One thing we absolutely love, and we bet you do too, is how versatile shawarma is when it comes to preparation. Chicken, goat meat, pork, beef… add mayonnaise or leave it out, sprinkle in some powdered pepper or skip it entirely. Fancy beetroot in your veggie mix? Go for it. Prefer carrots instead? No problem. Onions? Yes please! That’s the beauty of shawarma. It’s a special dish that embraces all your taste preferences. You can always tweak it to suit your mood.
In this Nigerian-style chicken shawarma recipe by Kiki Foodies, she keeps it classic and simple with ingredients like boneless chicken breast, hot dogs, cabbage, carrots, and a special sauce.
She starts by pan-frying the chicken, seasoning it with a drizzle of oil, salt, powdered pepper, chicken seasoning, stock cubes, minced garlic, onion powder, and a splash of lemon juice to get it nice and tender. She cooks the chicken on both sides for about four minutes, then lets it rest before slicing it into smaller pieces. This helps to lock in the moisture.
Next, she pan-fries the hot dogs just enough to get a bit of browning on both sides. For the veggies, she keeps it traditional with carrots and cabbage, sliced very thinly. She uses both green and purple cabbage for a lovely pop of colour, but reminds us that you can always add any vegetables you prefer.
Then it’s time for the sauce. Her go-to mix includes mayonnaise, sweet chilli sauce, lemon juice, powdered cayenne pepper, and ketchup. For a healthier twist, she suggests swapping in Greek yoghurt for the mayo. Once the sauce is well mixed, she combines the chicken, veggies, and cream, fills the shawarma bread generously, rolls it up, and places it in a pan over low heat to seal everything in nicely.
Watch how she makes it below
