Spicy Fusion Kitchen: gyros

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Chicken Gyros or Shawarma Recipe

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Nothing beats a delicious, filling Sunday lunch with the family,

and this meal is just that.

I love it, from the "wow factor"

to the taste taking me to the streets of Saudi eating shawarmas.

It's a great meal to prep in advance because it's totally worth it.

A little back story on Chicken Gyros/Shawarma,

it was invented in Turkey and named 'Doner Kebab' (rotating meat),

when it was introduced to Greece the locals called it 'Gyros' (Greek for turn)

and finally when it spread to the Middle East

it started being called 'Shawarma' (Arabic for turning).

So my mum actually saw a similar Chicken Gyros/Shawarma Recipe

on a 'Tasty' Video

and we love to experiment in the kitchen so we had to try it.

Now we didn't use the exact recipe because we like to change things up

but this recipe is inspired by it,

I will say if you're ever nervous to try cooking videos just take a chance,

sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised.

- CHICKEN MARINADE INGREDIENTS -

8 - 10 Pieces of Chicken Fillet (1kg of Chicken Fillet)

2 Tbsp Crushed Garlic

1 Tbsp Ground Cumin

1 Tbsp Coriander Powder

2 Tbsp Red Chili Powder

2 tsp Red Chili Paste

1 tsp Freshly Grated Ginger

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/4 tsp Cinnamon Powder

1 tsp Turmeric

2 tsp Black Pepper

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Lemon Juice

2 Cups Plain Yogurt

Salt To Taste

Try to be as light handed with the Cinnamon Powder, I will suggest add a little and if you prefer add more. I literally had to make the marinade again because I used too much and it was too over powering.

- CHICKEN METHOD -

Combine in a large bowl all the marinade ingredients (minus the chicken fillet) and keep aside.
Now on a cutting board place your chicken fillet, cover with some plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin till your chicken fillet is flat (around 1cm thick). Continue till they're all done.
Next, add your chicken fillet to the bowl with the marinade, make sure they're coated well and keep aside for 1 - 2 hours minimum.
Pre-heat your oven to around 200 Degrees Celsius.
Now take your baking tray/large iron skillet and layer it with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Either take an onion or lemon, cut it in half (this will be the base) and position a long skewer vertically like a spit. In simple terms position the skewer in the middle of the half onion or lemon.
Now once it's stable, skewer the chicken fillet individually, rotating each one 90 Degrees, till they're all layered over each other and place the other half of a lemon/onion on the top.
Drizzle the left over marinade over and cover loosly with the aluminum foil tightening the top.
Grill in the oven for around 2 hours, I would suggest every 15 minutes opening the foil and with a spoon just drizzling the marinade over the meat, close it up and pop it back in the oven.
Keep checking that your meat is cooked before serving.

- TZATZIKI SAUCE -

1 Large Cucumber Shredded/Cubed

1 Cup Plain Yogurt

1 Tbsp Crushed Garlic

2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Dill

2 1/2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley

Salt and Pepper To Taste

Mix all the ingredients and chill in the fridge till serving time.

- SALAD -

1 Lettuce

1/2 Cucumber

2 Carrots

1 Red Onion

1 - 2 Tomatoes (depending on size)

Cube your cucumber, carrots, onion and tomato(es).
Make a salad and leave to chill in the fridge till serving time.

- PARATHA/ROTI/PITA -

Personally I like to make my own paratha, but you could just purchase your own or serve it with pita.
This will be needed for the Shawarma part. Check out a previous Paratha recipe I've shared before which I love using for this dish or any wrap dish.
I will suggest rolling it thinner than shown in the picture on the paratha post.

GARLIC AND GREEN CHILI PARATHA RECIPE