One of the most popular oriental dishes that have gained immense popularity in the countries of the former CIS is shawarma. It is a kind of fast food, as it cooks very quickly and is perfect for a snack on the go. But despite all its popularity, not every chef is able to cook delicious shawarma. Sometimes its filling leaves much to be desired, the sauce does not meet the necessary standards, and the design itself is unattractive and discourages the appetite. Therefore, many prefer to cook it at home. How to wrap this dish correctly? We are talking about this in more detail.
Why is shawarma worth doing at home?
Sometimes the conditions in which the shawarma is prepared leave much to be desired. It is done in small mobile wagons standing along the road, in compliance with minimum sanitary standards, or even without them. Moreover, often the cooking process takes place using far from high-quality products. Hence, the risks of digestive upsets and poisoning increase.
That is why fans of shawarma try to cook it at home. And they do it from those products in which they are completely sure. In addition, lovers of oriental dishes add various ingredients and spices to her taste.
Is it difficult to make shawarma at home?
As a rule, cooking shawarma itself does not cause any difficulties. The secret lies in the filling. And if it is cooked correctly, it turns out a delicious oriental dish with mouth-watering pieces of meat. Another thing is that it should be beautifully designed. For this, a round thin pita bread or tortilla is usually used. The main thing is to wrap the shawarma in pita bread correctly.
What are the nuances of "packaging" shawarma worth considering?
If you take the design of shawarma seriously, there should not be any problems with twisting it into a thin cake. To do this, we recommend paying attention to certain nuances. Firstly, when preparing classic shawarma, it is extremely important to observe the recipe and proportions. So, half of the filling is chicken. The rest of it consists of parts of fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, Beijing cabbage and herbs.
Secondly, the taste of the final product directly depends on the sauce. At the same time, it should not only be tasty, but also added in the appropriate amount. According to experienced housewives, it needs just enough to make the filling juicy, but the lavash did not have time to soak.
Thirdly, in order not to spoil the pita bread and make an even bread roll, vegetables and meat should be cut into thin strips.
What are the options for serving shawarma?
There are three types of shawarma serving:
- Open top tube.
- Closed tube.
In the first case, it is necessary to fold the filling in the cake with a square, and in the second - to form a round and closed roll. At the same time, it is the open roll that is considered the most attractive and appetizing. Closed is easier to wrap and cook much faster. But how to wrap shawarma using a cake or round pita bread?
How to wrap shawarma in a cake or round pita bread?
To make homemade shawarma, Armenian lavash (a round pancake from thin pastry) is used, in which meat with vegetable filling, salad leaves and sauce is wrapped. As a sauce, you can use yogurt, kefir with sour cream or mayonnaise. Greens and garlic, favorite spices, lemon juice are added to the creamy sauce.
In the process of making homemade shawarma, it is extremely important to properly fold pita bread or a tortilla with filling. At the same time, it is necessary to do this so that when frying (heating) the shawarma does not fall apart. To do this, you need to learn all the possible ways of wrapping shawarma?
What are the options to use?
Consider the classic version. It involves the following actions:
- Lay the pita bread on the table and grease half the base with a specially prepared sauce (without touching the edges of the tortilla). The indentation should be at least 3-4 cm, otherwise the cake may fall apart.
- Put the filling on the cake smeared with sauce in layers. The meat layer should be the first, it is the final layer. Between the first and second - a layer of vegetables and herbs.
- Bend the free edges to the center, gently press them. Try to bend the pita so that both ends are slightly narrowed.
- Roll pita bread into a roll, smoothly wrapping it in the remaining base without sauce.
This is just one of the options on how to wrap shawarma at home.
Wrapping shawarma in a round cake: instruction
Another option for decorating shawarma is a rolled open-top roll. This design principle is identical to the previous one. But in this case, you do not need to tuck one edge of the pita. It is enough to wrap the shawarma in a cake, like a roll. It is also very important to preheat the tortilla or pita bread on low heat. From this, it will become slightly golden and get a crisp.
The process of preparing such a roll is as follows:
- We prepare the sauce (it should be thick) from equal proportions of sour cream and mayonnaise.
- Lubricate the first third of the cake with the finished sauce (without touching the edges of the dough).
- Spread a small portion of meat on top of the sauce.
- On top of the meat, spread the vegetable filling (in even parts). For juiciness, an additional portion of the sauce can be added to the vegetables.
- Put the last meat layer.
- We lay on the filling the side edges of the tortilla (it is best to overlap to cover the filling completely).
- Turn the bottom layer of the tortillas and turn the shawarma into a roll. So that he holds on more securely, the pastry for gluing can be greased with sauce.
- We wrap the bottom of the shawarma in parchment paper (so that the filling does not fall out and the sauce does not leak out).
Now you know how to wrap shawarma in a round pita bread or any other cake made of thin dough.
Some useful tips when using round pita bread
In order for you to get a neat “package” of your home shawarma, you need to follow simple tips and our tips. So, before wrapping the shawarma in pita bread, it will be correct to check if you overdid it with the addition of sauce.
Remember that he only has to glue the layers of the filling between himself and give the dish juiciness. Therefore, when preparing it, do not use kefir and yogurt in its pure form. It is advisable to supplement it with other dairy products - mayonnaise or sour cream.
When adding tomatoes to the filling, it is recommended that you first cut out the watery core. Without this, pita bread will get wet and lose shape.
When cooking shawarma, use only fresh and soft cakes or pita bread. Otherwise, your base from the dough will crumble and will not get the shape that suits you. Therefore, from such a “wrapper” the filling will begin to fall out.
How to wrap in lavash yesterday?
If it was not possible to find fresh pita bread, it is quite possible to use secondary bread. To do this, try wrapping the filling in two layers of your outdated pita bread or tortillas. But you should not press hard on your bread. Otherwise, you risk breaking it. Do everything carefully, and slowly.
What is the easiest way to learn the wrapping technique?
You can understand the technology of packing filling in pita bread if you buy ready-made shawarma. Then, it will need to be carefully deployed. And then, you can try to roll it back.
Be sure to try cooking, having mastered the technique of wrapping shawarma in pita bread or a round cake at home. Indulge your loved ones with a delicious dish.