{{short description|Middle Eastern dish}} {{pp-protected|small=yes}} {{Infobox food | name = Shawarma | alternate_name = Showarma, shaurma, shoarma, etc.<ref name="Marks 2010" /> | image = Шаурма 6.jpg | image_size = 300 | caption = A chicken shawarma wrap | place_of_origin = Ottoman Empire,<ref name="Marks 2010" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/shawarmah|title=shawarma|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref> Middle East | region = Levant | associated_cuisine = Arab | type = Rotisserie | served = Hot | main_ingredient = Meat (traditionally lamb or mutton, but also chicken, turkey, beef, or veal); pita, laffa, lavash, or any other suitable bread for a wrap; chopped or shredded vegetables; assorted condiments | similar_dish = Doner kebab, İskender kebap, gyros, al pastor }} '''Shawarma''' ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|ə|ˈ|w|ɑːr|m|ə}}; {{langx|ar|شاورما}}) is a popular street food in the Middle East that originated in the Levant during the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="Marks 2010" /><ref name="Prichep 2015">{{cite web |last1=Prichep |first1=Deena |last2=Estrin |first2=Daniel |date=2015-05-07 |title=Thank the Ottoman Empire for the taco al pastor |url=https://theworld.org/stories/2015/05/06/taco-youre-eating-got-its-start-middle-east |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508144455/https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-05-07/thank-ottoman-empire-taco-youre-eating |archive-date=2015-05-08 |access-date=19 March 2017 |website=PRI}}</ref><ref name="Salloum 2012" /><ref name="Mattar2004">{{cite book|author=Philip Mattar|title=Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa: D-K|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yqgUAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Shawarma+is+a+popular+Levantine+Arab+specialty.%22|year=2004|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|isbn=978-0-02-865771-4|pages=840|access-date=2015-11-14|archive-date=2023-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421034930/https://books.google.com/books?id=yqgUAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Shawarma+is+a+popular+Levantine+Arab+specialty.%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McNamee |first=Gregory Lewis |title=shawarma |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/shawarmah |website=Britannica}}</ref> It consists of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in an inverted cone, and roasted on a slow-turning vertical spit. Traditionally made with lamb or mutton, it may also be made with chicken, turkey meat, beef, falafel or veal.<ref name="Albala 2011">{{cite book|editor-first=Ken|editor-last=Albala|title=Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NTo6c_PJWRgC&q=shawarma|pages=197, 225, 250, 260–261, 269|publisher=ABC-CLIO|date=2011|isbn=9780313376269|via=Google Books|access-date=2020-10-20|archive-date=2023-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421034933/https://books.google.com/books?id=NTo6c_PJWRgC&q=shawarma|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Davidson 2014">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA259|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|last=Davidson|first=Alan|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=9780191040726|editor-last=Jaine|editor-first=Tom|series=Oxford Companions|location=Oxford|pages=259|oclc=1119636257|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="Marks 2010">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT1682|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food|last=Marks|first=Gil|publisher=Wiley|year=2010|isbn=9780544186316|location=Hoboken, N.J.|oclc=849738985|via=Google Books|access-date=2018-08-10|archive-date=2023-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421034939/https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT1682|url-status=live}}</ref> The surface of the rotisserie meat is routinely shaved off once it cooks and is ready to be served.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yqgUAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Shawarma+is+a+popular+Levantine+Arab+specialty.%22|title=Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa: D-K|last=Mattar|first=Philip|publisher=Macmillan Library Reference|year=2004|isbn=9780028657714|edition=Hardcover|volume=2|pages=840|oclc=469317304|quote=''Shawarma is a popular Levantine Arab specialty.''|access-date=2015-11-14|archive-date=2023-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421034930/https://books.google.com/books?id=yqgUAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Shawarma+is+a+popular+Levantine+Arab+specialty.%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ier6CmQ-e-kC&q=Shawarma+arab&pg=PA115|title=Around the World of Food: Adventures in Culinary History|last=La Boone, III|first=John A.|publisher=iUniverse, Inc|year=2006|isbn=0595389686|edition=Paperback|page=115|oclc=70144831|quote=''Shawarma - An Arab sandwich similar to the gyro.''|access-date=2020-10-20|archive-date=2023-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421034935/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ier6CmQ-e-kC&q=Shawarma+arab&pg=PA115|url-status=live}}</ref> Shawarma is a popular street food throughout the Arab world, Israel and the Greater Middle East.<ref>{{Cite book |last=الهواري |first=د عبد القادر |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8zxKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA54 |title=أسلمة العالم |publisher=ببلومانيا للنشر والتوزيع |pages=54 |language=ar}}</ref><ref name="Street Food">{{Cite book|title=Street Food Around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture|last1=Kraig|first1=Bruce|last2=Sen|first2=Colleen Taylor|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2013|isbn=978-1598849554|location=Santa Barbara, California|pages=xxv, 18–19, 127–129, 339|oclc=864676073}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name="WalkerCarter2007">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/omanuaearabianpe00walk|url-access=registration|title=Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula|publisher=Lonely Planet|year=2007|isbn=978-1-74104-546-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/omanuaearabianpe00walk/page/381 381]–|author1=Jenny Walker|author2=Terry Carter|author3=Lara Dunston}}</ref>
==Etymology== The name {{Transliteration|ar|shāwarmā}} in Arabic is a rendering of the term {{Transliteration|ota|çevirme}} in Turkish ({{IPA|tr|tʃeviɾˈme|}}, {{Literal translation|turning; hence, roughly synonymous to döner in this context}}), referring to rotisserie.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/culture/shawarma-the-arabic-fast-food-1.503641|title=Shawarma: the Arabic fast food|last=Al Khan|first=Mohammed N.|date=31 July 2009|website=Gulf News|access-date=7 January 2018|archive-date=4 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304025404/http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/culture/shawarma-the-arabic-fast-food-1.503641|url-status=live}}</ref>
The name is attested in English and Arabic as early as the 19th century; Socrates Spiro's 1895 Egyptian Arabic-English dictionary translated ''šāwirma'' ({{lang|ar|شاورمه}}) as "rich stew, roast meat".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Spiro |first1=Socrates |title=An Arabic-English Vocabulary of the Colloquial Arabic of Egypt: Containing the Vernacular Idioms and Expressions, Slang Phrases, Etc., Etc., Used by the Native Egyptians |date=1895 |publisher=Al-Mokattam printing office |page=301 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L6oYAAAAIAAJ&dq=cream&pg=PA301 |access-date=14 December 2025 |language=ar}}</ref>
==History== {{See also|Doner kebab#History}} [[File:Restauranthouder bij zijn shoarma spit, Bestanddeelnr 255-6509.jpg|thumb|Shawarma preparation in Lebanon, 1950]]
The technique of shawarma—grilling a vertical stack of meat slices and cutting it off as it cooks—first appeared during the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century in the form of döner kebab,<ref name="Marks 2010" /><ref name="Zeit 1996-05-10">{{cite news |author=Eberhard Seidel-Pielen |date=May 10, 1996 |title=Döner-Fieber sogar in Hoyerswerda |trans-title=Doner fever even in Hoyerswerda |url=http://www.zeit.de/1996/20/Doener-Fieber_sogar_in_Hoyerswerda |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225095338/https://www.zeit.de/1996/20/Doener-Fieber_sogar_in_Hoyerswerda |archive-date=December 25, 2021 |access-date=May 6, 2016 |newspaper=Die Zeit |language=de |quote=Neither in the written recipes of the medieval Arab cuisine nor in the Turkish cookbooks from the first half of the 19th century are there any indications. According to research carried out by Turkish master chef Rennan Yaman, who lives in Berlin, the doner kebab is an amazingly young creation of Ottoman cuisine. (Quote translated from the German)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr2qnK_QOuAC&pg=PA1147 |title=The Cambridge World History of Food, Volume 2 |date=2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521402156 |editor1-last=Kiple |editor1-first=Kenneth F. |pages=1147 |quote=Bursa is the town that gave birth to the world-famous ''doner kebab'', meat roasted on a vertical revolving spit. |access-date=2019-07-23 |editor2-last=Ornelas |editor2-first=Kriemhild Coneè |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421034934/https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr2qnK_QOuAC&pg=PA1147 |archive-date=2023-04-21 |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=shawarma |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/shawarmah |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> which both the Greek gyros and the Levantine shawarma are derived from.<ref name="Marks 2010" /><ref name="Prichep 2015" /><ref name="kremezi">{{Cite book |last=Kremezi |first=Aglaia |author-link=Aglaia Kremezi |title=Food and Language: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2009 |publisher=Prospect Books |year=2010 |isbn=9781903018798 |editor-last=Hosking |editor-first=Richard |volume=28 |location=Totnes |pages=203–204 |chapter=What's in the Name of a Dish? |oclc=624419365 |access-date=2019-07-23 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ilvBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT202 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115045842/https://books.google.com/books?id=3ilvBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT202 |archive-date=2023-01-15 |url-status=live}}</ref> The innovation of this technique is credited by Encyclopedia Britannica to a 19th-century Turkish butcher named Iskender, whose shop in Bursa offered grilled meats that were layered on the vertical spit and slowly carved off into pieces.<ref>{{cite web |title=shawarma |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/shawarmah |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>
Shawarma led to the development during the early 20th century of the contemporary Mexican dish ''tacos al pastor'' when it was brought there by Lebanese immigrants.<ref name="Prichep 2015" /> The dish is also especially popular in Ottawa, Ontario, where a large community of the Lebanese diaspora exists.<ref>{{cite news |last=Deachman |first=Bruce |date=2017-09-02 |title=Shawarma: the staple of Ottawa cuisine |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/shawarma-the-staple-of-ottawa-cuisine |access-date=2024-02-25 |work=Ottawa Citizen}}</ref><ref name="ottawalaheeb"/>
==Preparation==
Shawarma is prepared from thin cuts of seasoned and marinated lamb, mutton, veal, beef, chicken, or turkey. The slices are stacked on a skewer<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blogs - Revolutionizing Flavor: The Ultimate Guide to Shawarma Machines Chinese restaurant equipment manufacturer and wholesaler |url=https://www.twothousand.com/resource-center/revolutionizing-flavor-the-ultimate-guide-to-shawarma-machines/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=www.twothousand.com}}</ref> about {{cvt|60|cm|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} high. Pieces of fat may be added to the stack to provide extra juiciness and flavour. A motorized spit slowly turns the stack of meat in front of an electric or gas-fired heating element, continuously roasting the outer layer. Shavings are cut off the rotating stack for serving, customarily with a long, flat knife.<ref name="Marks 2010" />
Spices may include cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric or paprika, and in some areas ''baharat''.<ref name="haaretz2017">{{cite news |last=Guttman |first=Vered |date=2017-05-01 |title=How to Make Shawarma Like an Israeli |url=https://www.haaretz.com/food/2021-08-04/ty-article-recipe-ext/.premium/your-guide-to-shawarma-with-an-israeli-twist/0000017f-db7d-d3a5-af7f-fbff6f330000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112033724/https://www.haaretz.com/food/.premium-how-to-make-shawarma-like-an-israeli-1.5467110 |archive-date=2020-11-12 |access-date=2019-02-16 |work=Haaretz}}</ref><ref name="Salloum 2012">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5TTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|title=The Arabian Nights Cookbook: From Lamb Kebabs to Baba Ghanouj, Delicious Homestyle Arabian Cooking|last1=Salloum|first1=Habeeb|last2=Lim|first2=Suan L.|publisher=Tuttle Pub|year=2010|isbn=9781462905249|location=Tokyo|pages=66|oclc=782879761|access-date=2019-02-16|archive-date=2023-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421034936/https://books.google.com/books?id=v5TTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|url-status=live}}</ref> Shawarma is commonly served as a sandwich or wrap, in a flatbread such as pita, shrak (saj), laffa or lavash.<ref name="Marks 2010" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Al-Masri|first=Mohammad|title=Colloquial Arabic (Levantine): The Complete Course for Beginners|publisher=Routledge}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A search for exceptional Syrian-style shawarma leads to the San Fernando Valley |url=https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2023-07-27/sincerely-syria-sherman-oaks-mamas-shawarma-northridge-review-bill-addison |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=20 April 2025 |date=27 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="ottawalaheeb">{{cite web |title=Dining In: Laheeb Shawarma and Laheeb Grill lifting the bar for Middle Eastern fast food |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/life/dining-in-laheeb-shawarma-and-laheeb-grill-lifting-the-bar-for-middle-eastern-fast-food |website=Ottawa Citizen |access-date=20 April 2025 |language=en-CA}}</ref> Some forgo the vertical spit in favor of a more traditional horizontal spit; this allows cooking over hot coals rather than electrical heaters, similar to cağ kebabı.<ref>{{cite web |title=13 best shawarmas in Jeddah that won't let you down |url=https://www.timeoutjeddah.com/food-drink/13-best-shawarmas-in-jeddah-that-wont-let-you-down |website=Time Out Jeddah |access-date=24 July 2025 |date=20 Nov 2022}}</ref>
== Regional varieties ==
In the Middle East, chicken shawarma is typically served with garlic sauce, fries, and pickles. The garlic sauce served with the sandwich depends on the meat. ''Toum'' or ''toumie'' sauce is made from garlic, vegetable oil, lemon, and egg white or starch, and is usually served with chicken shawarma. ''Tarator'' sauce is made from garlic, tahini sauce, lemon, and water, and is served with beef shawarma.
In Israel, most shawarma is made with dark-meat turkey, commonly served with tahina sauce instead of yogurt for kashrut reasons.<ref name="haaretz2017" /> It is often garnished with diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, pickled vegetables, hummus, garlic mayo, tahini sauce, sumac, or ''amba'' mango sauce.<ref name="Marks 2010" /> Some restaurants offer additional toppings, including grilled peppers, eggplant, or French fries.<ref name="haaretz2019">{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/food/2019-01-10/ty-article/.premium/shawarma-the-iconic-israeli-street-food-is-slowly-making-a-comeback-in-tel-aviv/0000017f-e978-d639-af7f-e9ff49780000|title=Shawarma, the Iconic Israeli Street Food, Is Slowly Making a Comeback in Tel Aviv|last=Laor|first=Eran|date=2019-01-10|work=Haaretz|access-date=2019-02-16|archive-date=2022-03-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305064546/https://www.haaretz.com/food/.premium-shawarma-the-iconic-israeli-street-food-is-slowly-making-a-comeback-in-tel-aviv-1.6824350|url-status=live}}</ref>
In Armenia and Georgia, shawarma is traditionally made with thin cuts of marinated meat which is left marinating overnight in spices such as coriander, cumin, cardamom, paprika, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tasty Yerevan {{!}} Eat the World Los Angeles |url=http://www.eattheworldla.com/2023/06/tasty-yerevan.html |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=www.eattheworldla.com}}</ref>
Nigerian Sharwama is a staple streetfood in Lagos.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mum |first=Naija UK |date=2021-02-02 |title=How To Make Nigerian Home Made Chicken Shawarma - Naija UK Mum |url=https://www.naijaukmum.com/nigerian-chicken-shawarma/ |access-date=2026-01-06 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In Nigeria the veggies are different as typically there are no tomatoes or onions in most Nigerian style sharwama but rather shredded cabbage and sometimes shredded carrots too.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicken Shawarma (Nigerian style) - KikiFoodies |url=https://kikifoodies.com/recipes/chicken-shawarma-nigerian-style/ |access-date=2026-01-06 |language=en-US}}</ref> Nigerian shawarma uses spices like garlic, thyme, cumin, onion powder, black pepper, paprika as well as boullion cubes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicken Shawarma (Nigerian style) - KikiFoodies |url=https://kikifoodies.com/recipes/chicken-shawarma-nigerian-style/ |access-date=2026-01-06 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shawarma: Chicken Shawarma |url=https://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/snacks/chicken-shawarma/ |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=All Nigerian Recipes |language=en-US}}</ref> Hot dog or sausage is also added to the sharwama. The sauce is a creamy blend of salad cream, mayo and ketchup with pepper powder.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-21 |title=Gifted Culinarian — Turkey-Chicken Shawarma (with a Nigerian twist) |url=https://giftedculinarian.com/new-blog/2017/7/20/nigerian-sharwama-f4s38 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Gifted Culinarian |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mum |first=Naija UK |date=2021-02-02 |title=How To Make Nigerian Home Made Chicken Shawarma - Naija UK Mum |url=https://www.naijaukmum.com/nigerian-chicken-shawarma/ |access-date=2026-01-06 |language=en-GB}}</ref> There are three main variants, chicken sharwama, beef sharwama and a combo version of both meat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicken Shawarma (Nigerian style) - KikiFoodies |url=https://kikifoodies.com/recipes/chicken-shawarma-nigerian-style/ |access-date=2026-01-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed"> File:Shawarma-sandwich-01.jpg|Shawarma in pita File:Shawarma, Rostov-on-Don, Russia.jpg|Shawarma on lavash File:Шаурма в лаваше сравнение 2 (cropped).jpg|Shawarma in cheese (top) and regular (bottom) lavash File:Mixed Shawarma (2843435528).jpg|Mixed shawarma with rice and tomatoes File:Shawarma preparation in central Aleppo, Syria.jpg|Slicing and preparation File:2019.07.09 DC Shawarma People and Places, Washington, DC USA 190 60018.jpg|Horizontally roasted shawarma being cooked over coals File:Chicken Shawarma preparation in Thiruvananthapuram 21 37 03 246000.jpeg|Chicken shawarma on a vertical rotisserie </gallery>
==See also== {{portal|Food}}
* Al pastor * Burrito * Doner kebab * Gyros * Kati roll
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Levantine cuisine}} {{Egyptian cuisine}} {{Sandwiches}} {{Street food}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Arab cuisine Category:Armenian cuisine Category:Bahraini cuisine Category:Culture of Ottawa Category:Egyptian meat dishes Category:Emirati cuisine Category:Georgian cuisine Category:Iraqi cuisine Category:Israeli cuisine Category:Jordanian cuisine Category:Kebabs Category:Kuwaiti cuisine Category:Lebanese cuisine Category:Middle Eastern grilled meats Category:Nigerian meat dishes Category:Omani cuisine Category:Ottoman cuisine Category:Palestinian cuisine Category:Qatari cuisine Category:Sandwiches Category:Saudi Arabian cuisine Category:Spit-cooked foods Category:Street food Category:Sudanese cuisine Category:Syrian cuisine Category:Street food in Nigeria