Beef Shawarma Dinner

20 min prep

20 min cooking

Serves 4

Difficulty 3/5

With familiar flavours of the classic crispy potatoes, seasoned rice, classic white sauce and a quick stir-fry of spiced beef, you can create your own take-put style shawarma platters easily at home. Start the rice and potatoes cooking while you prepare the sauce and beef to make dinner less time than going out. Make a chopped veggie salad (see Tip) and serve extra tahini alongside. Recipe adapted from the original by Life with Fariha.

1. Rice: Rinse rice in a sieve, stirring with fingers, until water runs clear. Drain and set aside. Bring 2 cups (500 mL) water to a boil over high heat in a saucepan. Add garlic powder, turmeric, butter and rice. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat off and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and season to taste with a squeeze of lemon juice. Set aside and keep warm. 2. Crispy Potatoes: Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into ¼-inch (5 mm) thick slices. Place in a bowl, season with salt and drizzle with oil; toss to coat. Spread in the air fryer basket, in batches as necessary. Set the temperature to 400°F (200°C) and set time for 20 minutes. (Alternatively, spread on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake in preheated 425°F oven, or 400°F convection oven for about 20 minutes). Cook until browned, crisp and tender inside. 3. White Sauce: Whisk together yogurt, tahini, salt, sugar, cumin, garlic and 1 tbsp (15 mL) water until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until serving. 4. Shawarma Beef: Cut beef across the grain into thin slices. Pat dry with paper towel. Combine beef, shawarma spice, salt, sumac, vinegar, oil and garlic in a bowl; toss to evenly coat. 5. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add half of beef and stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until browned but still pink inside. Transfer to a bowl; repeat with remaining beef. 6. To serve, arrange Rice, Crispy Potatoes and Shawarma Beef on serving boards or platters and drizzle with White Sauce.

Tip

*You can buy a shawarma spice seasoning, a blend of spices, in Middle Eastern stores, specialty spices shops and well-stocked supermarkets. Look for one without added salt or reduce the salt in the recipe to ¼ to ½ tsp (1 to 2 mL), adding more to taste after cooking. To make your own, combine 2 tbsp (30 mL) ground cumin, 2 tsp (10 mL) sweet paprika, 1½ tsp (7 mL) ground turmeric, 1 tsp (5 mL) ground coriander, ½ tsp (2 mL) EACH ground cinnamon ginger and black pepper and ¼ tsp (1 mL) ground cardamom in a jar and shake well to combine (Makes about 2/3 cup/150 mL). Measure 1 tbsp (15 mL) for the recipe and store remaining blend, tightly covered, for up to 3 months.

To make a tasty, crunchy chopped veggie salad for your platter, toss together chopped cucumber, chopped tomatoes, chopped red onions, chopped parsley in a bowl and season with salt and a drizzle of olive oil.

Beef Shawarma Dinner

Ingredients

Directions

Cuts Used in This Recipe

Top Sirloin Grilling Steak