We all know The Avengers love it, but what is shawarma, and where does the name come from?
In short, Shawarma is an Arab dish of roasted meat served either plated or in a
wrap with garnish and sauces.
شاورما
broken down (from right to left):
sh = ش
a = ا
w = و
r = ر
m = م
a = ا
As you can see, Arabic is a phonetic language, and the word shawarma is
actually a phonetic rendering in Arabic of a Turkish word, çevirme, whose meanings include turning and rotation. (there are no "tch" or "v" sounds in the Arabic language)
This is pretty logical, as both dishes are cooked in the same way: on a rotating spit.
This is pretty logical, as both dishes are cooked in the same way: on a rotating spit.
The term çevirme is actually no longer the tag for this dish in Turkey. Now you will hear instead of döner kebap (donner kebab in the UK), which has a similar etymology: Döner kebap means roughly rotating roast.
Kebab on its own does not, therefore, actually denote the fast food rotisserie delicacy that we believe it does in UK. When we ask for a kebab we are simply asking for roasted meat.
Other kebaps include the şiş kebap (shish kebab. Literally: skewer kebab)
Kebab on its own does not, therefore, actually denote the fast food rotisserie delicacy that we believe it does in UK. When we ask for a kebab we are simply asking for roasted meat.
Other kebaps include the şiş kebap (shish kebab. Literally: skewer kebab)
Why rotate?
Turning the meat allows the meat to cook evenly. Traditionally this would have been horizontally, but now the spits are usually vertical, allowing the fat from the meat at the top to drip down and baste the meat at the bottom.
Turning the meat allows the meat to cook evenly. Traditionally this would have been horizontally, but now the spits are usually vertical, allowing the fat from the meat at the top to drip down and baste the meat at the bottom.
The Greek also adopted this method with their gyros. And again, it's all in the name: gyros' definitions include turn and circuit
γύρος
broken down:
γ = g
ύ = y
ρ = r
ο = o
ς = s
Greek is another phonetic language, though, so they also initially borrowed from the Turkish, before penning the name gyros. This time it was döner which was borrowed. It became:
ντονέρ
broken down:
ντ = nt
ο = o
ν = n
έ = e
ρ = r
As a slight aside: one might assume that the french-named equipment is also named after its rotational action, but rotisserie actually comes from the verb rôtir, to roast.
So, are there any differences between our turny meat cousins? A few.
All can be made with a variety of meats, though lamb is more common with döner.
All can be plated or wrapped in local flatbreads - taboon bread for shawarma, pita for döner and gyros - with such staple salad foods as cucumber, tomato and lettuce.
Some local variations on garnish and sauces follow:
shawarma
tabbouleh (a salad of tomatoes, parsley, mint, bulgur and onion, seasoned with olive oil, lemon and salt)
fattoush (a salad of toasted/fried pita bread, mixed greens, radishes and tomatoes)
tahini (sesame seed paste)
hummus
pickled turnips
amba (mango pickle)
döner
cabbage
onions with sumac (a lemony spice)
pickled/fresh cucumber
chili
gyros
feta
haloumi
tzatziki (strained yogurt with cucumber, garlic, salt, olive oil and redwine vinegar)
mustard
Turned over and out.
shawarma
tabbouleh (a salad of tomatoes, parsley, mint, bulgur and onion, seasoned with olive oil, lemon and salt)
fattoush (a salad of toasted/fried pita bread, mixed greens, radishes and tomatoes)
tahini (sesame seed paste)
hummus
pickled turnips
amba (mango pickle)
döner
cabbage
onions with sumac (a lemony spice)
pickled/fresh cucumber
chili
gyros
feta
haloumi
tzatziki (strained yogurt with cucumber, garlic, salt, olive oil and redwine vinegar)
mustard
Turned over and out.
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