Shawarma

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Shawarma (Arabic: ???????) also spelled shawurma or shawerma, is a Levantine meat preparation, where lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, veal, or mixed meats are placed on a spit (commonly a vertical spit in restaurants), and may be grilled for as long as a day. Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving, and the remainder of the block of meat is kept heated on the rotating spit. Shawarma can be served on a plate (generally with accompaniments), or as a sandwich or wrap. Shawarma is usually eaten with tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato, and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus, pickled turnips, and amba.

Related dishes in the region include Turkish döner kebab and Greek gyros.

Video Shawarma

History

Though grilling meat on a skewer has ancient roots in the Eastern Mediterranean with evidence from the Mycenaean Greek and Minoan periods, grilling a vertical spit of stacked meat slices and cutting it off as it cooks was developed in the 19th century in Ottoman Bursa (modern Bursa, Turkey) by a cook named Hadji Iskender; this is döner kebab, which is the origin of shawarma, Mexican tacos al pastor, and Greek gyros.

Maps Shawarma

Etymology

Shawarma is an Arabic rendering of Turkish çevirme [t?evi?'me] 'turning', in reference to the rotisserie-cooked nature of the meat, which turns around an axis. Similar naming conventions apply to the Turkish döner and the Greek gyros, both of which reference the turning action of the associated cooking mechanism.

Levantine Shawarma, Vegan-Style with Tahini Sauce - The Gentle Chef

src: thegentlechef.com

In popular media

Towards the end of the 2012 superhero film The Avengers, after the group's battle with the Chitauri army, Iron Man expresses his desire to eat shawarma to celebrate. In the post-credit scene, the titular group is seen tiredly eating shawarma at a local eatery in New York City. According to TMZ this led to a temporary boost in shawarma sales in Los Angeles when the movie opened.