Chicken Shawarma (Arabic Wrap with Garlic Toum)
چکن شوارما (لہسن والی ٹوم کے ساتھ عربی رول)
Shawarma is the Arab world's favourite street food, sold from vertical spits in Beirut, Damascus, Amman, Dubai and now almost every city on earth, including Karachi and Lahore. The Lebanese-style chicken version is marinated with lemon, garlic, yogurt and warm spices like cardamom, cinnamon and allspice, then wrapped tightly in thin bread with *toum*, a fluffy, powerful garlic sauce, plus pickles and sometimes chips. At home, roasting the marinated thighs on a hot tray and slicing them thinly gets you very close.
- ⏱ Total: 55 min
- Prep: 25 min
- Cook: 30 min
- Easy
- Serves 4
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Mix the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, oil, all the spices and salt. Coat the chicken well, cover and marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
For the toum, blend the garlic with a pinch of salt and the egg white (or mayonnaise) until smooth, then add the oil in a very thin stream with the blender running, adding a squeeze of lemon, until thick and white.
Spread the chicken on a hot oven tray and roast at 230°C (or under a hot grill) for 20–25 minutes, turning once, until charred at the edges. Rest 5 minutes and slice thinly.
Spread each bread with toum, add chicken, pickles and fries, roll up tightly and toast seam-side down in a hot pan for a minute.
Kitchen notes
Toum is strong; a thin layer is enough. It keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge.
If the toum splits, start again with a fresh egg white and slowly blend the split sauce into it.
For a plate (sahn shawarma), serve sliced chicken with fries, salad, toum and bread on the side.
The street food of the Levant
Shawarma descends from the Ottoman tradition of roasting stacked meat on a vertical spit, the same idea behind Turkish döner. In Lebanon and Syria it took on its own character, with a spice blend featuring cardamom, cinnamon and allspice, and with toum, the garlic sauce that defines it. Arab migrants then carried it around the world.
Toum, the garlic sauce
Toum is an emulsion of garlic, salt, lemon juice and oil, whipped until it’s white and fluffy, like a garlic mayonnaise with no egg. It’s very strong and very addictive. Adding an egg white or a spoon of mayonnaise makes it easier to get right at home.
Shawarma around the world
In the Gulf and South Asia, local styles have developed: thicker sauces, cabbage, chilli sauce or fries inside the wrap. This recipe follows the classic Lebanese approach, but feel free to adapt it.
Serving
Serve wrapped, or as a plate with fries, salad, toum and bread, alongside hummus and fattoush. For a beef version, use thinly sliced sirloin with the same marinade plus a splash of vinegar.
Questions people ask
How is it different from döner?
They share an origin. Arabic shawarma uses more warm spices like cardamom and cinnamon, and comes with garlic toum and pickles; Turkish döner is usually served with yogurt sauce and salad.
Can I make toum without egg?
Yes. Traditional toum is just garlic, salt, lemon and oil, emulsified slowly. The egg white or mayonnaise just makes it easier.
Why is Pakistani shawarma different?
Pakistani shawarma usually uses a creamy mayonnaise-yogurt sauce, cabbage and chilli sauce. This recipe follows the Lebanese style.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 590
- Protein
- 40 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
