TVP (Soy Curls) Shawarma

Greetings!

Today, my recipe for Shawarma, aka Döner (in Turkey and Germany) or Gyro (in Greece) – famous, popular, and cheap street food in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries.

My Shawarma has a wonderful mixture of spices, and it is mixed with bell peppers, onions, and today I even added some mushrooms that I had. It will also go very well with eggplant, zucchini, carrots and cabbage.

I like my Shawarma in a hearty fresh onion roll, but it is really excellent in a tortilla, lafah (flat bread wrap that we call Iraqi pita in Israel) and simply on a plate with white rice and a salad.

[IMPORTANT: You can sub the TVP for an extremely well pressed tofu or Seitan strips!]

TVP is texturized vegetable protein – it has as much protein as in meat, it comes in different shapes and sizes, it looks weird and tastes like nothing! Which is actually good news because it is very simple to enrich it with flavors. I buy my Soja Schnetzel (as it is called here in Germany) once or twice a year, it is one of those dried foods that can last almost forever and it is always good to have around. I also have the granulated TVP that goes very well in chili, Bolognese sauce, lasagna, Sloppy Joe, and other hearty stews.

For the Shawarma – 4 servings 
• TVP – snap, forgot to weight the amount I use… I will say two handfuls
• Tricolor bell peppers – yellow, green red – half each

• 1 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves and a bit of chili pepper
• A few mushrooms if you got some

Spices Mix:
½ – 1 TSP each
• Fresh salt & pepper
• Paprika (sweet or spicy if you like, but not smoked!)
• Cumin
• Turmeric
• Ras El Hanout
• Coriander powder
• Garlic powder
• Baharat (already a spices mix)
• A dash of cinnamon

Also needed:
• Tahini (well, isn’t that a given?!) – I’d say this is a must – the rest is optional

• Israeli salad – finely diced cucumbers, tomatoes, onion – with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper
• Amba – that funny spiced mango condiment (like in Sabich!)
• Pickles
• Hummus
• Spicy sauce – Skhug or Sriracha!

Directions:
• Make some fresh tahini
• Mix the spices
• Slice the garlic, chilis, bell peppers, onion, and mushrooms

• Soak your TVP in boiled water for 15 minutes

• After 15 minutes make sure to squeeze the TVP – I just put it in a screen and press with a coffee mug

• Sauté the garlic and chili in a bit of olive oil – medium heat
• Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes
• Add the bell peppers and mushrooms and sauté for 4-5 more minutes
• Add the TVP and spices mix and cook for 10 minutes

Serving:
As I wrote, goes perfectly with tahini (because tahini is the queen!!!) and the rest is up to you and your fridge!

Enjoy!