I see reference here to yogurt inclusive marinades leaving a coating on the chicken which 'spoils' the result.  Don't know if any of you recall /saw Heston Blumenthals programme on tikka etc (for butter chicken dish I think) where he wondered why Indian chefs use yogurt in their marinade process at all.  He went so far as to to an MRI check on chicken marinaded with / without yogurt in the marinade and found the yogurt took the marinade much deeper into the chicken than without.  I would conclude from that you would be ok in removing any surface 'sticky' yogurt marinade without losing much taste effect if you want to - the flavour has already been taken well into the 'meat'.

Mughli in Rusholme is a very good eaterie if anyone is in Rusholme area.  Very busy - so book if you are going especially at night.  They have a posh version in Knutsford too.

http://www.mughli.com/manchester

I had the chilli sauce in my Atlas shawarma - agree would be better without it - they went ott with amount they spalsh in there.  Give Jaffa a try next time Jerry - world apart - dearer - but better overall & ore like the 'authentic' ones I had in my Dubai days.

Was darn sarf last week & tried my favourite Lebanese shawarma at the right hand side of Hammersmith Apollo Theatre.  Was nowhere near as good as previous times - they used garlic mayo - no tahini - bummer!  P1sses me off when they cheapen the ingredients to maximise profit = lost customer in my case & I have bought them in 9x lots from there for extended family - even the grandkids were eating them.

Other daughter lives Woking way - they have a good Lebanese restaurant by the train station that does really good shawarmas.  Hammersmith will take a miss from me from now on.

DURBAN CURRY RECIPE - from a South African based Indian foodie - Philen Naidu.

This, for 1kg chicken. Curry pieces, on the bone releases best flavour.

* pan roast 1 med cinnamon stick, 3 dry green cardamom, 1 dry bay leaf, 2 clove and 1/2tsp cumin seed.
Then grind to powder with dry red chilli (1 or 2) and 3 black peppercorn OR substitute whole spices with 1/2 tsp garam masala and 1/2 tsp cumin powder. But you'll lose flavour.

? add 250g chopped, bright red tomato, 240ml curd/yoghurt (full cream), 4 chopped green chilli (for medium heat), 1/4 tsp turmeric, 2 tsp ginger/garlic mix and 1/2 tsp saffron (for the truly authentic version).
?
Blitz all this into paste and marinate chicken 30min.

* finely slice 2 medium onions. Slice not chop. Red onion better than white.
Fry until golden. Remove from heat to cool, then crush with the back of a spoon and sprinkle over chicken during marination.

? heat 60/40 mixture of ghee(or unsalted butter)/sunflower oil on medium heat.
?
Remove chicken and onion from marinade and fry 5min both sides.

Add all remaining marinade mixture plus a sprig of curry leaves and salt, bring to boil then gentle simmer until tender.

OPTIONAL
1) sprinkle slivered roasted almonds immediately after switching off heat, while pot is standing.
2)  add halved dates or dry prunes during simmer, for exotic sweeter version.

Garnish with some fresh dhania (coriander) leaves.

Maybe a nice shiny nose too!

Quote from: Edwin Catflap on January 05, 2015, 07:49 PM
Hi

I think it is really worth the effort to hunt down a slightly thicker, softer and pocketless pittas that dont split as they soak up all the lovely meat juice and sauce.

They should look something like this

http://homecookingmemories.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/greek-pita-bread-pizza-1.jpg

http://homecookingmemories.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/greek-pita-flat-bread.jpg

For me, if the pitta type bread is too thick, takes away some of the tastiness of the wrap effect and becomes a little 'stodgy'.  This was the problem I found with the Atlas Shawarmas in Rusholme - bread just that little bit overthick & enough so to spoil an otherwise good shawarma filling such that I haven't been back to sample theirs again - which fortunately led me to try the shawarmas at Jaffa - excellent - albeit served as a diy for you to wrap.

Quote from: macferret on January 05, 2015, 06:39 PM
Just a bump to this thread to say thanks for the tip-off about black lime powder, Ghoulie. I haven't tried the shwarma yet for reasons of Christmas / in-laws staying, but I plan to have a go this weekend.
I did order some black lime powder though and it has transformed several things that I have cooked. Just one example: on Xmas Eve we were invited out and asked to bring a "salad with no lettuce or tomato". I finely sliced fresh fennel with very thinly-sliced lime and lemon juice and good olive oil; tossed in some pomegranate seeds and diced walnut; seasoned with salt.  Hmmm...good but not quite....so I tried a sprinkle of black lime powder and it went into orbit.  Three people have asked me for the recipe. I have warned them not to try it without the black lime.
Cheers,
Tim

Well done Tim - glad you found yet another use for black lime - thank the arabic cusine world for this one.

For diy shawarmas my daughter uses (and very successfully) fillet of neck of lamb - an often overlooked cheaper lamb cut.

Good video - looked a bit too pasty consistency for my palate - as Peter Kay would say ' Ast tha got nowt moist to go wi' that?

Did anyone see Jamie Oliver prog last Friday?

He did a pork vindaloo along the lines of the originalish Goanese recipe.


http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/print/1400/

mortar & pestle way too time consuming & inefficient compared to a good grinder - bought my Revel 280 watt grinder from Lakeland for @?35  - fantastic bit of  kit wet or dry blending / grinding