I love cooking and eating foods that have Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours, and if you are familiar with the cuisine, you’re probably no stranger to shawarma. Shawarma is traditionally a style of preparing meat (chicken, beef or lamb), where the meat is roasted on a vertical rotating grill with spices, then shaved to thin slices and served in a wrap with salad and sauces. It’s a staple street food in most countries in the Middle East, and is an easy yet delicious fast-food meal that you can eat on the go.
I wanted to make a shawarma recipe that is healthier, easier, and of course — vegetarian. The non-vegetarians are probably groaning by this point, claiming there’s no such thing as “vegetarian shawarma,” but honestly this recipe is all about the spices and flavour. The main filling for these wraps is the shawarma-spiced paneer. The paneer cubes are coated in a shawarma marinade, and then cooked until golden-brown and crispy. The paneer filling is delicious and satisfying, but this recipe works just as well with chicken too. For a vegan version, you can use chickpeas or portobello mushrooms.
Apart from the main filling, the wrap has a lot of little toppings and sauces that seem tedious when you look at the recipe, but is quite simple to prepare. There’s creamy hummus that forms the base — I usually have homemade hummus in the fridge, but to simplify things you can use store-bought hummus too. Then come all the salad toppings – cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, pickled onions (quick pickled in a vinegar of choice), and some shredded lettuce.
Finish your wraps with a generous drizzle of the garlicky yogurt sauce or “white sauce” as it’s more commonly known, a staple with all shawarma and halal street food. I also like to make a quick hot sauce. Though the hot sauce is optional, I definitely recommended if you like your wraps a little spicy like me. Trust me, it’s a simple recipe, but tastes so good that you’ll be making a larger batch and serving it with everything! A few dabs of hot sauce for the wraps will go a long way. Serve the rest on the side and spice it up to your liking!
The wraps are best when assembled in slightly warm pita bread or flat bread, but honestly if you’re in a pinch, homemade rotis or store-bought tortillas will do the job. This is a great weeknight dinner that comes together super quickly as the ingredients are largely pantry staples, and this recipe works just as well when packed for lunch or to eat on the go.
- A garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- ½ tablespoon ground cumin
- A pinch of ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon cayenne (add more for spicier)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 300g paneer, cut into thick matchsticks (or substitute with chicken fillets)
- 6 pitas or flatbreads, lightly warmed (homemade or store-bought)
- Classic hummus (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- Handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- Pickled onions or thinly sliced onion
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- A clove of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt, to taste
- 1 dried red chilli soaked in hot water for 5 minutes (or more for spicier)
- 2 tomatoes, blanched and skins removed
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt, to taste
- Make the shawarma spice mix by combining the minced garlic, ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, cayenne, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl. Add to it the cubed paneer or chicken, and mix thoroughly. Let it rest for at least 2 hours or more for it to marinate.
- Heat some olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat, and cook the marinated paneer or chicken until evenly browned on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
- Make the yogurt sauce: In a small bowl, mix the greek yogurt with tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt.
- Make the hot sauce: In a food processor or blender, combine the rehydrated red chilli, blanched tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Blend until it forms a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Assemble the wraps with a dollop of hummus, topped with the shawarma paneer (or chicken), lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickled onion, and drizzles of the yogurt sauce and hot sauce. Serve with additional hot sauce on the side if desired.
For a vegan version, replace the paneer with chickpeas in the shawarma spice mix, and then roast them for 15-20 minutes at 250°C. Alternatively you can also use sliced portobello mushrooms. Omit the yogurt sauce or make it with dairy-free yogurt.
For gluten free, use gluten free pitas.
Did you make this shawarma recipe?
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Nice Recipe for my son’s tiffin. Nutritious and delicious.