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Chicken schwarma sandwich cut in half with half balanced on a red onion

The Golden Balance Chicken Schwarma

There are so many things I need to say about this recipe but in order to get my point across immediately I will start by strongly suggesting you bookmark it at least. I know you’re busy, life is happening so I’m not going to insist you drop everything and make this for dinner tonight. It has a lot of different spices in it you may not have on hand and I’m not pressuring you, ok. I’m not pressuring you to make this chicken schwarma but if I were the kind of person who pressured other people, this is probably where I’d start.

I find a lot of recipes on Instagram (which is not in any way revolutionary) but I have to admit I find the majority of recipe video content on Instagram highly annoying. Not everything you make can be THAT GOOD. Not every single thing that comes out of the oven is going to make you do that thing where you take a bite, close your eyes, shake your head, open your eyes in shock and say to camera “This is SO GOOD you guys. You’re going to LOVE it.” Big smile and cut. Most of it is pretty good I’m sure but if we all reacted at the dinner table the way people on Instagram react to their own recipes our loved ones would be asking us if we’re alright. Or if we’ve been drinking.

That being said. I really did close my eyes and make an involuntary noise of satisfaction when I made this. It lives up to the hype and I made a modified version of it. Ahmad Alzahabi, known online as The Golden Balance, is charming as all get out and makes food that is utterly realistic. I have several of his recipes bookmarked for the future but I’m so glad I started here and I didn’t even smoke the meat or make the toum because I don’t have much of a blending capability in my kitchen. (I know, I’m working on it.)

People ask me sometimes what “Kith” means. It’s usually said “kith and kin” which is just an old fashioned way of saying “friends and family.” So the kith of Kith and Kitchen are the friends I like to share my kitchen with. Both the other cooks I find fun and inspiring and the friends I have in my actual kitchen to join me at the table. Ahmad is definitely kith. From his love of a good steak sandwich to the confession that garlic gives him heartburn, I think we’d have a great time together. And the fact is, he makes a great chicken schwarma. Not that I’m pressuring you to find that out but, you know, I kind of am.

PS. Because I didn’t make the toum sauce I’m not including it here. Go to the first link above for that if you’d like to make it.

PPS. I did, however, make the flatbread for it because our pitta breads were too small so I have added that below.

PPPS. The onion in the picture is sort of false advertising. It isn’t in the recipe, I made a salad to go on the side with it.

Making

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4 big sandwiches

30 minutes plus marinating time, can be done in as little as an hour

Ingredients

Schwarma Spice Blend

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp allspice

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp onion granules

1 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp clove

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

Add the following to make the marinade

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 white wine vinegar

1 lemon, juiced

2 Tbsp tomato paste

Marinate for as long as you can handle

1 kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs

To serve

Pickles (dill, cornichon, arabic, etc.)

Feta cheese

Easiest Ever Flatbreads

1 cup self rising flour plus up to another cup

1 cup full fat greek yogurt

Generous pinch of salt

Instructions

Let’s assume you have time to marinate the chicken for at least half an hour. If you can marinate it for longer, like overnight, go for it. I marinated it for about eight hours.

Take your CHICKEN THIGHS and cut them up in to strips about an inch wide and set aside while you make the marinade.

In a bowl that will be big enough to fit your chicken slices, measure out ALL THE SPICES under Schwarma Spice Blend. Mix them together well with a whisk or a fork. Add the OLIVE OIL, VINEGAR, LEMON JUICE and TOMATO PASTE. Mix together really well.

Add your chicken slices to the marinade and massage it all into the meat to make sure every piece is well covered. When you’re done, cover the bowl and put it in the fridge.

That can marinate for as long as you’d like but we’re assuming you have about half an hour.

If you have great flatbreads available to you, go watch your favorite half hour show. If you don’t these flatbreads are really the easiest, most effective things I’ve ever learned to make.

In a medium size bowl pour in a cup of SELF RISING FLOUR, a cup of full fat GREEK YOGURT and a generous pinch of SALT. This is a ratio game, which is why it’s so easy. So when I say a cup, it doesn’t need to be an actual measuring cup, any mug will do as long as you use the same one for the flour and the yogurt.

Mix that all together and you’re going to get a dough that comes together but is wet. Put more flour in your cup and keep it on the side. Still in the bowl, add a good pinch of flour and start working the dough with one hand. As you work the additional flour in it will get wet again. Add more flour, knead it in the bowl. Repeat until you have a ball of dough that you can set on a floured surface without it immediately sticking. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rest for 15 minutes.

If you’re making the flatbreads you’re going to need two large pans both on medium high heat. If you only have one, I’d make the flatbreads first and then the chicken. Let’s say you have two. Put one on a medium high heat and let it warm up. When it has warmed up, put one loose layer of the chicken in and don’t touch it for a few minutes so it gets some crust on the bottom. Don’t overcrowd the pan, take the time to do it in batches if you need to.

While the chicken is cooking, put your other large pan onto medium high heat. Or a griddle pan if you’re lucky enough to have one. One piece of dough at a time, roll it out into something approximating a circle the size of your pan. Put it into the hot, dry pan right away. It won’t take very long for the dough to bubble. Wait until it smells toasty until you try to flip it. You definitely want browned spots, I like them when they are even a little darker. Flip and let cook on the other side until toasted. Set aside on a plate with a tea towel to keep warm and repeat with the other three dough balls.

Between the flatbreads, check the chicken and give it a stir. It will need about seven to ten minutes to cook through fully. Put in your second batch if you needed to do it in phases.

When you’ve got your chicken cooked and your flatbreads ready, it’s just a matter of assembly. Take your flatbread, sprinkle some FETA CHEESE and some PICKLE on first and then pile the chicken on top. Roll it up tightly and cut in half to serve. SO GOOD.

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