Udhailiyah, Saudi Arabia

I need a Shawarma!

I’m sitting here thinking about going to kobar down where we used to buy all our tapes ( that I still have) and walking across the street to get a shawarma. I am craving one sooo bad. I loved them things. If anyone from Udhailiyah reads this please send me one soon, I’m dying. Won’t be the same but here’s how you make one .

SHAWARMA   Serving size: 8                                                             

2 pounds beef, lamb or chicken – very thinly sliced           

Marinade: 1 cup yogurt 2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cloves garlic — minced

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon onion — finely minced

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground mace

1/2 teaspoon salt   

Combine all marinade ingredients. Add meat and marinate overnight. Place the marinated meat in a barbeque cage and cook over hot coals for 15 minutes. Combine tahini (sesame paste), clove of garlic, lemon juice and parsley until it is of a creamy texture, Add water if necessary. Place the cooked meat, sliced tomatoes and onions in pita bread and pour on the tahini mixture as desired.

NOTES : The cone of meat, marinated in yogurt and seasoning, is layers upon layers of meat (lamb, beef or chicken) place on a spit and topped off with an onion and lemon. The spit is placed vertically in front of an open flame. As the meat cooks it is turned. The shwarma chef takes his sharp knife in hand and cuts off paper thin slices of cooked meat which drop into a waiting tray below. The cooked meat, salad and yogurt or hot sauce are placed in the pocket of pita bread or on a long toasted roll.   

Rick Barnes