Chicken Shawarma

Chicken cooked in yummy spices, enclosed in a freshly made flatbread with veggies, sauce and cheese; this is how you make delicious chicken shawarma with ease at home.

We bring this recipe to you in partnership with Maldive Gas and all the cooking for our shawarma was done over a gas stove powered by one of their ‘Lui Fulhi’ gas cylinders.

As the name suggests, ‘Lui Fulhi’ is much lighter than the steel cylinders usually used in the Maldives. And on top of that it is non-explosive, making it so much safer too.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

To marinate the chicken

• 300g chicken breast
• ¼ cup plain yoghurt
• 1 tsp. grated garlic
• 1 tsp. chilli powder
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• ½ tsp. coriander powder
• ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. olive oil

For the sauce

• 5 tbsp. plain yoghurt
• 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. honey
• ½ tsp. grated garlic
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper

For the dough

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 7 tbsp. yogurt

To cook the chicken

• 2 tbsp. olive (for frying the chicken)

Veggies and cheese

• ½ cup chopped lettuce
• 4 tomato slices
• 4 onion slices
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

1. Cut the chicken breast into strips.
2. To a bowl add chicken, plain yogurt, grated garlic, chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, salt and 1 tbsp. olive oil and mix until combined well.
3. Cover and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to cook the chicken.
4. To make the sauce, into a bowl add plain yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, garlic, salt, black pepper, and mix until combined and set aside.
5. To make the dough, mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add yogurt and mix until a dough is formed.
6. Place the dough on a floured surface. Then knead a couple of times to form a ball and divide into 2 balls.
7. With a rolling pin roll each ball out into an 8-9 inch circle. Now you have two flatbreads ready to be cooked.
8. Heat a pan on medium and place a flatbread on it. Cook until puffed and bottom side has golden spots (about 1 to 2 minutes). Then turn the flatbread over and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to a plate and repeat with the other flatbread.
9. Heat oil in pan and add the marinated chicken. Cook on high heat until browned (for about 10 minutes, 5 minutes each side).
10. Now for assembling the wraps. Place a flatbread on a plate and spread 1 tbsp. of the sauce in the center of it. Then place ¼ cup chopped lettuce, half the cooked chicken, 1 more tbsp. sauce, ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, 2 onion slices, and 2 tomato slices on top of it in this order (do this on one side of the flatbread, so that you can roll it up). Then roll it up. You can secure with a toothpick if it looks like it could open. Repeat with the other flatbread.
11. Heat a pan on medium heat. Lightly brush the pan with a little bit of olive oil and place the wraps on it. Toast the wraps until golden brown on both side making sure to flip gently so that the filling does not come out. Once done remove to a plate and serve while warm.

Note: You can contact the Maldive Gas Hotline 1616 to get the Luifuhi.