Chef Avtar Singh Rana’s Signature Shawarma Recipe
Authentic Middle Eastern flavors • Juicy shawarma • Fresh salads • Signature dips
This recipe is ideal for your live shawarma counter, featuring tender marinated meat, toasted wraps, creamy dips, crunchy salads, and golden French fries.
1. Chicken shawarma
Ingredients
Yield: 10 wraps
Boneless chicken thighs — 1.5 kg
Thick yogurt — 150 g
Lemon juice — 60 ml
Olive oil — 80 ml
Garlic paste — 40 g
Ground cumin — 12 g
Ground coriander — 12 g
Paprika — 15 g
Turmeric — 3 g
Ground cinnamon — 2 g
Allspice — 5 g
Black pepper — 5 g
Salt — 18–20 g, adjusted to taste
Optional: cayenne pepper — 2 g
Method
Prepare the marinade: Combine yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, spices, and salt until smooth.
Marinate: Coat the chicken thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Cook: Thread the chicken onto skewers or roast on a wire rack at 220°C / 425°F until browned and cooked through. For a commercial-style shawarma counter, stack the marinated chicken tightly on a vertical spit.
Check doneness: Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 74°C / 165°F.
Rest and slice: Allow the meat to rest briefly, then slice thinly. For extra flavor, toss the slices on a hot griddle with a little olive oil to create crisp, caramelized edges.
2. Signature shawarma garlic sauce
Ingredients
Garlic — 50 g
Neutral oil — 250 ml
Lemon juice — 50 ml
Ice-cold water — 30–60 ml
Salt — 5 g
Method: Blend garlic and salt until finely crushed. Slowly drizzle in oil while blending, alternating with small additions of lemon juice and cold water until the sauce becomes thick, white, and fluffy. Keep refrigerated.
3. Three more dips for your counter
Classic hummus
Blend 400 g cooked chickpeas, 80 g tahini, 50 ml lemon juice, 1–2 garlic cloves, 60–100 ml cold water, and salt. Finish with olive oil and paprika.
Cucumber tzatziki
Mix 300 g Greek yogurt, 100 g grated and squeezed cucumber, 10 g minced garlic, 15 ml lemon juice, chopped mint, salt, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Spicy harissa
Blend 100 g roasted red peppers, 20 g rehydrated dried red chilies, 3 garlic cloves, 5 g cumin, 5 g coriander, 20 ml lemon juice, salt, and 40 ml olive oil.
4. Fresh shawarma salad
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Thinly sliced red cabbage
Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers
Julienne red onions
Chopped parsley
Pickled turnips and cucumbers
Lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper
Toss the fresh vegetables lightly just before service to preserve their crunch.
5. Assemble the perfect shawarma wrap
Warm a pita, saj bread, or tortilla on the griddle.
Spread garlic sauce or hummus down the center.
Add 120–150 g sliced chicken shawarma.
Add lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, and pickled turnips.
Drizzle with extra garlic sauce and optional harissa.
Fold tightly and toast seam-side down until golden.
Cut diagonally and serve upright with French fries, hummus, tzatziki, and fresh salad.
6. Chef’s live-counter presentation
Cold mise en place
Keep sauces, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and salads in separate chilled containers.
Hot accompaniments
Serve fries freshly fried, with warm bread and freshly shaved shawarma.
Signature platter
Arrange sliced shawarma, hummus, tabbouleh, pickles, fries, lemon wedges, and three contrasting dips on a wooden board.
Chef’s tip: Offer several choices at the counter—chicken, beef, lamb, falafel, and vegetarian wraps—with different sauces and spice levels. Keep raw and cooked products separate, maintain cold foods at 5°C / 41°F or below and hot-held foods at 57°C / 135°F or above, following applicable local food-safety requirements.
