Shawarma is a delicious quick meal. Made up of thinly sliced meat, wrapped in a pita bread with veggies and sauce.

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef, boneless
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon allspice
2 cardanom pods
Juice from 1 lemon

For the sauce:

1 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons yogurt

For Pita fillings:

8 loaves of pita bread
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon sumac
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients except for beef, fillings and sauce ingredients and allow to marinade for about 5 minutes.
If it seems a little dry, add a little olive oil, one tablespoon at a time.
Add beef, cover and refrigerate at least e hours, preferably overnight.
In a stockpot or large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat for 45 minutes or until done. Be sure not to overcook, be sure to watch out while cooking and add a few tablespoons of water
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients, mix thoroughly and set aside.
Take the onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and sprinkle with sumac. Add other filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
When the beef is done, you can shred it, slice it, or leave into large pieces. But make sure it is thinly cut. I prefer cutting them into wide strips.
Prepare your pita, place enough beef on it, add the vegetables and pour sauce.
Roll it over gently. Or fill them into the pocket of the pita if you prefer it so.
Serve with fries


FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE BELOW TO MAKE THE PITA FOR THE SHAWARMA

Pita bread is used mainly in Nigeria for Sharwama, it can also be used for dipping or to make delicious sandwiches. It is normally hard to do this in a home kitchen, but this recipe, combined with high heat comes very close.

Ingredients:

1 pack of yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup lukewarm water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Procedure:


Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water.
Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Allow to stand for 10-15 minutes until water turns frothy.
Combine flour and salt in large bowl, then make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour the dissolved yeast and sugar mixture right in the depression
Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.
Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes, Until the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic.
Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.
Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
Then, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. At this point preheat your oven to 500 degree F. and make sure the rack is at the very bottom of the oven. Be sure to also preheat your baking sheet.
Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch think.
Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.
Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.
Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

NOTE: Pita bread can be stored for up to a week in a pantry or bread box, and up to a month in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer bags when storing in the freezer.