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Shawarma or Shawurma is a Levantine Arab meat
preparation, where lamb, chicken, turkey, beef,
veal, or mixed meats are placed on a spit (commonly
a vertical spit in restaurants), and may be grilled
for as long as a day.
Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving,
and the remainder of the block of meat is kept
heated on the rotating spit. Although it can be
served in shavings on a plate (generally with
accompaniments), shawarma also refers to a sandwich
or wrap made with shawarma meat. Shawarma is usually
eaten with tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread,
tomato, and cucumber. Toppings include tahini,
hummus, pickled turnips and amba. It is akin to the
Turkish doner kebab and the Greek gyros.
The Arabic naming shawarma or shawurma comes from
the Turkish word çevirme "turning". |
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Preparation
Shawarma is made by alternately stacking additional
flavoring. The meat is roasted slowly on all sides as the
spit rotates in front of, or over, a flame for hours (see
rotisserie). Traditionally, a wood fire was used; currently,
a gas flame is common. While specialty restaurants might
offer two or more meat selections, some establishments have
just one skewer.
Etymology
The word shawarma comes from the Turkish word çevirme which
means to rotate. The dish is also known as Döner kebab in
Turkey.
While cooking, the meat is shaved off the stack with a large
knife, an electric knife or a small circular saw, dropping
to a circular tray below to be retrieved. Shawarma is eaten
as a fast food, made up into a sandwich wrap with pita bread
or rolled up in an Armenian lavash flatbread together with
vegetables and dressing. A variety of vegetables come with
the shawarma which include: cucumber, onion, tomato,
lettuce, eggplant, parsley, pickled turnips, pickled
gherkins, pickles, rhubarb and cabbage. This will optionally
be accompanied by French fries in some countries, including:
Jordan, Libya, Syria, the Palestinian territories, Israel,
Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, India, and Saudi Arabia,
also countries in Europe such as Belgium, Romania, Italy,
Germany, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom, and in Australia
and Canada.[5] Other options include thick cut French fries
served inside the lavash to help soak up the sauce and
juices, keeping them inside the wrap.
Dressings include: tahini (or tahina), amba sauce (pickled
mango with chili), hummus, or flavored with vinegar and
spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Chicken
shawarma is served with garlic mayonnaise, toumaia (garlic
sauce), pomegranate concentrate, or skhug (a hot chili
sauce). Once the shawarma is made, it might be dipped in the
fat dripping from the skewer and then briefly seared against
the flame.
In the Philippines, it is very common to find beef and
chicken as options for shawarma. Most shawarma restaurants
use a traditional bread called khubz which is round in
shape; the sandwich usually includes toumaia, green pickles,
and french fries, and may have optional hot sauce. The
shawarma has a very rich flavour from the toumaia which
marinates the meat.
In India, chicken and mutton are more common, and rumali
roti is also used as a wrap, along with khubz and a long
baguette.[citation needed. |
