the pan
70 g	Tahini (raw sesame paste) 4 1/2 tbsp raw sesame paste, well stirred
105 g	Water 75 g iced water for the tahini, 30 g (2 tbsp) for deglazing
150 g	Tomatoes, vine or round 1 large firm tomato, in 5 mm dice
120 g	Cucumbers 2 small Israeli cucumbers, in 5 mm dice
40 g	Red onions 1/3 onion, sliced as thinly as possible
2 g	Sumac 2/3 tsp, for the onions
10 g	Flat-leaf parsley A few sprigs, leaves chopped, for the onions
50 g	Gherkins / small pickled cucumbers 2–3 small pickled cucumbers (khamutsim), sliced
50 g	Amba (fermented mango condiment) 3 tbsp (1 per pita); 30 g for a subtle flavour (optional)
10 g	Harissa 1 tsp, instead of zhug
8.5 g	Fine salt 4.5 g for the chicken (1% of its weight, 1 level tsp), 1.5 g for the tahini, 2 g for the salad and onions, 0.5 g for the zhug

Method

The day before or in the morning (15 minutes, not counted): make the marinade as in the recipe (30 g oil, 15 g lemon juice, 3 grated garlic cloves, all the spices, 4.5 g salt), massage into the strips by hand for 1 minute, cover with cling film and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Also make the tahini (70 g tahini, 1 garlic clove, 25 g lemon juice, 1.5 g salt, 75 g iced water in 3 additions) and refrigerate covered: it thickens, so loosen in the evening with 1 tbsp water. Forgot? Marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature during the following steps: chicken thighs stay juicy, though the flavour is less deep.
In the evening, minute 0: rub the finely sliced red onion with sumac, chopped parsley and 1 pinch salt. Cut the tomato and cucumbers into 5 mm dice and put in a colander over a bowl with 10 g lemon juice and 5 g oil, without salting. Slice the gherkins and slice the yellow onion into thin half-moons.
Minute 12: heat the 28 cm frying pan over a high heat for 3 minutes until smoking and add 1 tsp oil. Lift out half the strips with a fork, drain and spread in one layer: leave untouched for 2 minutes, then stir every minute for 4–5 minutes until the edges caramelise; add half the yellow onion and cook in the juices for 2 minutes. It is cooked when a thick strip cut in half is no longer pink in the centre. Reserve under foil. Cook the second batch in the same way, while warming the pitas for 30 seconds per side in the small dry pan.
Roughly chop the chicken and onion on the board with a knife. Return the pan to a high heat with the remaining marinade and 30 g water, scrape up the browned juices, boil for 30 seconds, add the chicken and toss for 1 minute: crisp edges, dry pan.
Salt the salad (1.5 g) and drain. Fill the pitas: 1 tbsp tahini at the bottom, chicken, salad, sumac onions, gherkins, a dab of harissa, 1 tbsp amba and a drizzle of tahini. Sit down to eat around minute 45.

The same dish: make the marinade and tahini the day before (15 minutes, not counted), and use harissa instead of zhug; in the evening only the salad, frying and assembly remain.

Lighter version

Extra virgin olive oil : 25 g
Tahini (raw sesame paste) : 45 g
Water : 50 g
Pita breads : 160 g
Tomatoes, vine or round : 200 g
Cucumbers : 180 g

Step 1: use just 15 g oil in the marinade.

Steps 4–6: roast instead of pan-frying. Heat the oven to 230°C fan; spread the drained chicken and sliced yellow onion on a tray lined with baking paper, with strips well spaced. Bake for 10–12 minutes, turning halfway, then grill for 2 minutes to brown the edges. Roughly chop on the board and serve without returning to the pan (no deglazing).

Tahini: loosen 45 g with 50 g iced water, 20 g lemon juice and 1 g salt. Zhug: use 5 g oil. One pita each, with a larger portion of salad (200 g tomato, 180 g cucumber) on the side.

Oven-roasted chicken with less than half the oil, one pita each, a third less tahini and more salad: the spices, amba, zhug and sumac onions stay the same, keeping this a proper shawarma.

On your plate

Recipe

1175 kcal · protein 65 g · carbs 87 g · fat 59 g

Quantities per person

225 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot)
120 g Pita breads
27.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
2 g Ground cumin
1.5 g Ground coriander
2 g Sweet paprika
1 g Turmeric
1.5 g Baharat spice blend
0.75 g Ground black pepper
0.5 g Ground cardamom
0.25 g Ground cinnamon
0.25 g Hot red chilli powder
12.5 g Garlic
60 g Lemon
30 g Yellow onions
35 g Tahini (raw sesame paste)
52.5 g Water
75 g Tomatoes, vine or round
60 g Cucumbers
20 g Red onions
1 g Sumac
5 g Flat-leaf parsley
25 g Gherkins / small pickled cucumbers
25 g Amba (fermented mango condiment)
15 g Hot green chillies
7.5 g Fresh coriander
4.25 g Fine salt

Cooking tips

With preparation the day before, the evening cooking takes 45 minutes (see the easy method): the marinade improves overnight in the fridge, and the tahini keeps covered for 3 days. Without a large frying pan, roast the drained chicken and onion on a tray at 230°C fan, with strips spaced apart, for 10–12 minutes, turning halfway, then grill for 2 minutes to brown the edges; chop and serve. For a plate, like the tsalakhat at the stalls, arrange toasted pita quarters, chicken, salad, sumac onions, tahini and amba side by side. Without amba, whose fermented mango and fenugreek flavour divides opinion, double the zhug. Leftovers: cold chicken makes the next day’s sandwich in a pita with tahini and tomatoes, or reheat for 1 minute in a hot pan.

Equipment : 28 cm heavy frying pan (cast iron or steel), Small frying pan for the pitas, Large knife and chopping board, Bowl and whisk for the tahini, Colander

Chicken shawarma from Israeli street stalls, in pita with tahini, amba and zhug, made at home in a frying pan: a shawarma-spice marinade, seared strips and a final chop with a knife.

Homemade chicken shawarma with pita, tahini, amba and zhug

Method

On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

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