Shawarma

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Shawarma rotisserie, Istanbul, Turkey

Shawarma (Arabic: شاورما‎), is a Middle Eastern sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or a halal mixture of meats. The meat is placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day. Chunks of fat within the meat ensure that the shawarma stays juicy. Shawarma is a fast-food staple across the Middle East and North Africa. Shawarma is eaten with pita bread, tabouli, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus, pickled turnips and amba. In outward appearance, it resembles the gyros of Greece or the Turkish döner kebab in the sense that all use pita-wrapped meat, but the sauces are distinctly different.

The word shawarma (pronounced /ˈʃwɑrmə/) comes from the Turkish word çevirme [tʃevirˈme], meaning turning, and has its origins in the Döner Kebab of Turkey.

Preparation

Shawarma is made by placing strips of meat or marinated chicken on a stick; an onion or tomato is placed at the top of the stack for 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, now a gas flame is common. While specialty restaurants might offer two or more meat selections, some establishments have just one skewer.

After 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 lafa (a sweet, fluffy flatbread) together with vegetables and a dressing. Vegetables found in shawarma include cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, eggplant, parsley, pickled turnips, pickled gherkins, cabbage, and in some countries, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Jordan, Israel, or the United Arab Emirates, french fries.

Dressings include tahini (or tahina), Amba sauce (pickled mango with Chilbeh) and hummus, flavored with vinegar and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Chicken shawarma is served with garlic mayonnaise, toum (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 Israel, Syria and Lebanon, chicken shawarma are toasted after being made up, whereas those made of lamb or beef are immediately eaten.

Beef can be used for shawarma instead of lamb, and turkey is used instead of chicken. In Saudi Arabia, goat is as common as beef or lamb. Less common alternatives include fish and sausage. Some shawarma stores use hot dog buns or baguettes, but most have pita and lafa. Sometimes, beef shawarma—despite its name—contains some lamb in addition to the beef, to ensure juiciness.

Around the world

Shawarma is found in Arab countries, including United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

•  Azerbaijan: In Azerbaijan shawarma is called Shaurma (Aze:Şaurma) or Doner (Aze:Dönər) and has been a traditional dish for centuries. Shaurma is served with lavash, while doner is served with bread.

•  Australia: In Australia Greek, Armenian, Turkish and Lebanese migrant populations have introduced shawarma. Commonly it is known simply as a kebab or Döner kebab or, where Greek immigrants have settled, as a souvlaki, or less commonly, gyros or yiros. Shawarma costs AUD$6.00 upwards and is wrapped in a large pita bread, coming with: beef, chicken or lamb, salad of lettuce, tomato and onion, cheese and egg. Sauces include "garlic sauce" (Tzatziki), chilli sauce, hummus, tomato, and barbecue. Sometimes it is toasted after being wrapped in pita bread.

•  Belgium: In Belgium a very large, filling shawarma is available. It is made with a combination of lamb and beef, although pork is not uncommon, and placed in a freshly-baked pita, garnished with salad and zesty white garlic sauce or a spicy red sauce.

•  Brazil: In Brazil, mainly in São Paulo, shawarma is a street food, served with bread and a cup of juice. There it is called Churrasquinho Grego (Greek Barbecue) or much less frequently Churrasco Turco (Turkish Barbecue). It is not associated with the kebab/gyro in fashion districts. It is served in Porto Alegre where it is sold as Arabic fast-food.

Osmow's Shawarma in Canada.

•  Canada: In Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Hamilton, Ontario and London, Ontario it is served. The local version consists of a generous portion of shaved beef or chicken and vegetables wrapped in pita with garlic or sesame sauce. Garlic potatoes or rice are side dishes, it is common for shawarma to be served wrapped alone — fast-food style.

In some regions of Canada, the term "shawarma" is interchangeable with donairs. In the Montreal region, "shawarma" refers to the beef variety, while the chicken version is "Shish taouk". See Donair in Canada

•  China: In Beijing, shawarma is known as "Turkish Sandwiches". It is widely available from street vendors, albeit with zucchini and spices more suited to the Chinese palate.

•  Colombia: In the numerous Middle Eastern restaurants in Barranquilla with a large Arab population, shawarma is a light meal: other main courses have heartier portions.

•  Denmark: Shawarma was introduced in 1981 by Turkish migrant workers, and has become a staple. Shawarma is served with julienned salad, (onion, tomatoes, cucumber), lettuce, sour cream dressing and chilli oil in either a pita bread, rolled in a flat bread (dürüm) or served on pizza.

•  France: In France, shawarma (or chawarma) is served in Arab and very few Israeli restaurants, although they are not considered to be the real shawarma by the North African and Middle Eastern population. The same item can be bought from ubiquitous fast food vendors under the name sandwich grec, sandwich Turc, or kebab. In some suburban quarters of Paris, the "Remi" special shawarma has a religious like following because of its orignal pomegranate (grenade) sauce. Although the name may imply a Greek origin, the shawarma is not a Greek gyros. As a fast food item, it is frequently served with french fries (in the wrap, not on the side) and garnished with a yogurt sauce (sauce blanche) and/or harissa, or a number of other sauces. Doner kebab or sandwich kebab is also ubiquitous at Algerian (or North African) and Turkish owned fast food places. The specifically Algerian and Tunisian touch is the optional harissa.
•  Georgia: in Georgia, shawarma, known as shaurma has become a very popular street food.
•  Ecuador: In Ecuador, shawarma is a popular snack or light meal with vendors found all over the main metropolitan areas specially Urdesa. They were introduced by the Middle Eastern immigrant population.

•  Germany: In Germany, shawarma is rare; usually offered by small restaurants run by immigrants. In Shawarma is based on chunks of chicken or turkey meat marinated in a spicy yoghurt sauce. Cinnamon and coriander season shawarma marinade.

•  Greece: Owing to both it's similarities with Middle Eastern cuisine, and the historical presence of a large Turkish community in Greece, shawarma is one of the country's most popular sandwiches.

•  India: Shawarma found its way to India with non-resident Indians working in Persian Gulf Arab countries. Sometimes Paratha, an Indian flatbread originating in northern India but now eaten everywhere, is used instead of pita.

•  Israel: In Israel, shawarma (Hebrew: שווארמה) is a street food and offered in meat restaurants. Introduced by native Arabs and Jews who immigrated from Arab lands, the dish has become ubiquitous. Often the rotating skewer is placed at the front of the fast-food stand, exposed to the street. Shawarma is served in a pita or a lafa and is usually eaten with salad, hummus or french fries. In Jerusalem, the lafa is called 'esh tanur'. One of the condiments in demand is Amba. ^[1][2]

•  Mexico: In Puebla, shawarma was introduced by the numerous Middle-Eastern immigrants, mostly from Lebanon, but also Turkey and Iraq, in the early 1920s^[3]. Since then, it has become a traditional dish of the city, locally known as taco árabe, "Arabian taco", sold in taquerías orientales, "[Middle-]Eastern taco stands".^[4] Nonetheless, it is now usually made with pork and served either in pitas –locally called pan árabe, "Arabian bread"–, leavened bread –locally called torta árabe, "Arabian baguette", also called cemita–, or simply in flour tortillas. It is usually accompanied tahini and labneh –locally called jocoque–^[5] even though the skhug (or kharif) has been replaced with a thick chipotle-garlic sauce.^[6] In other parts of the country, most notably in Mexico City, the dish has adapted to the Mexican cuisine by replacing the pita with corn tortillas, in what is now called a taco al pastor, "Shepherd taco".^[6] Unlike a taco árabe, the taco al pastor is served with pineapple, cilantro, chopped onions and green or red salsa, and marinated with annatto sauce. Regardless of local adaptations, authentic middle eastern shawarma is available in the many middle eastern restaurants and kosher taquerias that cater to the large Mexican Lebanese and Mexican Sephardim communities.

•  Netherlands: In the Netherlands, shawarma (shoarma) is a popular meal. Here it is served as spiced pork (rarely), chicken, beef or lamb combined with salad and garlic sauce. It is usually served with French fries and can be bought from many places, including snackbars. It is generally served with pitã bread, which is cut open upon which the meat is placed inside. Shoarma in the Netherlands is generally not produced as described in the method above - spit roasted, but is pre-diced lamb or pork that is then grilled or fried, or a combination of both.

•  Pakistan: In Pakistan, Shawarma has been available as a road-side snack for many years, due to it being brought back by non-resident Pakistanis who worked in the Persian Gulf states. However it acquired cult status in Karachi in the late '90s following the opening of the restaurant known as Damascus Restaurant^{[citation needed]}. It became closely associated with the sheesha fad which was taking place at the same time.^{[citation needed]}

•  Paraguay: Shawarma is known in Paraguay as a popular fast-food and it's called lomito árabe (arabian steak), there are more than two chains fast-food restaurants that sells them as the main product with other typical middle-east food.

One of the many shawarma stalls in University of the Philippines Diliman during the University's Christmas Lantern Parade.

•  Philippines: In the Philippines, shawarma is a popular food found at both street side and indoor shopping mall stalls, mostly in Metro Manila and other major cities, such as Cebu City. Shawarma is often cooked using beef in a large pita bread, and served with vegetables such as onion and tomatoes. The shawarma wrap can usually be topped with locally made cheddar cheese for a few Philippine pesos. Its popularity began during the 80s, but has long passed being a fad. At present, "Shawarma Rice" is gaining popularity with younger diners. It consists of the same ingredients as regular shawarma, with the exception of the bread, which is replaced with fried or seasoned rice.

•  Romania: In Romania, shawarma (şaorma or shaorma) is very popular, with venues being renowned throughout cities. Shawarma is usually cooked using lamb, beef or chicken in a lavash or, possibly, pita bread. It also commonly contains french fries, pickles, fried or fresh onion, tomatoes, cabbage and sometimes gherkins. The most common dressings are a combination of spicy garlic sauces, spicy red sauces (containing hot peppers, tomatoes and aromatic herbs), mayo and ketchup (or, possibly, other sweet red sauces containing tomatoes and/or vinegar and sugar). Traditionally, the shawarma shops also sell Döner Kebabs, falafels, lemonade, ayran and kefir.

A shawarma ad in Russian and Arabic, Moscow

•  Russia: In Western Russia, shawarma (Russian: шаурма, шавурма or шаверма) has become a popular street food in large cities. In Moscow this food is called "shaurma", while in St. Petersburg it is "shaverma", despite being the exact same item. It is generally eaten with a variety of julienned vegetables, tomato sauce, and garlic sauce that is wrapped in lavash. Russian-style shawarma is similar to döner kebab made of beef, pork or chicken.

•  South Africa: In South Africa, shawarma is extremely popular and widespread since there is a large Muslim population and hence a demand for halal food. The Anat [1] and Mivami [2] chains of shawarma restaurants are found all over the region. Here shawarma is made with beef, chicken, turkey, or often a combination in a soft pita. Most shawarmas come standard with hummus, tahina sauce, tzatziki (garlic sauce), chili flavoring, choice of vegetables, etc. Barbecue and other sauces may be added to taste as well. Most shawarma shops augment their menus with falafel and burgers.

•  Senegal: In Senegal, shawarma is a common fast food for the predominantly Muslim populace. It is usually made with some sort of meat with spices, onions and herbs to taste. It is considered as typical first date food among Senegalese youth.

•  Suriname: In Suriname, shoarma is widespread. A local fast food chain called 'wolly's' has a signature dish called 'patat shoarma' which consists out of french fries, shoarma chicken covered with Indonesian peanut sauce, ketchup and garlic sauce. It is cheap fast food and accessible to most people. There are also some more exclusive restaurants with more traditional recipes, but they are not as popular as the beforementioned one.

•  Syria: In Syria, along with Falafel, Shawarma is the most popular street food. Damascus, which contains some of the oldest Shawarma eateries in the region is particularly renowned for its Shawarma and is widely considered the point from which this specialty spread to other parts of the Middle East and the world. One can obtain Shawarma both as a sandwich (Either in Arabic or baguette bread, or in "Arabic" style, where the sandwich is toasted and then cut into small pieces which can then be served on a plate and dipped in garlic sauce. The addition of Pomegranate sauce to the sandwich is one of the distinguishing qualities of Syrian shawarma.

•  Switzerland: In Switzerland, similar to Germany, shawarma is surpassed in popularity by döner kebab. Döner stands are very common around areas with large Turkish immigrant populations in most major cities, such as Basel and Zurich.

•  Spain: In Spain, like in other parts of the Western world, shawarma is a fast food offering that is particularly popular with lunchtime and late-night crowds. Although more famous for tapas bars that offer free snacks with each drink, Granada, with its large student population and Islamic/Arabic heritage, is also a shawarma hotspot. Calle Elvira, which contains numerous bars and clubs that cater to locals and foreigners alike, also houses establishments serving shawarma and kebabs.

•  Taiwan: In Taiwan, shawarma (Mandarin Chinese: 沙威馬 shāwēimǎ) is usually made from chicken and is served on a leavened, white flour bun with julienned cabbage, a slice of tomato, sliced onions, ketchup, and mayonnaise. It is often sold in night markets in Taiwan.

•  Tunisia: In Tunisia, shawarma is a very popular imported dish. There are three different names: "Turkish", "Lebanese", and "Syrian". The only difference is in the spices and techniques used, which are jealously held secret by every chef. The meat (chicken, lamb, turkey or beef) is served inside the typical Tunisian bread (called "tabuna") or inside the more middle-eastern pita-like bread, together with a wide variety of flavors and some vegetables: garlic sauce, chick-pea sauce, local meshuya (a salad made out of grilled capsicum, tomatoes and garlic), cheese, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and fried chips. Every customer will choose his own flavors when ordering his shawarma.

•  United Arab Emirates: In the United Arab Emirates, shawarma is quite popular. This is due to the relatively low price, the ease in which a shawarma is prepared, as well as its taste being appealing to many of the UAE's residents. Most local cafeteria offer shawarma (mostly chicken) for a price range between AED 3 (apprx US$ 1) and AED 4 and can go up to AED8. Some restaurants offer a larger size shawarma which usually serves as a lunch meal along with some drink. Arabic bread is mostly used.

•  United Kingdom: In the United Kingdom, shawarma consists of slices of skewered meat which are served in a pita with salad, pickles^[7] and tahina. The original shawarma take-aways first appeared in Piccadilly Circus in the early 70's, catering mainly to tourists and Arab expatriates, but quickly spread to other parts of the U.K. However, the döner kebab is more widespread in the UK.

•  Ukraine: In Ukraine shawarma became a popular street food in most large cities in just a few years since beginning of XXI century, while was almost completely unknown until then. In Ukraine this food is called "shaurma" just like in Western Russia (Moscow variant of name).

•  United States: Shawarma is usually found in regions and localities that host a concentration of Arab or Jewish population, such as Detroit, Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago, South Florida, California, Washington DC, and New York City. An almost direct result of the conflict in the Middle East, shawarma is also popular among American soldiers when returning home.

•  Venezuela: In Venezuela, shawarma is commonly seen on the streets of Caracas, and Puerto La Cruz at food business stands. Shawarma carts have become as popular in Venezuela at food business stands as the common empanada.

• West Africa: Introduced by Middle Eastern migrants, shawarma (spelled chawarma in Francophone countries) is a popular street food. In Nigeria, shawarma is usually served in Lebanese restaurants, and they are a popular delicacy among Arabs, Nigerians and Indians.

See also

• Al pastor
• Cağ kebab
• Döner kebab
• Dürüm
• Gyros
• Iskender kebap
• Kebab
• List of kebabs
• Souvlaki
• Yakitori

Notes and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shawarma