Shawarma

Etymology

The name ar in Arabic is a rendering of the term ota in Turkish (, ), referring to rotisserie.

History

The shawarma technique—grilling a vertical stack of meat slices and cutting it off as it cooks—first appeared in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century in the form of döner kebab, which both the Greek gyros and the Levantine shawarma are derived from. Author Socrates Spiro's 1895 Egyptian Arabic-English dictionary translated šāwirma (شاورمه) as "rich stew, roast meat".

Shawarma led to the development during the early 20th century of the contemporary Mexican dish tacos al pastor when it was brought there by Lebanese immigrants. The dish is also especially popular in Ottawa, Ontario, where a large community of the Lebanese diaspora exists.

Preparation

Shawarma is prepared from thin cuts of seasoned and marinated lamb, mutton, veal, beef, chicken, or turkey. The slices are stacked on a skewer about 60 cm high. Pieces of fat may be added to the stack to provide extra juiciness and flavour. A motorized spit slowly turns the stack of meat in front of an electric or gas-fired heating element, continuously roasting the outer layer. Shavings are cut off the rotating stack for serving, customarily with a long, flat knife.

Spices may include cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric or paprika, and in some areas baharat. Shawarma is commonly served as a sandwich or wrap, in a flatbread such as pita, shrak (saj), laffa or lavash. In the Middle East, chicken shawarma is typically served with garlic sauce, fries, and pickles. The garlic sauce served with the sandwich depends on the meat. Toum or toumie sauce is made from garlic, vegetable oil, lemon, and egg white or starch, and is usually served with chicken shawarma. Tarator sauce is made from garlic, tahini sauce, lemon, and water, and is served with beef shawarma.

In Israel, most shawarma is made with dark-meat turkey, commonly served with tahina sauce instead of yogurt for kashrut reasons. It is often garnished with diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, pickled vegetables, hummus, garlic mayo, tahini sauce, sumac, or amba mango sauce. Some restaurants offer additional toppings, including grilled peppers, eggplant, or French fries.

In Armenia and Georgia, shawarma is traditionally made with thin cuts of marinated meat which is left marinating overnight in spices such as coriander, cumin, cardamom, paprika, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Some forgo the vertical spit in favor of a more traditional horizontal spit; this allows cooking over hot coals rather than electrical heaters, similar to cağ kebabı.

Nigerian Sharwama is a staple streetfood in Lagos. In Nigeria the veggies are different as typically there are no tomatoes or onions in most Nigerian style sharwama but rather shredded cabbage and sometimes shredded carrots too. Nigerian shawarma uses spices like garlic, thyme, cumin, onion power, black pepper, paprika as well as boullion cubes. Hot dog or sausage is also added to the sharwama. The sauce is a creamy blend of salad cream, mayo and ketchup with pepper powder. There are three main variants, chicken sharwama, beef sharwama and a combo version of both meat.

Gallery

File:Shawarma-sandwich-01.jpg|Shawarma in pita File:Shawarma, Rostov-on-Don, Russia.jpg|Shawarma on lavash File:Шаурма в лаваше сравнение 2 (cropped).jpg|Shawarma in cheese (top) and regular (bottom) lavash File:Mixed Shawarma (2843435528).jpg|Mixed shawarma with rice and tomatoes File:Shawarma preparation in central Aleppo, Syria.jpg|Slicing and preparation File:2019.07.09 DC Shawarma People and Places, Washington, DC USA 190 60018.jpg|Horizontally roasted shawarma being cooked over coals File:Chicken Shawarma preparation in Thiruvananthapuram 21 37 03 246000.jpeg|Chicken shawarma on a vertical rotisserie

References

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