The pandemic has made it hard to go to restaurants and enjoy foods that you get in restaurants. Even going to get take-out can be challenging. I decided I wanted to eat shawarma but I didn’t want to go out. Instead I decided to make some oven baked chicken shawarma.

Begin by mixing the spice mix. This is probably the most important part of the recipe. For the spice mix, I like using a mixture of black pepper, salt, cayenne, allspice, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. Combine all the spices, 1/4 cup oil and 2 lbs of chicken. Let it marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 360F. When ready to bake the chicken, prepare a baking tray by lining it with aluminum foil. Cut the potatoes into halves. Put half a chopstick into each and place onto the baking tray.

Take the marinated chicken and carefully skewer them into the chopsticks. Divide the chicken between the 4 potato halves. Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes or until the inside of the chicken skewer is cooked. To prevent the chopsticks from burning, add some tin foil to the exposed parts.

After about 55-60 minutes the chicken should start getting dry and browned on the outside. When the chicken is cooked, let it sit for about 10 minutes and then carefully take the chicken off the chopsticks and slice. Serve with a side of rice, fresh veggies, wraps, tahini or any other sauces. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Spice Mix

• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (less if you don’t want it too spicy)
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano

Other ingredients

• 2 lbs of boneless and skinless chicken
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 potatoes
• 2 chopsticks

Directions

1. Combine all the spices, oil and chicken. Let it marinate overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 360F.
3. When ready to bake the chicken, prepare a baking tray by lining it with aluminum foil. Cut the potatoes into halves. Put half a chopstick into each and place onto the baking tray.
4. Take the marinated chicken and carefully skewer them into the chopsticks. Divide the chicken between the 4 potato halves.
5. Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes or until the inside of the chicken skewer is cooked. The chicken should start getting dry and browned on the outside.
6. When the chicken is cooked, let it sit for about 10 minutes and then carefully take the chicken off the chopsticks and slice.
7. Serve with a side of rice, fresh veggies, wraps, tahini or any other sauces. Enjoy!

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out the other ones on the blog.