Shawarma

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Shawarma
Shawarmafood.jpg
Shawarma
Type Meat
Place of origin Ottoman Empire[1]
Region or state Middle East, Levant
Main ingredients Meat: lamb, chicken, turkey, beef
Sandwich: Shawarma meat or shawarma falafel, pita or wrap bread, chopped or shredded vegetables, pickles and assorted condiments
Cookbook: Shawarma  Media: Shawarma

Shawarma (Arabic: شاورما‎) also spelled shawurma or shawerma, is a Levantine meat preparation, where lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, veal, or mixed meats are placed on a spit (commonly a vertical spit in restaurants), and may be grilled for as long as a day.[2][3] Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving, and the remainder of the block of meat is kept heated on the rotating spit. Shawarma can be served on a plate (generally with accompaniments), or as a sandwich or wrap. Shawarma is usually eaten with tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato, and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus, pickled turnips, and amba.

Related dishes in the region include Turkish döner kebab and Greek gyros.[4]

History[edit]

Though grilling meat on a skewer has ancient roots in the Eastern Mediterranean with evidence from the Mycenaean Greek and Minoan periods,[5][6][7] grilling a vertical spit of stacked meat slices and cutting it off as it cooks was developed in the 19th century in Ottoman Bursa (modern Bursa, Turkey) by a cook named Hadji Iskender; [8] this is döner kebab, which is the origin of shawarma, Mexican tacos al pastor, and Greek gyros.

Etymology[edit]

Shawarma is an Arabic rendering of Turkish çevirme [tʃeviɾˈme] 'turning', in reference to the rotisserie-cooked nature of the meat, which turns around an axis.[9] Similar naming conventions apply to the Turkish döner and the Greek gyros, both of which reference the turning action of the associated cooking mechanism.

In Montreal[edit]

A shish taouk platter from Zouki's at Carrefour Laval

Lebanese-Canadian-style chicken shawarma is usually given the misnomer shish taouk in Montreal.[10] It is usually served with a pita as a wrap or on the side. Montreal, and Halifax's Middle Eastern communities originate mostly from Lebanon, and this shish taouk is a popular restaurant staple that has made these communities familiar nationwide.[11] Most Lebanese-Canadian restaurants serve this dish, as well as beef shawarma (simply referred to as shawarma) and falafel. Some fast food chains in Montreal, such as Amir, Basha, Boustan, and Zouki's among others, specialize in shish taouk.

The term shish taouk in this application is technically inaccurate; that generally refers to Turkish style skewered chicken (Turkish şiş tavuk). However, in Montreal, a chicken shawarma is generally referred to as a shish taouk. The origin of this wrongful appellation (according to some members of the Lebanese community) has been blamed on Abdallah Akkouche of the Basha restaurant chain.[10]

Many of the "westernized" versions available in Montreal include using a garlic mayonnaise sauce. Montreal shish taouk is marinated in a mixture of olive oil, lemon, and garlic,[10] and is garnished with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickled turnip, and tahini sauce and/or hummus. Afterwards it is toasted on a grill or panini press. It is often served with home fried garlic potatoes, or sometimes white rice (often a pilaf), tabouli or couscous. Many restaurants also offer a shish taouk platter, which offers all the ingredients above in a plated fashion rather than as a pita sandwich. Most shish taouk platters are served with a (usually white bread) pita on the side, which the customer can decline.

Notable restaurants[edit]

Of the many chains serving shish taouk in the greater Montreal area and National Capital Region, Amir is by far the largest with over 50 locations.[12][original research?]

There are also countless independent restaurants offering shish taouk and other Lebanese fare. Several of them have achieved a notoriety that goes beyond the limits of the metro area. Perhaps the most famous of these is Boustan, near the corner of Crescent and Maisonneuve,[10] which used to have Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau as a regular customer.[13] The former owner of Boustan, Imad Smaidi, is one of the most prominent objectors of the term shish taouk.[10]

In popular media[edit]

  • Towards the end of the 2012 superhero film The Avengers, after the group's battle with the Chitauri army, Iron Man expresses his desire to eat shawarma to celebrate. In the post-credit scene, the titular group is seen tiredly eating shawarma at a local eatery in New York City.[14] According to TMZ this led to a temporary boost in shawarma sales in Los Angeles when the movie opened.[15]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Prichep, Deena; Estrin, Daniel. "Thank the Ottoman Empire for the taco al pastor". pri.org. Retrieved 19 March 2017. 
  2. ^ Philip Mattar (2004). Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle Eastern (Hardcover ed.). Macmillan Library Reference. p. 840. ISBN 0028657713. Shawarma is a popular Levantine Arab specialty. 
  3. ^ John A La Boone III (2006). Around the World of Food: Adventures in Culinary History (Paperback ed.). iUniverse, Inc. p. 115. ISBN 0595389686. Shawarma - An Arab sandwich similar to the gyro. 
  4. ^ Aglaia Kremezi and Anissa Helou, "What's in a Dish's Name", "Food and Language", Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 2009, ISBN 190301879X
  5. ^ Ancient Greeks Used Portable Grills at Their Picnics but,
  6. ^ To Vima (in Greek), 6-2-2011 (picture 2 of 7)
  7. ^ Wright, Clifford A. (1999). A Mediterranean Feast. New York: William Morrow. pp. 333.
  8. ^ Kenneth F. Kiple, Kriemhild Coneè Ornelas, eds., Cambridge World History of Food, Cambridge, 2000. ISBN 0-521-40216-6. Vol. 2, p. 1147
  9. ^ Dr. M.T. Al-Mansouri (2011). Terrorism, the Origin and the Sources: An Anthology of Poetry Ambigrams and Political Oratories. Trafford Publishing. p. 307. ISBN 9781426941825. 
  10. ^ a b c d e Brownstein, Bill (26 October 2005). "Shushed on shish". The Gazette. Montreal: Canwest. Archived from the original on 17 July 2006. Retrieved 2010-01-12. 
  11. ^ MacDonald, Austin (2008). Montreal & Quebec City for Dummies. For Dummies. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-470-15338-3. 
  12. ^ "Bienvenue chez Amir" (in French). 2006. Retrieved 2010-01-12. 
  13. ^ Brokaw, Leslie (2009). Frommer's Montréal & Québec City. Frommer's. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-470-49731-9. 
  14. ^ http://ew.com/article/2012/11/29/avengers-shawarma-scene/
  15. ^ http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/08/avengers-movie-shawarma/

External links[edit]

  • Media related to Shawarma at Wikimedia Commons
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