Shawarma flavour without the spit: chicken and onions cooked in cumin, paprika and a touch of cinnamon, served over turmeric rice with a cucumber-tomato garlic-yogurt sauce. One plate is 40g of protein for 399 calories.

The pinch of cinnamon in the spice mix is what makes it taste like shawarma instead of just spiced chicken.

Ingredients

  • For the turmeric rice
  • Brown rice — ½ cup dry [P 7 C 73 F 3]
  • Water (or broth) — 1 cup
  • Turmeric, salt — for the rice
  • For the chicken shawarma
  • Chicken breast — 2, ~180 g each raw [P 74 C 0 F 7]
  • Onion — 1 medium, sliced [P 1 C 7 F 0]
  • Olive oil — 1 tsp (or spray)
  • Salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, cinnamon — to taste
  • For the garlic yogurt sauce
  • Fat-free yogurt — ½ cup [P 6 C 8 F 0]
  • Cucumber — ½ cup, chopped
  • Tomato — ½ cup, chopped
  • Minced garlic — 1 tsp
  • Lemon — ½, squeezed
  • Salt — a pinch

Method

  1. Cook the rice. Simmer the rice in the water with salt and turmeric, covered, ~25 minutes until the liquid’s gone.
  2. Marinate and cook. Cube the chicken and toss with the onion, oil, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and cinnamon; pan-cook 3–4 minutes a side until charred and cooked through.
  3. Make the sauce. Mix the yogurt, garlic, lemon, cucumber, tomato and a pinch of salt.
  4. Plate. Rice topped with the chicken and the garlic-yogurt sauce.

What to eat it with

  • In a pita — turn the plate into a shawarma wrap.
  • A side salad — bulks it for almost nothing.
  • Extra lemon and chilli — brightness and heat.

Variations

  • More traditional: add cardamom and nutmeg to the spice mix.
  • Lower carb: swap rice for cauliflower rice.
  • Thicker sauce: use Greek yogurt.

Honest notes

  • Fibre: about 3g a serving, from the brown rice and veg.
  • Chicken weight: written for ~180g raw breasts — see [Baked Chicken Breast] for the weight note.
  • Macros: reconcile with the per-serving 399 cal / 40g protein listed; no correction needed.