Chicken Shawarmas

Name: Chicken Shawarmas
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 shawarmas
Ingredients: 1 clove garlic, minced; ½ cup mayonnaise; 2 tablespoon unsalted butter; 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces; 1 ½ teaspoon garam masala; 4 pita bread rounds; 4 dill pickle spears

36 Ratings
26 Reviews
8 Photos

These taste exactly like the ones we used to get at the shawarma stand when I was stationed at Kuwaiti Naval Base, just outside Kuwait City. Give 'em a try, you won't be sorry!

By Luke Summers

+ 4

+ 3

prep:

15 mins

cook:

10 mins

total:

25 mins

Servings:

Max Servings:

Nutrition Info

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
1 ½ teaspoon garam masala
4 pita bread rounds
4 dill pickle spears

Directions

Step 1

Stir together the garlic and mayonnaise in a small bowl; set aside. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir the chicken in the hot butter until white on the outside. Sprinkle with garam masala, and continue cooking until lightly browned on the outside and no longer pink in the center, about 4 minutes.

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Step 2

Spread the pita rounds with the garlic mayonnaise. Divide the chicken among the pitas, and place a pickle spear into each. Fold and serve.

Cook's Note

Steaming or wrapping pita bread in wet paper towel and warming in microwave with help the pitas to not break apart on you.

Tip

Aluminum foil helps keep food moist, ensures it cooks evenly, keeps leftovers fresh, and makes clean-up easy.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

515.74 calories; 31.23 g protein; 29.74 g carbohydrates; 1.47 g dietary-fiber; 1.04 g sugars; 29.77 g fat; 7.42 g saturated-fat; 91.6 mg cholesterol; 305.56 IU vitamin-a-iu; 21.13 mg niacin-equivalents; 0.82 mg vitamin-b6; 2.37 mg vitamin-c; 60.46 mcg folate; 66.2 mg calcium; 2.31 mg iron; 48.26 mg magnesium; 374.49 mg potassium; 590.6 mg sodium; 0.38 mg thiamin; 267.97 calories-from-fat; 23 percent-of-calories-from-carbs; 52 percent-of-calories-from-fat; 24 percent-of-calories-from-protein; 13 percent-of-calories-from-sat-fat

Reviews (26)

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Most helpful positive review

Christina

06/18/2011

Oh YUM...We LOVED these!!! I have never had/cooked with garam masala so I wasn't sure what to expect but it was wonderful! I also seasoned the chicken with salt pepper and garlic powder (along w/ the garam masala) for extra flavor. I opted to use flatbreads because I felt it would hold up better and I wasn't disappointed. I only had sliced pickles on hand so I went with it. Oh and the garlic mayo just put this over the top! I really couldn't believe how these simple ingredients ended up being such a delicous sandwich...hubby was even impressed! I will definately be making these again for sure! Thanks for sharing.:)

Helpful

(10)

Most helpful critical review

LemonLush

05/19/2010

I wanted to give these a better rating but I felt the chicken was a bit bland. I also don't like mayonnaise but prefer a plain yogurt style tzaziki sauce - easy to make with plain yogurt grated cucumber garlic & lemon juice. I made these the second time with the changes and marinated my chicken strips for a couple hours in a bit of olive oil lemon fresh garlic oregano and the garam masala. We grilled these on the grill and heated the pita on there too. Added the sauce and they were delicious. I've never had them with a pickle but my son thought that was a super idea. Great summer dish and I added a side of Tabouleh salad as a cool salad sticking to the Middle Eastern theme. Thanks for submitting - one could do alot with this dish to make it the way they like it. Thanks for serving!

(22)

36 Ratings

5 19
4 13
3 4

Shearone

06/13/2014

I did not follow the recipe directions on preparing these. Instead of placing the pita bread flat then piling the ingredients on top folding and serving I placed my Toufayan Pita rounds between two damp paper towels and placed in the microwave for less than a minute. Removed from the microwave laid the rounds flat and cut in half making two halves. I then took my fingers and lifted the cut edges up to form the pita pockets no tears in the pita bread and no mess when enjoying the ingredients inside the pocket. I used McCormicks Gourmet Collection Master Blends Garam Masala and Mt. Olive Deli Style Kosher Dill Relish made with sea salt. Mrs. J another Buzz Recipe Group participant suggested the minced garlic be combined with honey to alleviate the skunky taste" of the garlic and I followed her suggestion which was spot on. We enjoyed the Chicken Shawarmas and will be making again. Thank you for sharing your easy quick and tasty recipe Luke Summers. Recipe Group Selection on June 7 2014.

(6)

Ichigo

01/24/2011

I don't have garam masala so I used a combination of cumin coriander ground black peppercorns cinnamon cloves ginger and garlic...and I was supposed to use cardamom too but I didn't have any. I also used a little salt and a pinch of nutmeg. I just used as much as I thought I needed of everything but you can look up a recipe for garam masala online too. Anyway besides that I sliced up some cucumber since I don't have pickles (yes really). I'm sure I will make this again some time! We had it for dinner but it would be great for lunch too!

ONIOND

06/12/2014

RECIPE GROUP: Yum yum yum. DBF actually said out loud "it's like a party in my mouth!" He doesn't really talk like that so obviously this was a huge win. It was super easy too once I got past the garam masala (had sticker shock at the grocery store so decided to make my own using 'Easy Garam Masala' from this site). Somehow managed to run out of fresh garlic so had to use powder:( but that won't happen again! Helped that my pickles were homemade and super garlicky. Loved the ease of preparation and fabulous flavor can't wait to make again!

(3)

Kristen B.

06/13/2012

Ohmygoodness! These are delicious. My husband and I were looking for something comparable to our favorite Mediterranean restaurant and I think we found it. The ingredients are so simple that I was honestly surprised at how great it turned out. I am kind of wishing that I had doubled the recipe now so that we could have more leftovers for tomorrow but I will just have to make this again soon. I was leery about the pickles but I really think that this would taste kind of plain if they weren't in it. So good! With as much as we liked this we will probably be making this every week and that is not like me at all. Thank you for this fabulous recipe Luke!

Holiday Baker

06/15/2012

This was tasty but not exactly what I know of chicken shwarmas. The chicken was pretty close and I liked the added pickles. The garlic is also a must. However the ones I have tried had the garlic but it was a slightly different garlic sauce. I also think they had tahini in them too. Also from what I remember there was also some vegetables lettuce onions or something. This sandwich though was easy to make. I even used the recipe Easy Garam Masala from AR and made what I needed for the recipe. ty

(2)

COACHINGVOLLEYBALL

08/11/2011

It was wonderful. I put lettuce in the pita instead of pickles. I also use Creole seasoning instead.

(1)

Anonymous

09/20/2011

These were pretty good but I made lots of changes. I used thighs instead of breasts. I used a basic curry seasoning I had on hand. I used half mayo and half sour cream for the garlic spread. I had fresh from the garden tomatoes lettuce and onion so I sliced those up and used them instead of pickles. My 3 and 5 year old boys liked it too. I'll be making this again.

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