Chicken Shawarma Recipe with step by step pictures. Delicious healthy chicken shawarma made using pita bread, chicken filling, garlic sauce. This is a popular middle eastern wrap.
Chicken Shawarma
I have tasted shawarma quite a few times here in restaurants. All the time it tasted like they have mixed chicken and veggies in mayo and rolled up in a pita bread. But i have tasted shawarma in a bakery here, they grill chicken right in the skewer in front of us, shred it up and stuff it in pita and serve, it was delicious.
Many of my viewers asked me to share shawarma recipe, i browsed it and came across quite a few recipes. I found them having few ingredients which i didn't have on hand. So i thought of using my knowledge and make a healthy shawarma. This recipe is just chicken marinated in few spices and then sauted in a pan, I used a low fat yogurt garlic sauce and whole wheat pita bread. I will surely share the authentic version very soon.
What is Shawarma | About Shawarma
Shawarma is a popular Levantine dish made of thinly sliced meat stacked in a cone shape and roasted on a slowly turning vertical rotisserie or spit. It is traditionally made from lamb or mutton, but it can also be made from chicken, turkey, beef, or veal. As it rotates, thin slices are shaved off the cooked surface. Shawarma is a popular
street food in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt, Iraq, and the Levant, as well as in the Caucasus and Russia.
What does a shawarma consist of?
Shawarma consists of thinly sliced meat cuts such as chicken, beef, goat, lamb, and sometimes turkey rolled into a large piece of steamed or heated flatbread or pita. Hummus, tahini, pickles, vegetables, and even french fries are stuffed inside pita bread.
Shawarma has
Is shawarma originally Turkish?
Although roasting meat on horizontal spits has a long history, the shawarma technique of grilling a vertical stack of meat slices and cutting them off as they cook first appeared in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire, in what is now Turkey, as doner kebab.
Similar Recipes,
Version 1 : Healthy Chicken Shawarma Recipe
Ingredients for Chicken Shawarma
These are the ingredients for basic chicken shawarma. Usual spices like cumin, chilli powder and herbs are used in the marination for chicken shawarma.
Marinate for Chicken Shawarma
- Chicken - 500 grams Boneless thinly sliced
- Thick Curd / Yogurt - 4 tblspn (RECIPE HERE)
- Lemon Juice - 1 tblspn
- Cinnamon Powder / Pattai Podi - 1 tsp
- Cumin Powder - 1 tblspn
- Coriander Powder / Malli Podi - 1 tblspn
- Chilli Powder - 1 tblspn or to taste
- Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
- Garlic - 6 cloves chopped finely
- Oregano - 1 tblspn
- Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp
- Dry Ginger Powder / Chukku Podi - 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Olive Oil - 2 tblspn
Healthy Dipping Sauce for Shawarma
Shawarma is usually served with a garlic sauce. This is a simple but healthy light dipping sauce for shawarma made with yogurt, garlic and lemon juice.
Yogurt Garlic Sauce:
Hung Curd / Greek Yogurt - 1 cup (RECIPE HERE)
Garlic - 10 cloves minced
Lemon Juice - 1 tblspn or to taste
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Other Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Pita Bread - 4 (RECIPE HERE)
Lettuce - 2 cup sliced thinly
Onion - 1 large sliced thinly
Tomato - 1 large deseeded and sliced thinly
How to Make Chicken Shawarma
Step 1:
Mix all the ingredients given for marinating chicken and leave it to marinate for 1 hour. Mix all the ingredients for sauce and mix well, keep this in fridge for 1 hour as well.
Step 2:
Now heat olive oil in a pan, add in the chicken and saute and cook this. Let the chicken get some colour as well. Remove this to a bowl.
Step 3:
Take a pita bread, spread some sauce, and spoon some chicken, top with lettuce, onion, tomato and some more sauce. Place this in foil and roll this really well. Cut in half and serve.
Some variations in shawarma
Hung curd :
Hung curd is simply curd that has had all of its whey removed. Curd is used in some Indian dishes, such as marinating paneer tikka or any tikka. It is also used in the preparation of thick raitas, dips, and even chutneys.
Whole Wheat Pita Bread :
This moist, light, and flat bread can be made with either refined or whole wheat flour. Apart from being low in calories, it is also a good source of protein and carbohydrates, as well as a good source of vitamin B, selenium, and manganese, all of which act as antioxidants.
Lemon Juice :
Lemon juice is a common cooking and baking ingredient. It imparts a
bright, citrusy flavour to both savoury and sweet dishes. With a low pH, it is one of the most acidic natural ingredients available, providing structure to jams and jellies and aiding in the proper rise of baked goods.
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Take hung yogurt in a bowl,i used plain curd |
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Now time to assemble..Take a whole wheat pita bread, RECIPE HERE |
Version 2: Middle Eastern Shawarma Recipe
This chicken shawarma recipe is made restaurant style. but I used chapati instead of pita bread.
📖 Recipe

Chicken Shawarma | Chicken Shawarma Recipe
Ingredients
- Pita Bread as needed
- 6 Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Chilli Powder
- 1 tbsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 1 cup Garlic Sauce (toum)
- 3 tbsp Lemon Juice or Vinegar
- 2 cups Lettuce shredded
- 1 grated Carrot grated
- 1 Onion sliced thinly
- 1 tsp Sugar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Take chicken in a bowl, add salt, pepper, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, lemon juice or vinegar, garlic sauce in a bowl and mix well. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 250 degree C to grill mode. Grease a baking tray with oil.
- Arrange chicken in the tray and grill the chicken for 30 to 40 mins.
- Remove the chicken halfway, spoon the juice over the chicken and continue baking.
- Remove it and cut it into small pieces.
- Take lettuce, onion, carrot in a bowl. Add salt, sugar, vinegar and mix well.
- Add in chicken, garlic sauce and toss well.
- Spoon this over pita bread and roll it out.
- Serve.
Video
Chicken Shawarma Recipe Pictures
1)Take boneless chicken thighs in a bowl
2)Add in salt
3)Add in cumin powder
4)Add in chilli powder
5)Add in coriander powder
6)Add in pepper powder
7)Add in olive oil
8)Add in garlic sauce, recipe here
9)Mix well
10)Arrange it in a baking tray. Pop it in a preheated oven. Oven is set to grill mode for 250 degree C.
11)Bake it for 40 to 45 mins, remove it half way through.
12) Spoon the juices over the chicken and pop it back in oven.
13)Bake till done.
14)Remove it to a plate
15) Chop it into small pieces
16)Take cabbage or lettuce, carrot and onion and slice thinly
17)Take it in a bowl
18)Add in salt
19)Add in vinegar or lemon juice
20)Add in sugar
21)Mix well.
22)Add in chicken
23)Add in garlic sauce. Recipe here
24)Mix well
25)Take a pita bread, i used chapati. For Pita bread recipe here, check whole wheat pita bread here
26)Spread the filling in
27)Spread it evenly
28)Roll it
29)Serve.
Priya Gautham
Looks yumm Aarthi....Thanks for recipe...
Catherine
Looks absolutely delicious!
Happy New Year to you. Catherine
Anonymous
Hi Aarthi, I want to try this. Can we use Chappathi instead of pita bread?
Thanks
Vasantha
kk charanya charan
wow looks very tempting arthi,will try it today itself,i have been waiting for this recipie for a long time...thanks a lot
Aarthi
@Anonymousyes u can use
Anonymous
Mujhe malpua sikhna hai
Sindhuja
Superb recipe aarthi..can u pls tell me any alternate for oregano..
Aarthi
@SindhujaNo sub, just leave it out.
Ish Indar
Sis your non veg recipes are awesome
http://Www.Diya kitchen. com
Kichi
is hung curd mandatory..can i use normal home made curd
Ashwin
Can I bake the chicken in an oven?If so,how much degree and for how much minutes?
Aarthi
Bake at 200 degree for 10 mins