This Middle Eastern preparation is traditionally slow cooked on a vertical spit where meat is arranged in a cone and shaved off as as the outer sides steadily get grilled. Served with pita, this delectable dish can come to your kitchen with a slight twist but the same taste! Chef Joel D Souza reveals the secret to a home made and low fat chicken shawarma.
What you need:
100 Gram Chicken Breast Boneless
½ Teaspoon Salt
2 Green Cardamom
2 Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon
1 Black Cardamom
3 Pods Garlic Finely Minced
2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
2 Cucumbers Skinned, Deseeded, Cut into Long Strips
2 Table Spoon Sugar
¼ Teaspoon Salt
4 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Grated Ginger
250 Gram Curd
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Half a lime juice
100 Grams White Cabbage, Cut Juliene
50 Grams Red Cabbage, Cut Juliene
1 Green Pepper, Cut Juliene
1 Tomato, Sliced
2 Pita Bread or 2 Whole Wheat Rotis
What To Do:
Clean the chicken and cut into small cubes.
Toast spices, cool and crush them in a spice blender. Coat the chicken with oil, salt and crushed spices. Cover with cling film and leave in refrigerator to marinate for minimum 1 hour.
Hang Curd in a muslin cloth for about 2 hours in your refrigerator or overnight till you get a nice thick and creamy texture. Beat the hung curd with a whisker and add in garlic powder and lime juice, first half of the lime juice and add more if you want it zingy. Keep cool.
In a small sauce pan, add the pickling agents, vinegar, sugar, salt and ginger and once it comes to boil stir the mixture till all the sugar has melt.
Cool this liquid and add to the cucumbers. The liquid taste should have a strong acidic smell, sweet to taste and salty in the mouth. Mix well and store in refrigerator for atleast 30 minutes. Remove cucumbers and discard water. You have now made a quick cucumber pickle for your shawarmas.
Grill the chicken in a pre-heated oven at 200 C for 15 minutes. Once done, cool and keep aside.
Cut your coleslaw, green chillies, add lime, salt to taste.
Assemble the shawarma. Add chicken, coleslaw, pickles & sauces. Roll and enjoy!
