THE HISTORY OF SHAWARMA YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD
Shawarma’ s Global Journey and Where to Find the Best in San Mateo
There is street food and then there is shawarma. This iconic Middle Eastern dish of grilled meat is often served in a warm flatbread or pita which makes it a most convenient eat-as-you-go food. But make no mistake – this is not junk food. It is a dish full of complex ingredients and it has a long and very interesting history. As for the flavors, the rapidly increasing popularity of the dish, in both casual and fine dining venues where Middle Eastern food is served, speaks for itself.
Where It Began
The first proper recorded mentions of the dish we know today as shawarma date back to the 18th century Levant – a region that comprises the lands now known as Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. The basic concept of the dish is mutton or lamb, placed on vertical skewers and slowly roasted over open glowing coal. The word shawarma comes from the Turkish word “shavarmak” which means to turn or rotate. This turning of the meat allows it to not just cook slowly but also enables it to retain its juices so that the slices that come off the skewers are moist and full of flavor. This is the same cooking concept that has also made the Turkish doner kebab so popular – they both use vertical spits to cook the meat evenly without causing it to dry.
Other Influences
The Silk Road is famous as the route that traders took centuries ago to carry silk and other valuable items for trade between the East and the West. The traders also carried with them the spices and flavors of their native lands, and over the centuries, these were incorporated into the cuisine of the lands the traders passed through. The many levels of flavor and spice that make the shawarma so popular are the result of this intermingling of food cultures.
The Global Spread
By the beginning of the 20th century, shawarma was firmly established as one of the great Middle Eastern dishes. Eating it was an essential part of the Middle Eastern tourist experience. But it was still a regional dish. It was only after the First World War that shawarma began to spread across the globe. Travelers brought stories of the dish home with them and the growing Middle Eastern diaspora across Europe and the Americas, thanks to immigration, led to shawarma becoming available across borders. From London to Paris, New York, Los Angeles, and beyond, shawarma became a wellknown and much sought-after dish with all types of meals, not just Middle Eastern ones. The rapid growth of street food culture in the 1970s caused a boom in shawarma’ s popularity. It can be enjoyed as a sit-down meal or while walking through the streets of a big city. The mechanization of the rotisseries and the appearance of disposable plates and paper napkins, etc. meant that the dish was easily available and could be picked up at a moment’ s notice, whenever the desire to eat great grilled meats arose.
The Global Spread
Today, all kinds of meats and poultry are used for shawarma, and sauces and toppings are constantly being developed to cater to regional tastes and preferences. If you look around, you can now find shawarma tacos! If reading this has whetted your appetite and desire to bite into a shawarma, that is easily done. A shawarma is easy to prepare or to get hold of ready-toeat. If you live in the Bay Area, all you need to do is visit Aladdin Gourmet. This is where you will find both the best chicken shawarma in San Mateo and the great halal shawarma in San Mateo along with much more. This specialist Middle Eastern and Mediterranean grocery has all the ingredients you need to make delicious shawarma at home. You can drop in to pick up whatever you need to make it along with other Middle Eastern dishes. If the vertical skewers and grilling are a bit too much, you can just pick up shawarma at the deli or order online.
