This middle Eastern meal is one of my all-time favourites. You can use just about anything in your fridge, it goes with chicken, lamb, beef and falafels. Sometimes I leave out the pita and eat it as a delicious salad.

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INGREDIENTS

6 chicken breasts, cubed
2 tsp dried oregano
Olive oil
Ina Paarmaan chicken spice (or any chicken spice)
Salt & pepper
1/2 a green cabbage, roughly chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 a cucumber, chopped
5 fresh chilies (green and red)
Hummus
Tahini, follow instructions on the bottle
5 or more pitas
Add on’s:
Roasted brinjal,guacamole,red cabbage etc.

Caramelized onions:

4 onions, sliced
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp sugar
250 ml water
Olive oil

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EQUIPMENT

1 large non-stick frying pan or wok
1 small pot
2 plastic boards

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METHOD
Serves 5
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

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Thinly slice the onions and crush the garlic cloves. Place the pot on high-heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. When the oil is hot add the onions and garlic. Stir for 30 seconds, turn down the heat and cover. Stir every 3 minutes, add the sugar and half the water and cover. If the onions are getting stuck to the bottom add a bit more water. Continue cooking until beautifully caramelized (10 minutes).

While the onions are cooking, get chopping (the tomatoes, cucumber, cabbage and chili). On a separate board cube the chicken breasts, marinade them in the oregano, olive oil, salt, pepper and chicken spice- be generous with the spices.

Turn the oven onto 180C to heat up the pita breads.

Place the wok/frying pan on high-heat and add 2 tbsp of olive oil. I recommend you cook the chicken in batches. Once the wok is piping hot add the first batch of chicken, cook for 5-7 minutes or until opaque. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and add the second batch.

The onions should be ready and the pita breads warmed. Now the fun part, making the shuvarma. First smear a generous amount of hummus into the pita with some fresh chilies, add some cabbage, chicken, tomato, more chicken, cucumber and then add some tahini.

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