Shawarma (Lebanese/Syrian beef with mixed spices) - also good with chicken.
Original recipe by Barry L. Kramer 3/2/2007
This is a very flavorful, not extremely hot recipe for beef (or chicken) shawarma. I developed this over a period of about a year, and make it about 8 times a year. It was inspired the first time I had it at a restaurant in New Jersey, but my recipe's better than any that I've ever had at a restaurant. It's very easy to make once you mix up a batch of the spice mixture.
Trim and cut up beef (or chicken) into thin slices, marinate 1 to 1.5 lbs. overnight to 3 days in the following well-combined mixture:
1 C plain lowfat yogurt
3 T fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large or 2 medium lemons)
1 T fresh garlic (crushed, chopped, or minced is fine)
1/2 t hot pepper sauce (use 3/4 t for a hotter version) - Sriracha
brand is excellent.
1/2 t cayenne pepper (use 3/4 t for a hotter version)
1 t kosher salt
1 T olive oil
1 t cider vinegar
1 1/2 t onion powder
1 1/4 T Lebanese mixed spices (Baharat; see recipe below)
Stir every 4 or 6 or 8 hours while marinating..
After marinating, fry beef strips individually in batches in peanut oil using a nonstick pan at medium heat. Brown both sides, turning only once. Remove batches and cover with foil to keep hot. When frying, if the pan seems to be getting too brown, add some water to deglaze. You don't want to burn the sauce, and a little water releases it for absorbtion onto the meat.
After beef is fried, you can fry onions in the pan until soft or golden brown; they will absorb the spices. Add some water as necessary to release the flavors from sticking to the pan excessively. Or, add water to deglaze, then add cooked white rice to the pan to absorb the flavors of the sauce.
It is not necessary to fry it all at once. Frying more batches in the same pan improves it, so if you plan to fry more the next day, cover the pan with foil and refrigerate it, and fry the next batch in that same pan. Add water as necessary to deglaze. The sauce tends to stick to the pan, and releasing it improves the flavor even more.
Optionally serve with rice + toasted almonds and Tahini Sauce:
1/2 C tahini
1/2 C water
1/4 t garlic crushed or ground up
1T olive oil
3T lemon juice
1/2 t kosher salt
sprinkle of black pepper.
Shake or whisk together, add a little more or less water to get your desired consistency. This sometimes thickens on standing or storing, so add more water as needed.
Lebanese mixed spices (Baharat) for shawarma
Make one batch of the following to make about 1/2 cup:
1T ground allspice
1T ground black pepper
1T ground cinnamon
1t ground nutmeg
1t ground cardomom
1t ground cloves
1t ground ginger
1t ground coriander
1t ground cumin
1t ground fenugreek
1/2 t ground mace
Mix together in a jar; can be stored for about a year of shawarma enjoyment!
Or, prepare a larger batch 3x at a time and store in a salsa or pickle jar:
3T ground allspice
3T ground black pepper
3T ground cinnamon
1T ground nutmeg
1T ground cardomom
1T ground cloves
1T ground ginger
1T ground coriander
1T ground cumin
1T ground fenugreek
1/2 T ground mace