Chicken shawarma pita

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This is the kind of chicken shawarma people come back to: warmly spiced, juicy, and tucked into soft pita with crisp salad and a cool garlic sauce. It tastes generous and familiar, but once you make it yourself, you notice how much better the texture and balance can be.

Serves: 4 people

Preparation time: 60 min

Ingredients

• Chicken thighs, sliced into strips – 700 g
• Greek yogurt – 150 g
• Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
• Garlic, grated – 3 cloves
• Ground cumin – 2 tsp
• Ground coriander – 2 tsp
• Paprika – 2 tsp
• Cinnamon – 1/2 tsp
• Olive oil – 2 tbsp
• Pita breads – 8
• Lettuce, tomato and red onion – for serving
• Garlic sauce or tahini sauce – to taste

Method

1. Mix the yogurt with lemon juice, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir in the chicken and leave it to marinate for at least 1 hour, and longer if you have the time.
2. Heat a large frying pan or grill pan until properly hot. Cook the chicken in batches so it browns instead of steaming, and let the edges pick up a little colour.
3. Warm the pita breads briefly in the oven, toaster or dry pan. They should stay soft enough to fold but feel lightly heated through.
4. Slice the pitas open and fill them with lettuce, tomato and red onion. Add a generous spoonful of the hot chicken.
5. Finish with garlic sauce or tahini sauce and serve straight away while the pita is still warm and the meat is at its juiciest.