My husband and I are slightly obsessed with shawarma. It is just soooo good. There are all kinds of variations and ways to eat shawarma but today I made these simple chicken shawarma wraps. The combination of spiced chicken, Israeli pickles, fries and garlic sauce is about as tasty as it gets.
The chicken in these wraps is thinly sliced and marinated overnight in cumin, all spice, paprika, tumeric, chili, cinnamon, garlic, lemon and oregano, so it is highly flavorful. My favorite way to serve them is with the things I listed above – Israeli pickles, garlic sauce and fries. Sometimes I also make the pink pickled turnips for these the you sometimes see in them. They are delicious too. If you want a healthier/simplier version you can instead fill the wrap with lettuce, cucumber and tomato. You can also sub tzatziki sauce for the garlic sauce if you prefer.
Israeli pickles are made with small, thin skinned cucumbers and a good amount of salt. They can be bought jarred or canned. I usually get them here. You could sub American dill pickles too here, but if you do I’d buy the spears and maybe cut them into thinner pieces so they don’t totally overpower the wrap.
I use frozen fries for this (cook them first), but homemade would be even better. The garlic sauce for these is simply mayo/sour cream mixed with garlic, salt, lemon and a bit of sriracha.
You can serve these in pita bread or wrap bread. I love to make my own for this because it is so soft and fresh, but store wrap bread works too. I’m including my recipe for homemade wraps in case you’d like to try it.
Chicken Shawarma Wraps
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 3 boneless chicken breasts thin sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp tumeric
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- salt and pepper
For the wrap bread:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp butter, crisco or veg oil
- 1 tsp sugar
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- salt, pepper and sriracha to taste
To serve:
- cooked french fries
- sliced Israeli pickles
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the sliced chicken. Mix well and refrigerate overnight.
- Heat a few tbsp of oil in a skillet until smoking hot. Add the chicken and allow to cook on one side until well browned. Stir and allow to cook on another side until browned. Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through and nicely browned. Reduce heat if needed to prevent burning.
For the sauce:
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and allow to mix in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the meal.
For the bread:
- Add the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and butter into a bowl.
- Mix with your fingers until it is crumbly. Add the liquid and work the dough on a floured counter top for 8-10 minutes until smooth. You can also use a mixer for this.
- Set aside in a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap for 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 6 pieces and shape into balls. Leave them to rest, covered for 10 minutes.
- Roll each ball on a floured counter until it is a thin circle about 8 inches around. Do these one at a time as you cook them.
- Heat a dry frying pan over medium heat. Place one of the circles in the pan and cook for about a minute. Bubbles will form and the dough will get brown spots, but not black. If it is burning, turn the heat down. Flip over and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute until bubbled and cooked through.
- Place on a plate and cover with a clean towel while you cook the rest.
To serve:
- Spread some sauce on the wrap, add some chicken, pickles and fries and wrap up, tucking in the ends like a burrito. Cut in half and serve with some salad.