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Shawarma 2 pounds Lamb or beef, lean cut, or chicken breasts or thighs, boneless and skinless, sliced very thinly 1 cup Yogurt 1/4 cup Vinegar or lemon juice 3-4 cloves Garlic, minced 1 teaspoon Allspice, ground 1 teaspoon Cardamom, ground 1/2 teaspoon Cloves, ground 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg, ground 2 teaspoons Salt 1 teaspoon Pepper Mix all the ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl and set aside to marinate for anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. Drain any excess marinade and discard. Heat an oven broiler to high. Spread the meat evenly in a single layer on an ovenproof pan Set 4-6 inches under the broiler flame and broil until cooked through, 5-8 minutes. Stir halfway through to cook evenly. Serve inside folded pita bread with your choice of garnishes (below). Condiments and Garnishes: Shawarma is commonly served with tahini sauce, yogurt sauce or garlic mayonnaise. Other garnishes include chopped tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, shredded lettuce, sliced red onion, and/or hummus. VARIATIONS Gyros (Greece): Serve with tzatziki sauce. Döner Kebab (Turkey): Serve with cacik sauce Lavash bread can be used instead of pita. Roll all of the ingredients up in a piece of lavash like a burrito to make a Middle Eastern wrap. Shawarma is sometimes made with a mixture of meats. There is even turkey shawarma. Goat meat shawarma is popular in Saudi Arabia. NOTES Shawarma is popular throughout the eastern Mediterranean and is sometimes called the Middle Eastern taco. It originated in northwestern Turkey as döner kebab. But it reached its current form and popularity with the Turkish population in Germany. The sandwich is now found in a variety of forms around the world. Shawarma meat is typically shaved off a large rotating cone of layered meat. The meat is roasted with radiant gas or electric heat. Pieces of meat are sliced off and served in a folded pita with garnishes and condiments. The word shawarma is an approximation of the Turkish word for "roast." Sometimes spelled shwarma. Known as guss in Iraq.
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