Shawarma chicken with Greek salad, flatbread, and homemade falafels

This recipe is for my fond memory of visiting Dubai. I will always remember the heat, the smell of the spices at the market and the taste of Shawarma roll from the street vendor.

Feeds a bubble of 4.

Ingredients

Shawarma Chicken 
500g chicken breast
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbs paprika
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp mild chili powder
1tsp ground black pepper

Greek Salad
4 ripe tomatoes
1 cucumber
½ red onion
Olives
Feta
 
Flat Bread
1 cup flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 cup of plain yogurt

Falafels
200 g dried chickpeas (soaked in cold water overnight)
1/2 red onion roughly chopped
½ cup of chopped parsley
1 bunch of fresh coriander
1 tsp of mild chili powder
1 tsp of salt
½ tsp of baking soda
3 garlic cloves
2 tsp of cumin
¼ tsp of ground pepper
2tbs of chickpea flour (or regular flour)

Greek yogurt dipping sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 clove of garlic crushed
1tsp of olive oil
¼ tsp of cumin

Cooking instructions

Shawarma Chicken
Slice the chicken breasts and marinate with all spices and a splash of olive oil. Add the crushed garlic. Make sure that you rub the spices in well. Cover and let it marinate for 4 hours or up to 24 hours in the fridge.
 
The best way to cook the chicken is on the BBQ or on a hot griddle pan, but if you don’t have either, just use a regular pan. Heat oil on the pan, add chicken and fry until fully cooked.

If you don't have all the spices, don't worry, you can leave some out or alternate for 1tsp of ground cloves or allspice.

Greek Salad
Cut all ingredients and mix it together in a bowl. I added fresh mint, parsley and coriander from my garden and sprinkled sumac on top - yum!

Flatbread
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl to make a soft dough. Cut into 6 pieces. Roll with a rolling pin or use your palms to flatten for a rustic look. Fry on a pan with oil.

Falafels
Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to your food processor. Add onion, garlic, spices, and herbs. Pulse until it resembles the texture of coarse sand. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add chickpea flour and baking soda, and mix together.
If the mix is too wet, add more flour, if it is too dry, add water or lemon juice.
Use a small spoon or an ice cream scooper to scoop and form the falafel into balls or patties, place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
To fry, heat 4 cm of oil on your deep pan or pot, Fry on medium heat for about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden. Remove them to a paper towel-lined plate.

Greek yogurt dipping sauce
Mix everything together in a bowl - it's that simple! 

I hope you will enjoy this meal as much as I did.

Happy cooking!
Lucie