Shawarmais the Middle Eastern version of a large vertical shish kebab known asdoner kebabin Turkey andgyro在希腊。它是由刺穿层肉an oversize spit with a flat base and roasting the meat in an upright rotisserie. There are at least three advantages to this singular method of cooking. The dripping fat bastes the meat below it; the meat is sliced to order (at least it should be) from the outside, which gives every customer a crusty end cut; and because the crusty meat slices are piled on pita bread with fresh vegetables, pickles, and tahini sauce, you get a whole meal—and a healthful one—in a single sandwich. Traditionally,shawarmawas made with lamb, but more and more Israeli grill masters use thinly sliced chicken or turkey.Shawarmais easy to prepare if you have a vertical rotisserie, and somewhat more challenging to adapt to the home grill. But direct-grilling the turkey slices does give you a close approximation of the taste and texture of classicshawarma.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
Step 1
Arrange turkey cutlets in 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Spread onion slices in 13x9x2- inch glass baking dish. Mix turmeric, coarse salt, ground coriander, ground cumin, black pepper, white pepper, and hot paprika in small bowl. Sprinkle onion slices with 1 tablespoon spice mixture, then drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over, turning onions to coat both sides. Sprinkle remaining spice mixture over both sides of turkey cutlets, rubbing in spice mixture with fingertips to coat. Drizzle 4 tablespoons olive oil over turkey, turning cutlets to coat both sides. Cover and chill onions and turkey at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
Step 2
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack with oil. Brush pita breads with 2 tablespoons oil. Grill onion slices until tender, about 4 minutes per side. Grill turkey cutlets until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Grill pita breads until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer turkey cutlets and onion slices to cutting board and keep pita breads warm. Working in batches, stack several turkey slices and cut thinly crosswise. Repeat stacking and cutting with onion slices. Mix together turkey and onions in large bowl. Place 1 pita bread on each of 8 plates. Top with turkey-onion mixture, then Tomato Relish, Tahini Sauce, and eggplant and serve.
Step 3
*Eggplant packed in a pickling brine of water, vinegar, salt, herbs, and spices; sold at Middle Eastern markets.
How would you rate Turkey Shawarma with Tomato Relish and Tahini Sauce?
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Reviews (23)
Back to TopSamoura, you obviously haven't been to Israel, but you should have read the other reviews that are correct in saying this is exactly how shawarma is served there. No one said anything about its geographic or ethnic origins. Modern Israeli cuisine is amazing in that it reflects the country's diverse cultural heritage. You should try it sometime, starting with this delicious recipe!
Anonymous
San Francisco
9/10/2016
Since when has Shawarma become an Israeli meal? That's like saying pasta is German.
samoura
Washington, DC
10/2/2015
We go to Israel quite a bit, and this is an excellent and delicious approximation of the shawarma you'd find there, despite my cutting back on the pepper amounts to suit a younger palate. I cooked this inside on a grill pan due to the weather, and I'm glad I did, as I fear that half of those amazing onions would have been lost through the grates of a grill. If you can get good-quality pita, it will open nicely to create a pocket, in which case I recommend just warming and stuffing it for a more authentic experience. I served this with Israeli salad instead of the tomato relish. One note to reviewers who nixed the pickles: it is absolutely authentic to have pickles with shawarma, and many grocery stores even carry canned ones from Israel. This isn't meant to be a gyro!
lauraj223
Boston, MA
8/5/2015
Made this for 2 on a camping trip. Best meal of the 4 night trip according to the man. Like some others I didn't use the pickles since I'm not used to them on gyros. To boost the vegetable content I added a grill roasted pepper. Somehow left my tahina sauce at home so made a new sauce with 2 TBs mayonnaise, 2 TBs sour cream, a tsp of sugar, a dribble of vinegar and 1/2 a grated cucumber. Served 2 nicely with leftovers. Oh and I only used one half of a whole chicken breast . Going on my regular camping roster and home too.
aluver
NYC
8/17/2014
Excellent and won rave reviews. Made this for a family gathering at the beach, and all ages liked it. We used chicken, and the grill was not working, so we sautéed the chicken and onions stovetop. Doubled the recipe and did not use all the salt it called for; it was still plenty salty. Did not grill the pita -- just warmed them.
mjohns11
Edina, MN
7/16/2013
I made only the shawarma and onion part of the recipe and they were very good. The meat is spicy but not hot. I cut down the tumeric in half as I am not fond of its strong taste but my husband complained that there was still too much in it (and he likes tumeric).I had lots of the spice mix left over. I definitely would serve this with tehina. Shawarma in Israel is made with turkey and spices as well and this is a very good version of the shawarma sandwiches we buy here, where you can choose from a large variety of items that you put in your pita with it; from tehina to all different fresh vegetable salads and pickles. However, I have never seen oiled pitas used before with shawarma - that is never done.
Anonymous
Israel
11/3/2012
Showstopping flavour! I'd say no to the pickles - there were all ready too many exciting, bold flavors going on and the pickles were simply too much. (I wasn't keen on the flavour combo either). I did put some pickled beets on the side and this complemented the flavour nicely, adding a touch of sweet. For ease of cooking the onion, I threw some toothpicks in the sides of the cut rounds to hold them together on the grill. It's a keeper!
bonbon35
White Rock, BC
8/4/2012
Such a good dish! We have it a couple times a month at our house. I had some at a local place yesterday (http://imunchie.com/liorhartenstein/munchies/shawarma-firenze) and it was incredible! Definitely worth digging in to!
CupofBucks
Cotati, CA
11/9/2011
Excellent dish. Easy and tasty. I've made it twice though, once with the recommended tomato relish (which may as well be salsa) and once with some leftover Tomato Jam from the "Turkey Burgers with Tomato Jam, Olives and Feta" recipe. I highly recommend the Tomato Jam instead. Adds a nice sweetness to the spice of the shawarma.
jmbuechel
California
8/22/2010
My husband & I love this recipe! It is quite spicy, so if you don't like spicy food, it is probably not for you. But if you do, yum and yum! We really love the onions and we would rather double them and cut back on the amount of turkey next time. Also, we like it without the pickles because it has a lot going on already, but again, that is a matter of personal taste. I know next to nothing about Israeli or Middle Eastern cuisine, so I cannot speak to this recipe's authenticity (though I doubt turkey is native to the area), but boy, is it good.
Anonymous
Darien, CT
1/9/2010
I am not a big fan of tahini sauce, but I loved the turkey shawarma with the tomato relish. It was delicious!
Alghero
New York, NY
10/29/2009
A lot of wonderful flavors without a lot of labor...we really enjoyed this dish and plan to make it for friends in the future. Its a keeper recipe.
anitalb
Glen NH
9/21/2009
SO easy. Considering the time it took to make and the flavors that came from it, I think 4 forks is reasonable. Not the best Shawarma I've ever had, but will definitely make again considering how tasty and easy it was. The store ran out of turkey cutlet, so I used chicken cutlet. used pickles instead of eggplant (I had pickles on hand). Nice ethnic dish.
Anonymous
Brooklyn, NY
9/11/2009
Ridiculously good. My only suggestion would be to NOT oil the pitas. Just heat them up as-is. They got a little crunchy. Still good, but harder to eat that way.
carld
Centreville, VA
9/5/2009
I made this for 2 with 2 boneless chicken thighs without reading that it serves 8. It makes enough onions for 3 people! They are soooo good. I used half the spice mixture on the chicken and half on the onions so my flavor was bolder and just right. The tomato relish serves 4. I served it with the Quinoa with Grilled Zucchini, Garbanzo Beans, and Cumin from this site because I had made it the day before and it was so good together mmmm. I wasn't going to make this till I read the reviews - so so glad I did. It's like Middle Eastern fajitas or something and the pickles really make it. My tahini seized up when I added the lemon I'd never had that happen so I ended up using all of the boiling water to make it creamy.
Anonymous
San Diego, CA
8/30/2009
