Everyone at least once in their life tried a dish called "shawarma." It is sold on the streets, in small eateries and cafes. Shawarma can be prepared at home. It is not so difficult. But is this dish so useful? What is a part of shawarma? What foods are they made from? Let's try to deal with these issues, and at the same time learn how to cook shawarma on our own.
What is shawarma
Many tried this dish, but not everyone thought about what is part of the shawarma. So what is it? Shawarma is an oriental dish with meat wrapped in thin pita bread with spices, fresh vegetables and sauces. Traditionally, meat for this appetizer is cooked on special equipment.
This is a grill in the form of a vertical skewer along which the burners are placed. As they fry, the meat is cut into a thin layer and used in a dish. With proper preparation, it turns out to be tender and tasty.
What meat is used
There are a lot of recipes for this dish. The composition of shawarma can include any meat. For cooking, you can take lamb, pork, beef, chicken or turkey. In Muslim countries (Turkey, Libya) they usually use lamb or camel meat. This is in line with their traditions and culinary preferences.
In Israel, chicken or turkey meat is preferred. In Russia, you can find several dozen recipes for cooking. In our country, different types and varieties of meat are used.
Sauces
The composition of shawarma, in addition to the main component - meat - also includes sauces. They give the dish a piquant and original taste. The easiest sauce option is ketchup or mayonnaise. But to make the shawarma more expressive, you should use spices and seasonings.
According to the classic recipe, this dish should be very spicy. In addition to hot pepper, turmeric, zira and some other seasonings are added to the sauce as desired. A special taste of shawarma gives greens. It should be a lot. These are parsley, dill, cilantro and other herbs. All of these ingredients can be combined with the sauce and added to the dish.
Types of Shawarma
The composition of shawarma in pita bread may be different. You can cook vegetarian shawarma. In this case, it will only have vegetables, herbs, cheese and sauce. Some cook this semi-finished dish. For this, sausages or sausages are used as the main ingredient.
They are cut into pieces and added sauce and vegetables. There are cooking options for shawarma with canned fish, but this recipe is very far from the original. Traditionally, various types of meat are used as the main constituent. But if you cook this dish for yourself, then you can introduce any ingredients to your taste in the composition of shawarma in pita bread.
Benefit and harm
Is there any benefit from eating shawarma? This question cannot be answered unequivocally. It all depends on what is part of the shawarma in pita bread. This food can be attributed to fast food, which is not considered useful. But if you cook shawarma without meat, ketchup and mayonnaise, only with vegetables and herbs, then the body will be saturated with a certain dose of vitamins.
But even a classic dish with all the ingredients would be preferable to a hamburger or hot dog. Shawarma should not be abused for those who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract, and those who are obese. And you must always remember that such food should not be everyday.
Shawarma Garlic Sauce
This dish can be classified as fast. In such cases, ready-made sauces in the form of mayonnaise or ketchup are used. But if you want to give the dish a spicy, unique taste, then it is better to cook them yourself. This garlic sauce can be used not only in shawarma. It is served with grilled chicken wings and meat delicacies. Take 4 large spoons of sour cream, mayonnaise and kefir, 6 medium cloves of garlic, black and red ground pepper and any spices as desired. The process of making the sauce is very simple. Grind the garlic in any way (garlic press or with a grater). Then we mix all the ingredients so that the spices are evenly distributed in the liquid mass. The garlic sauce with which the shawarma will become more delicious is ready.
Chicken Shawarma
No one will argue that food cooked at home is safer and tastier. In addition, many dishes are prepared very simply. The composition of shawarma with chicken is the minimum set of available products. You will need: thin pita bread, 400 grams of chicken, one large carrot, 200 grams of fresh cabbage (you can take Peking), 200 milliliters of mayonnaise, 200 milliliters of ketchup and a little mustard (optional). Let's start with the preparation of chicken. It must be boiled and cut into thin strips. Three carrots on a fine grater and add salt, spices, vegetable oil and garlic to it.
We shred the cabbage and season it with lemon or vinegar juice and vegetable oil. All the ingredients are ready, it remains only to cut the pita into portions, so that it is convenient to wrap the filling into it. We lay out the sheet on the table and lightly grease it with ketchup and mayonnaise. Then put the cabbage, and on top of it the meat. Next, add the carrots and pour a little mayonnaise. We turn the pita bread with the filling in the form of an envelope. Shawarma is ready. It remains only to fry it on each side in a pan or heat it in the oven.
Shawarma with pork
As already mentioned, any type of meat can be used to prepare this dish. We offer pork shawarma recipe . Take thin pita bread, two fresh tomatoes, 300 grams of pork, which must first be fried or baked in the oven, two cucumbers, 100 grams of cheese (optional), a small head of Beijing or white cabbage, 3 peeled garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of natural yogurt, three tablespoons of sour cream, three tablespoons of mayonnaise, salt spices, herbs. First, prepare the sauce.
To do this, mix all the liquid ingredients (sour cream, mayonnaise and yogurt). Then add chopped garlic, chopped herbs, salt and spices to this mass. You can use any herbs and spices as desired. We cut meat and vegetables into strips or any shape. Three cheese on a grater and mix it with meat. Now we proceed to the formation of shawarma. Grease the pita bread with the sauce and put the filling on it. After that, add sauce at our discretion and fold the pita bread in the form of an envelope. Then fry the shawarma in a pan, bake in the oven, heat in the microwave or on a grill. You can choose any processing option. It is better to use this dish in hot or warm form.
Some tips
Traditionally, the shawarma filling is wrapped in pita, but it is successfully replaced by Armenian thin pita bread, which must be fresh. To improve the taste of the dish, you must properly cook the meat. It is cut into fillets and slightly beaten. Then it is better to marinate the meat. Pork marinated in white wine, apple or wine vinegar. Spices (peppercorns, bay leaves) are also added. For the preparation of beef use red wine, lemon vinegar, onions and spices. Chicken meat is best pickled in mayonnaise. It is better to fry the shawarma meat on an open fire, but at home you can use a dry frying pan or air grill.
Shawarma filling can be different. To speed up the process, you can use ready-made Korean carrots. Unusual taste of the dish gives the pickle, sliced in thin strips. A special place is sauce. You can use ready-made: Georgian "tkemali" or sweet and sour Chinese. Do not overdo the sauce, as it can leak when heated.
The composition of shawarma in grams cannot be precisely determined. Everything is done by eye and depends on personal preferences. For food lovers, you can add more sauce and spicy spices. Someone loves more vegetables and greens, and someone gives the palm to meat products. By the way, greens plays a big role in this dish and there should be a lot of it. Cook with pleasure and delight your loved ones with delicious and healthy dishes!