Sixteen ingredients and forty minutes of work after a half-hour marinade. Two things are made: the spiced chicken and the sauce, and they meet on an open flatbread.
The spice set here is sumac, smoked paprika, allspice and cardamom rather than cumin and coriander, and the sauce is Greek yogurt with no mayonnaise in it.
Why This Recipe Works
- Oil and lemon juice carry four ground spices onto the meat and hold them there through high heat.
- Thirty minutes is enough for thigh meat; the marinade is about surface flavour rather than tenderising.
- High direct heat is what chars the edges, which a covered pan would not do.
- Chilling the yogurt sauce while the chicken cooks gives cold against hot on the plate.
- Resting five minutes before slicing keeps the juices in the meat rather than in the flatbread.
Ingredient Notes
- Sumac
- Two teaspoons, and the largest spice in the marinade. Tart and deep red, it is most of what gives the chicken its colour and its distinctness from the other shawarma here.
- Allspice and cardamom
- Half a teaspoon of each. Small warm spices that take the marinade somewhere a little different.
- Plain Greek yogurt
- A cup, and it is the whole sauce base — there is no mayonnaise in this one.
- Lemon juice, twice
- A tablespoon in the marinade and another in the sauce. Measured separately because they season two different things.
How to Make It
Marinate thirty minutes
Mix olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, paprika, allspice, cardamom, salt, and pepper. Coat chicken and marinate 30 minutes.
Whisk the sauce, chill it
Whisk yogurt, grated garlic, lemon juice, and chopped dill or parsley; chill while the chicken cooks.
Char hard, to 165F
Grill or sear chicken over high heat until deeply charred at the edges and 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Rest 5 minutes, then slice.
Flatbreads open, chicken on top
Lay flatbreads open on plates. Pile chicken on top rather than wrapping it.
Drizzle, and sauce alongside
Drizzle with herbed yogurt sauce and serve tomato wedges, raw red onion, and an extra bowl of sauce alongside.
Built Open, Not Wrapped
Everything below shapes this shawarma - the spices, the sauce, and above all the shape of the finished plate.
The flatbread - laid FLAT
One of 4 soft flatbreads, laid open on the plate. Not folded, not rolled, not wrapped. This single decision is what lets the char, the drizzle and the raw onion all stay visible.
The chicken - a different spice set entirely
A quarter of 1 1/2 lb of thighs marinated 30 minutes in 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 TSP SUMAC, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp cardamom, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, then charred over HIGH heat to 165F, rested 5 minutes and sliced. Sumac, allspice and cardamom are the spices that define this marinade.
The sauce - yogurt, and no mayonnaise
1 cup of plain Greek yogurt whisked with 1 finely grated garlic clove, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp of chopped dill or parsley, chilled while the chicken cooks. There is no mayonnaise in this sauce at all.
Tomato and raw red onion
2 tomatoes in wedges and 1/2 a small red onion thinly sliced, alongside rather than inside. Both raw, both on the plate rather than tucked into a wrap where they would not be seen.
A second bowl of the same sauce
Served alongside. The sauce appears twice, drizzled over the chicken and again in its own bowl, which only makes sense on an open plate.
Assembled in that order and served immediately, with the cold sauce against hot charred meat. Wrapped, every one of the five components above would be hidden.
Success Tips
- Get the pan or grill properly hot before the chicken goes on; the char needs it.
- Chill the sauce while the chicken cooks so it is cold when it hits hot meat.
- Lay the flatbreads flat and pile on top — this one is not wrapped.
Serving Ideas
Four open flatbreads on pale plates, each piled with the charred sliced shawarma and drizzled heavily with the herbed yogurt sauce, with tomato wedges, raw red onion and a separate bowl of the sauce alongside.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I wrap these?
No. The flatbread stays open and the chicken is piled on top.
How is the spicing different from the other shawarma?
This one is built on sumac, smoked paprika, allspice and cardamom. The other uses cumin, coriander, turmeric and cinnamon, and its sauce contains mayonnaise where this one is Greek yogurt alone.
Can I cook it covered or in sauce?
The deep char at the edges needs high direct heat. A covered pan or a braise cooks the chicken through and leaves it pale.
