Shawarma
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Image:Döner kebab slicing.jpg Shawarma (Arabic: شاورما ) also spelled shwarma, shawerma, or shoarma from Turkish word çevirme (read "chevirme") meaning 'one that is rotated' and which became 'shewerme' under Arabic pronunciation) is a Middle Eastern-style sandwich usually composed of beef, chicken, or lamb. Depending on the origin or location of a restaurant, the recipes they use may be different. The process of cooking the meat is the same. It is slowly roasted on a rotating machine, similar to a gyro machine, usually with one or two sources of heat over a period of several hours. The meat that is slowly cooked is then shaved off with a large knife and drops to a circular tray below to be retrieved. It is served in a pita bread that looks similar to a taco shell usually garnished with lettuce, tomatoes, and a milky type sauce with assorted spices. It is flavored with vinegar and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Some schwarma restaurants are Americanized and substitute beef in place of lamb or chicken. This popular dish can be found served in places like Palestine, Jordan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries.
While shawarma originated in Turkey (under the name döner kebab, where döner means 'one that turns' whereas çevirme means 'one that is rotated' in Turkish), it is a ubiquitous form of fast food in many Arab countries, particularly Syria and Lebanon which have a particularly deep-rooted tradition of preparing the dish. Along with falafel, it is considered a national food of Israel. In Turkey, however, çevirme may refer to any kind of meat roasted on a horizontal skewer; e.g. tavuk (chicken) çevirme. On the other hand, in Larousse Gastronomique (1st edition), what is referred as "tchevir me kebab" in a subentry of the article Kebab is döner kebab.
Shawarma is made by placing strips of meat or marinated chicken on a skewer with animal fat and an onion or tomato placed at the top of the stack for flavoring. The skewer rotates in front of or over a flame so that the meat is grilled from all sides (see vertical rotisserie) and cut right before serving. Traditionally a wood fire is used, but nowadays a gas flame is more common.
Shawarma is most commonly eaten as a fast food, made up into a sandwich with pita bread or rolled up in Arabic lafa bread (a sweet, fluffy flatbread) along with vegetables and a dressing. Vegetables commonly found in shawarma include cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, parsley, pickled turnips, pickled gherkins and cabbage.
Common dressings include tahini (or tahina) and hummus. Chicken shawarma is often served with garlic mayonnaise, pomegranate concentrate, a chili sauce, or any combination of the three. Once the sandwich is made up it is normally dipped in the fat dripping from the skewer and then briefly seared against the flame. In Syria and Lebanon, chicken shawarma sandwiches are generally toasted after being made up, whereas meat sandwiches are eaten straight away.
Sometimes beef is used for shawarma instead of lamb, and turkey is also occasionally used instead of chicken, depending on the establishment. Less common alternatives include fish and sausage. Some stores use hot dog buns but most have pita and lafa; sometimes a choice of all three is available. Shawarma is very often served with a plate of french fries, or sometimes the fries are put inside the pita instead.
Shawarma is also eaten as a dish in itself, served with grilled bread and garnish.
In Bulgaria, shawarma is a Goulash-like dish.
In Russia, shawarma (Template:Lang-ru or Template:Lang) became one of the most popular street foods. Originally from the former Soviet Republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan, shawarma in Russia is generally eaten with a variety of Julienned vegetables, tomato sauce, and garlic sauce that is wrapped in lavash. Russian-style Shawarma is similar to Döner kebab made of Beef, Pork or Chicken.
In Taiwan, shawarma (Mandarin Chinese: 沙威馬 shāwēimǎ) is usually chicken and is served on a leavened white flour bun with julienned cabbage, a slice of tomato, sliced onions, ketchup, and mayonnaise. It is often sold in night markets in Taiwan.
Brought there by Lebanese migrants, Shawarma (often spelled 'Chawarma', the French spelling) is a popular street food in West Africa.
Montreal's (mainly Lebanese) Arab population have made shawarma fast food restaurants ubiquitous there; chicken shawarma is called shish taouk. There are also numerous shawarma fast food restaurants in Ottawa and Windsor.
Shawarma is found in many places in the United States. In Los Angeles, the large Middle Eastern population makes shawarma almost ubiquitous; Zankou Chicken, a chain which began in Hollywood, has garnered a local cult following.
In Mexico City and Puebla, Mexico, shawarma was introduced by Lebanese immigrants in the early 1920s. Nowadays, it is usually made with pork marinated in annatto paste, and served on corn tortillas. This fast food is known as taco al pastor. It is very popular, and eaten mostly around midnight.