chicken shawarma

Dry-rub treatment

Shawarma is a huge part in the conclusion of the Avengers. Hint: If you are not one of the approximately 82 million people who have have seen the movie or just don't get this reference, see the movie and stay until the VERY end of the credits.

Shawarma is down-home Middle Eastern street food. I suppose it is analogous to hot-dog stands in New York. The rabble-rouser conspiracy theorist in me likes the idea that the all-American Avengers opt for Middle Eastern shawarma after ridding the world of Loki and those funky Transformer lookalikes.

In any case, I set out to make shawarma mostly from Epicurious and AllRecipes that
1) Did not require the purchase of a spit roaster
2) Did not require small amounts of many spices or food coloring. I just don't use cardamom and mace enough to justify a purchase.
3) Had more guidance than the mysterious "mixed spice" ingredient I also came across.

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2 packages of boneless/skinless chicken thighs
1 onion cut into rounds
2t Hawaiian salt
2t ground coriander
1t ground cumin 
Black pepper, to taste
1t ground white pepper
1t cayenne pepper
4-5T olive oil 

Shawarma Sauce
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon
Water, to thin sauce

Pita bread

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Whisk together all the dry spices. Press chicken into the spice mixture. Add onion rounds. Add just enough olive oil to keep the mixture moist, but it should not 'swim' in olive oil. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, but ideally for an afternoon or all day. 

Mix ingredients for sauce. Drizzle in water and stir smooth until you get the consistency of sauce you like. I prefer a thinner sauce. 

Grill onions separately from chicken. Grill pita. Eat chicken and onions with pita and drizzle on sauce to your taste.

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