Skip to main content

Dirty Doner Kebab... without the dirty ;)

 I don't know about you, but I BLOODY love a Doner Kebab! 

I don't mean those disgusting regurgitated meat things that you get at 3am after leaving "da club"...No no no no! I mean the delicious Turkish national dish!! 

A Doner Kebab is a thing of wonder! It should be flavoursome, rich and fresh all at the same time. 

I learnt how to make this dish a few years ago when I had just returned from a holiday to Cyprus to see my parents. If you're not aware, the northern part of Cyprus is Turkish occupied and for a while, you couldn't cross into Northern Cyprus from the south. However, when they opened the boarders it was like stepping into a completely different world from the rest of Cyprus. Anywho... we had one of these amazing kebabs from a street market and it BLEW MY MIND. 

Traditionally served with shredded cabbage and pickled chillis, Turkish Cucumber yoghurt sauce (Cacik), which is very similar to the Greek Tzatziki, and a chilli sauce. 

My version is a riff on the traditional one, using what I had in the fridge but realistically have what you want with it! There shouldn't be any rules when it comes to what you want to eat. 

Here are my recipes to make a "Doner Kebab": All of these recipes serve 4 or 2 VERY hungry people. 



Homemade Doner Kebab meat:

You will need:

  • 420g of Lamb Mince (at room temp)
  • 1.5 tsp each of:
    • Cumin
    • Hot Smoked Paprika
    • Onion granules
    • Sea salt
    • Garlic granules
    • Ground coriander
    • Dried oregano
    • Chilli flakes (optional)
  • A few good cracks of black pepper
  • Tin Foil
  • Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or this can be done by hand using a wooden spoon and some serious elbow Grease!)
  • Electric Pressure cooker (Ninja Foodi or instant pot) or a slow cooker. 

 HOW:

  1. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, add the lamb mince and the spices and beat the mix until the mince turns into a paste-like texture. If you’re doing this by hand, this will take a while or in the stand mixer on a medium setting for 2-3 mins…  The process of beating the meat (LOL) helps to breakdown the proteins and is essential so please don’t skip this bit.
  2. Once you have made the meat paste, form a log type shape, and tightly wrap it in two layers of tin foil.
  3. If you’re using a slow-cooker: Put the tightly wrapped meat in the pot covered in water and slow cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for at least 7 hours.
  4. If you are using an electric pressure cooker: Put the meat in the bowl and put enough water in to cover half of the meat package. Pressure-cook on high for 25 mins and allow to slow release. 
  5. Once you have cooked the meat, take it out of the foil and sear the meat log all over to get a nice crispy edge.
  6. Stick a fork in the top and thinly slice to get your doner meat strips. 

Flatbreads: 

  •  250g of Plain flour
  •  200g 0% fat Greek yoghurt
  •  ½ tsp of baking powder
  • Big pinch of salt

 HOW:

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl and if it's too wet add more flour, if it's too dry add more yoghurt.
  2. Knead it in the bowl for a few mins. And then leave it to rest.
  3. When you’re ready to cook them, divide them into 4 portions onto a lightly floured worktop and either by hand or using a rolling pin, roll out to about 1cm thick bread.
  4. Heat a skillet until its realllllllly hot! Cook the bread for a few mins each side until they start to puff up. Repeat until all your bread is ready. 

Tzatziki: 

  • 150g of 0% fat greek yoghurt 
  • 100g of Cucumber
  • 1 fat clove of garlic, finely grated
  • 1 tbsp of good extra virgin olive oil 
  • Sea salt and pepper 
HOW:

  1. Grate your cucumber and using a fine sieve, press it down using a wooden spoon or something similar & extract as much of the fluid from the cucumber as you physically can.
  2. Mix all the above ingredients and leave to rest in the fridge for the flavours to develop for at least an hour until serving. 

Quick Pickled Red Onions: 

  • 1 red onion very thinly sliced ideally using a mandolin.
  • 100ml of red wine or cider vinegar (enough to cover the onions)
  • 1 tbsp of sugar

HOW: 

  1.       Shove it all in a bowl and leave it to pickle for about 30 mins or so. 
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER KEBAB:
  • Calories: 565
  • Protein: 35.7g
  • Carbohydrates: 64.1g
  • Fats: 17.9g 
  • Fibre: 3.7g 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are you even in Lockdown unless you make fresh Pasta?

With the UK going nuts for bog roll and baking ingredients - I imagine it is easier to get class A drugs than a bag of strong white flour at the moment! With that in mind, I'd normally recommend 00 flour for pasta, however, whatever you have will do as long as it's not self-raising!  Like a lot of people, I went through a range of emotions when social distancing measures where imposed- especially when they closed schools and nurseries! I had positive days where I did home workouts and yoga in the garden listening to the bird song. I also had days where I cried and felt intense guilt for having to go to the supermarket to get milk and a relentless sense of impending doom.  I think this dish was the catalyst that reignited my love of cooking (I didn't realise that it had gone until I made this) and actually gave me something to focus my mind.  The best thing about this dish is that you don't need to own a pasta machine that will just sit in a cupboard gatheri...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gong hei fat choy! Sichuan Style Wonton in Chilli oil

 Following on from the Chinese takeaway style soup in my previous post, here's another dish for Chinese New Year! These are Sichuan style Wonton dressed in chilli oil (I also shoved some mini scallops in too for an extra celebratory feel!). Whilst this dish doesn't take long to cook, the prep is time-consuming and fiddly so it definitely feels like it should be for a special occasion.  I used pre-made Wonton wrappers from my local Oriental Supermarket and a prepared Chilli oil, however, if you're feeling really extra you can make your own. Personally, I don't feel the effort of homemade Wonton wrappers is worth it, these are super cheap and can be found in the frozen section usually. If you REALLY want to cheat- you can buy some pre-made wonton and just make the sauce yourself. ZERO judgement from me!  Feel free to use whatever you like in the filling however it is traditional to use Pork, but for non-pork eaters, you can sub for chicken mince, Shrimp mince or beef minc...
Post a Comment
Read more