When I googled shawarma I ended up getting a whole bunch of recipes for our Döner Kebap. Goes to show how much google knows about stuff, since shawarma (which I have only had in London, actually) is completely different from Döner which is just plain meat. No spices, no nothing. Slap it on the roaster as is, cut when done, stick it inside a pita bread with a few tomato slices, and that is pretty much it for Döner. Shawarma, on the other hand, as the recipe below shows, has a filling that needs to be prepped, marinated, and whatnot.

What I also found out, is that the word "shawarma" is an Arabic rendering of the Turkish word "çevirme" which means "turned" or "turning". Never made that connection, I have to admit. So, I guess Shawarma is a Middle Eastern / South Asian adaptation of our good old Plain Jane Döner, after all. Hmmm...

There will definitely be a post for Döner on this blog at some point, but meanwhile shawarma is absolutely delicious. Very much along the lines of what my tastebuds crave for: Juicy and greasy. I prefer the pork variety, but chicken or meat is very good as well, of course. In the genuine street food article, the marinated meat is roasted on a rotisserie. When you make this at home, you will probably not have such a contraption sitting around in your kitchen. But, the recipe below provides a pretty good alternative, I think.