Shawarma

A classic Levantine savoury, Shawarma has transgressed borders to become one of the most relished street foods globally today. Rather than a dish, Shawarma can more appropriately be called a Middle-Eastern process of meat preparation where thinly-sliced pieces of seasoned meat and fat are stacked alternately on a vertical, rotating spit or rotisserie, and grilled slowly throughout the day. In traditional Shawarma, lamb, chicken, beef, veal, turkey, or a mixture of meats were used and served with lavish side rhubarbs, cucumber, lettuce, onion, pickled turnip, or even French Fries. In modern preparations, shavings are cut from the meat block, tossed with vegetables, mixed with an array of sauces, pickles, hummus, and tahini, and finally wrapped in a lightly-heated pita or flatbread.

Etymologically, the Arabic term Shawarma was derived from the Turkish word “Cevirma”, which meant ‘turning’, alluding to the rotating rotisserie. It was around the 18th or 19th century when the rotating grilled meat was first invented in Turkey. As the dish travelled and reached the borders of Greece and the Middle East, terms like gyros (Greek) and Shawarma (Arabic) emerged. The German doner kebab is a similar adaptation of the dish.

Shawarma was introduced globally in the initial phases of the 20th century when immigrants from the Middle East, particularly Lebanese, Turkish, Armenian and Iraqi, travelled throughout the Mediterranean, Europe and beyond. The dish received its numerous variations and adaptation to meet the palates of the different regions, like the contemporary Mexican preparation of tacos al pastor.

It is agreed that the most critical part of the entire preparation of a Shawarma is the process of vertical roasting of the meat, the due credit for which needs to be given to the chefs of the Ottoman Empire. They figured out that roasting the meat horizontally would lead to excessive dripping of the fat on the fire, which in turn would not only rid the meat of its moisture but would also burn it from the rising flames. Vertical grilling of the meat ensured that it cooked evenly on all sides to a perfect texture and remained saturated with fat, making it more tender and luscious.

In the 1970s, Shawarma became very popular in the United States as street stalls sprung up, offering the ‘Turkish delight’ across New York City and Chicago. Today, Shawarma is a grab-and-go delicacy that never fails to charm its admirers. No wonder the magic of Shawarma has transpired into the realm of science fiction and has become a hot favourite with the Avengers too.