Once in a while, (if not often!) we all crave that yummy, unhealthy street food! For me it is chaat but for my husband who grew up in the Middle East, it is shawarma. He is so crazy about shawarma that he actually got some back from Bahrain to the USA on his last trip there and froze them 😀 I decided to surprise him today with some homemade shawarma pockets for lunch and he went, “This reminds me of home!” His oohs and aahs were worth the effort! LOL 😀 Street food does not have to be unhealthy. Make it yourself and you can choose exactly what goes into it. These shawarma pockets are a great make-ahead snack for a summer get-together. They are a fun way to get the guest to make their own food and engage everyone in the activity. Have your recipes ready… we should be getting back to having parties soon! 😉

What you will need:

How to make it:

• Make the pickle juice by mixing together water, vinegar, salt, and sugar. Julienne cut all the veggies of your choice. I prefer veggies like carrots, beets, cucumbers, and some green chilies for this recipe. Add the veggies to the juice and set aside for at least 30 minutes. Tip: It is better if you can make these the night before and leave them in the refrigerator. 
• Marinate the chicken in shawarma spice and salt and leave aside for at least 30 minutes. Follow my recipe for shawarma spice or use store-bought spice mix. 
• I make my chicken in the air fryer since it gives it a crispy outer texture just like in the shawarma shops. Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 350 F. Add the chicken and cook for 8 minutes on one side and then flip and cook for 8 minutes on the other side at 350 F. If you don’t have an air fryer, just spray some oil on the chicken and pop it in the over at 350 F for 45 minutes or till cooked.
• Remove the chicken and cut it into small pieces. 
• For the yogurt sauce, add finely chopped parsley to labneh with water, and that is it! If you don’t have labneh, use 1 1/2 cup yogurt, add 1/4 teaspoon salt to it and then add the parsley. 
• Cut the pita bread in half. You can follow my recipe for the pita bread, or use store brought bread. 
• Now, in my opinion, the best way to serve this meal is to keep all the individual ingredients in the center and let the people eating create their own pita pocket with the way they like their filling. Basically, add a little bit of everything in the proportions you like, and viola, your yummy pocket is ready to enjoy!  You can also add some hot sauce to mayonnaise and place it as a side to get the “shawarma shop” taste.