SHAWARMA

Shawarma is a Middle Eastern wrap. Marinated, slow cooked and thinly sliced chicken, veggies and sauce wrapped in pita bread is what it is.

Shawarma has gained popularity in India as an 'on the go' food just like burger or sandwich. It has been indianised to some extent.

Thinly sliced veggies like onions, tomatoes, cucumbers can be added. Pickled cucumber, carrots, beet root can also be added. Sauces used in Shawarma differ from place to place.

Traditionally the chicken is slow cooked on a specially designed rotassarie.  Similar results can be obtained in the oven.

Here is the original recipe for Shawarma which can be easily prepared at home. Preparation of Shawarma is divided in four parts chicken marination, Shawarma bread, tahini sauce and the veggies. It may sound elaborate but doesn’t take much time. But surely you need to plan for this one.

Recipe for Shawarma

Ingredients 

For marinade

• 250gms boneless chicken (breasts or thighs)
• ½ cup thick yoghurt
• ½ tsp cumin seeds (roasted and ground)
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½  tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
• Salt to taste
• Oil for basting

For flat bread

• 2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
• ½ tsp dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp raw sugar or white sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For tahini sauce

• ½ cup tahini
• 2 tbsp thick yoghurt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• Few sprigs of parsley (finely chopped)
• Salt to taste

For salad

• 2 cucumber (thinly sliced)
• 2 tomatoes (thinly sliced)
• 2 onions (thinly sliced)
• 2 cups iceberg lettuce (roughly chopped)

How to make Shawarma bread

In a small bowl put dry yeast and raw sugar. Pour ¼ cup warm water. Keep aside for 5 minutes.

In a mixing bowl take the all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Add salt to it and mix well.

Add the activated yeast mixture. Knead a  soft dough by adding warm water. I required ¾ th cup of water to knead this dough.

Dust the working area with some flour. Now transfer the dough to a on the dusted surface. Knead for 6 to 7 minutes or until the dough becomes soft.

Apply some olive oil and keep into a big bowl (greased with oil). Cover with a moist cloth. Keep in a warm place to prove. That will require 2 hours or more depending on the climate.

Divide the dough in six equal portions. Shape them into balls. Cover with moist cloth for ten minutes.

Roll it thin into circles of 6 inches diameter.

Transfer it on medium hot griddle. Cook for two minutes on each side.

Cover them with moist cloth until consumed.

How to make Tahini sauce

Put all the mentioned ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Mix well.

How to make Chicken kebabs

In a mixing bowl combine the yogurt, garlic, cumin seeds, cinnamon, chilli flakes, chilli powder, tomato paste and salt with chicken pieces. Gently rub the marinade over the boneless chicken.

Marinate overnight.

Grill the chicken at 220 deg celsius for 10 minutes on each side. Keep aside.

How to assemble Shawarma

Spread a big spoonful of tahini sauce on the flat bread.

Place the veggies in the center of flat bread followed by thinly sliced chicken.

Fold it into wraps and eat immediately.

LAVASH

Lavash is a thin, soft, flat bread popular in Turkey, Iran and Middle eastern countries. It is served with kebabs, baba ganoush and hummus. It is used for making wraps and sandwiches. Check previous posts for recipe of kebabs and baba ganoush. I will be soon uploading the recipe for hummus.

As Lavash is very thin, it tends to dry out quickly. It is advisable to spray it with water after preparing it and wrapping it in moist cloth.

It is made from all purpose flour (maida), yeast, salt and water. I have added some proportion of whole wheat flour which has worked fine.

 

Recipe for Lavash

Ingredients for Lavash

• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour (maida)
• ½ cup whole wheat flour (atta)
• ½ tsp dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp raw sugar or white sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil

How to make

In a small bowl put dry yeast and raw sugar. Pour ¼ cup warm water. Keep aside for 5minutes.

In a mixing bowl take the all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Add salt to it and mix well.

Add the activated yeast mixture. Knead a soft dough by adding warm water. I required ¾ th cup of water to knead this dough.

Dust the working area with some flour. Now transfer the dough to a on the dusted surface. Knead for 6 to 7 minutes or until the dough becomes soft.

 Apply some olive oil and keep into a big bowl (greased with oil). Cover with a moist cloth. Keep in a warm place to prove. That will require 2 hours or more depending on the climate.

Divide the dough in six equal portions. Shape them into balls. Cover with moist cloth for ten minutes.

Roll it thin into oval shape.

Put it on medium hot griddle. Cook for two minutes on each side.

Once cooked lightly spray some water on it. This will prevent the lavash from drying and will keep them soft. Also cover them with moist cloth until consumed.

Serve it with kebabs, baba ganoush or hummus. 

PUDINA PARANTHA

Parantha or paratha are one of the most popular unleavened flatbreads in India. The dough is made from whole wheat flour or all purpose flour (maida). Plain parantha, stuffed parantha, the choices are endless.

Mint or pudina is usually stuffed in a parantha along with potatoes or cottage cheese or cauliflower filling. In this recipe the pudina is mixed with the flour. It gives a nice flavour to the regular plain parantha.

Paranthans can be roasted in oil or ghee (clarified butter).  The given proportions yield four paranthas.

Recipe for Pudina Parantha

Ingredients for Pudina Parantha

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves (roughly chopped)
• 1 green chilly (finely chopped)
• ¼ tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• 2 tsp oil or ghee
• salt to taste
• oil or ghee for roasting

How to make

In a mixing bowl take whole wheat flour, green chilly, mint leaves, carom seeds, salt and two teaspoon of oil. Give it a nice mix.

Add water to knead soft dough.

Let it rest for fifteen minutes.

Divide the dough in four portions and shape into balls.

Dust a ball with dry flour so that it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin.

Roll it into a circle of about six inches of diameter. Spread half teaspoon of oil or ghee.

Four fold it and roll it into round, square or triangle shape. I have demonstrated a triangle shape in the photos.

Roll it into a triangle of six inches height.

Transfer it on a medium hot griddle. Flip it after fifteen seconds.

Smear some half to one teaspoon of oil on parantha.

Flip again, smear some more oil on the other side.

Cook by lightly pressing the parantha from all sides.

Serve with vegetable curry or plain curd.  

GULACHI POLI

Gulachi poli is a flat bread, stuffed with sesame seeds and jaggery. This festive dish is mainly prepared during Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival of Maharashtra which is celebrated in the month of January. A huge pile of these polis are prepared a day before the festival. They can be stored for upto a week.

The following recipe has half and half quantity of groundnuts and sesame seeds. Groundnuts give a nice twist in the taste.

These polis are extremely healthy as a snack as well as a sweet dish.

Recipe of Gulachi Poli

Ingredients of dough

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup oil
• ½ tsp salt
• Water to knead

Add oil and salt to the flour. Mix well.

Add water as required to make a stiff dough. Keep aside for 20 minutes.

Ingredients for filling

•  ½ cup sesame seeds (dry roasted)
• ½ cup groundnuts (dry roasted)
• 1 cup jaggery (grated )
• ½ tsp cardamom ( powdered)
• 2 tbsp ghee or clarified butter ( for serving)

How to make

First grind sesame seeds and groundnuts together to get a coarse powder.

Remove in a plate. Add jaggery and cardamom powder. Mix with hand.

Divide the mixture in two parts. Now grind it again in two batches. Keep it aside.

Knead the dough again for two minutes. Divide in ten portions. Shape them into balls.

Flatten the balls with fingers, put one heaped tablespoon of the filling in it and seal the dough. This step has to be done carefully such that there are no holes in the dough.

Dust the balls with flour and roll it with a light hand as thin as a chapatti.

Shallow fry on a medium hot griddle applying half a teaspoon of oil on both sides. It will take one 

minute for each side.

Smear some ghee or clarified butter on the poli before serving.

WHOLE WHEAT ROSEMARY BREAD IN PRESSURE COOKER

Recipe for Whole wheat Rosemary bread in a pressure cooker

I am ready with my most awaiting recipe for baking and guess what.....the power supply goes duff......but this doesn't stop me from my baking.....my solution for this situation is the humble pressure cooker.........an essential part of each kitchen. This is not the first time I am baking in the pressure cooker. I have baked many of my cakes in the pressure cooker.

The texture of the wheat bread will be slightly on the denser side as compared to the regular refined flour bread but definitely you can count on its health factor.

No alterations have been done in the basic recipe of bread (to be baked in the oven).The results were more than satisfactory. This technique has come as a great saviour to me. I am sure many of you will agree with me…

This recipe is similar to the rosemary and garlic bread which I had posted recently. There is no change in the procedure accept the fact it will be baked in a normal pressure cooker. Even if you do not have an oven, that should not stop you from baking a bread at home.

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp crumbled fresh yeast

2 tsp crushed jaggery

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tbsp clarified butter

3 to 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

½ tsp salt

Flour for dusting

How to make

Put the jaggery and yeast in a small bowl. Add 2 tbsp of lukewarm water to it. Keep aside to froth.

Sift the flours in a big mixing bowl. Add salt and rosemary leaves. Mix well.

Make a well in the center. Add yeast to it and mix.

Knead to make a soft dough by adding about a ¾ cup of lukewarm water.

Transfer on a floured surface. Knead the dough for 12 to 15 minutes.

Knead by stretching and folding method.

Keep the dough in the bowl to prove.

Cover with a moist cloth. Keep aside till it doubles in size. Proving may take 40 to 60 minutes.

Knead the dough again. Shape it to fit into the baking tin (8”x3”).

Grease and dust the baking tin. Place the dough in the baking tin. Keep aside till it doubles in size.

Remove the weight and the gasket from the lid. Keep an inverted plate inside the cooker. Cover with lid and heat it on maximum heat for 5 minutes (I am using a 5 litres capacity cooker).

Remove the lid. Carefully place the baking tin. Cover with lid again. Reduce the heat. Bake for 30 minutes. Check the bread.

Demould after 5 minutes. Let it cool before slicing it.

Tips

• Kneading the dough for the suggested time gives good results.
• Proving time may vary according to the season.