Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma with Vegetable Biryani & Cucumber Salad

I recently saved this post from Cardamom & Tea on Instagram and was inspired to make her chicken shawarma! I decided to combine it with my go-to Biryani recipe as well as a simple cucumber & tomato salad that my old Persian roommate used to make. As a side note, I was going to make her Bharat seasoning blend then realized I already had premade Bharat in my sprice cabinent! I link both below:

What I Used:

For the Chicken

• 8 chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp Baharat Seasoning (buy or make)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1.5 tsp salt

For the Biryani Rice

• 1 zuchinni, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 package Trader Joe's Frozen Rice
• 2 tbsp Biryani Spice Blend
• 3/4 cup chicken stock

For the Salad

• 1 cucumber, finely diced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, finely diced
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely diced
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• juice of 1 lemon

How To:

For the Chicken

1. Add all of the ingredients to a ziplock bag or large bowl that can be covered. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to overnight. I did mine for about 10 hours.
2. When ready to cook, spread the chicken out into one layer on a greased baking sheet and place it the oven at 475 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden

For the Birayni

1. In a large, deep saute pan, add the vegetables to oil over high heat and cook until golden brown.
2. Add the rice, stock, & seasoning. Stir and let simmer lightly for 20 minutes occasionally stirring.

For the Salad

1. Add all of the ingredients together in a bowl, toss well and let marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Side note I never ended up adding the Halal Guys white sauce but since I had some at home figured I'd keep it handy in case! :-)