Döner Kebap

Ever since leaving Germany for the States I’ve been craving the typical German street fare of Döner Kebaps. And ever since moving from Norway I’ve been craving the typical Norwegian street fare of kebabs. The two countries’ versions are quite different from one another, but they are, at least, more similar than the British version. 

Norwegian version

Cubes of marinated meat (possibly beef) is precooked and tossed in a hot pan to crispen up the edges. It’s served inside a pita bread with cabbage, corn, onions, and a mayonnaise, kefir, and ketchup based sauce with the optional spicy sauce. 

German version

Huge spears of meat (venison, lamb, or a combination of the two, and some places you might find chicken) are cooked rotisserie style, and the cooked edges are shaved off as tiny pieces. The pita breads they’re served in are usually freshly baked. The meat is served with cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and a yogurt based sauce, as well as optional spicy sauce and a big slice of feta cheese. 

British version

It has been a LOT of years (I think about 1996) since I had one in England, so please excuse me if I remember correctly (and please comment with your corrections), but the meat and veggies are served on top of a pita bread (instead of inside), and the meat is LONG slices of thinly cut lamb, so you have to fold the pita in half in order to eat it. 

I used my regular fail proof pita recipe and scoured the internet and Pinterest in search of a good recipe for Döner Kebaps and the Norwegian style. 

Here’s what I came up with, which is a bit of a combination between the two styles and based on, perhaps, five different online recipes. 

Ingredients for pitas (makes 6-10, depending on the size of each)

1 1/4 C warm water

1 tbsp dry yeast

1/4 tsp salt

3-3 1/2 C flour

Method for pitas

Sprinkle the yeast over the water; let sit five minutes. Add salt and flour and knead eight minutes. Make 6-10 balls (depending on desired size) and flatten with a rolling pin. Let rest, covered, 30-40 minutes. Make sure you sprinkle flour under the dough to ensure it won’t stick. Preheat a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven at 425 degrees F. Using a spatula, flip each pita over onto the hot stone. Try not to handle the dough much or it might not puff. Bake 10-15 minutes until puffed and slightly golden. Cool on rack. 

Ingredients for meat

1 pork loin or desired type of meat, partially frozen

1 tsp garam masala 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp oregano

Method for meat

Slice the partially frozen meat as thinly as possible. Mix marinade ingredients, then toss in the meat. Marinade at least 1 hour. Place meat in SINGLE layer on a rack over a baking sheet with edges to catch drippings. Place under broiler. Broil 3 minutes, flip the meat, then broil 3 more minutes or until the meat is crispy at the edges. 

Ingredients for dedairyfied Norwegian style sauce

1/2 C mayonnaise

Almond milk

Ketchup

2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Method for dedairyfied Norwegian style sauce

Whisk mayo with almond milk until it’s on the funny side. Add ketchup until the sauce is pink. Add parsley and garlic powder. 

Ingredients for German style sauce (with dairy)

1/2 C Greek yogurt 

1 tsp oregano

1/4 C olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice 

Salt and pepper to taste

Method for German style sauce

Whisk all ingredients together. 

  
Serve the meat in a pita bread with lettuce or cabbage, cucumber, tomato, and corn (if desired). Spread sauce over the filling. 

Enjoy!

New store bought dairy free bread! -Review

Here in Hawaii, where 90% of store bought breads come from the local bakery Love’s which always uses forms of lactic acid in their breads, I get super excited when I find a new bread in the store that I can actually eat, especially since Rudy’s Organic (my go to bread) is only available at stores 30 minutes away.

Protein filled filling bread–that impresses, too!

I absolutely LOVE making and eating challah bread! The thin cust is slightly crunchy with a wonderfully dense yet easy to eat crumb. Most of the liquid in the bread comes from eggs, making the bread itself filled with protein and very filling. And what a stunner! A six part braid is glazed with egg and sprinkled with seeds for added texture, look, and crunch. The bread comes out nicely golden, so I like using black sesame seeds and poppy seeds on top for contrast.

Taco Thursday

Many store bought tortillas contain lactic acid, which gives me a major belly ache, so one day I decided to make my own from scratch. And they are wonderful!

Soft, white sandwich loaf

I’m working on dedairyfying the recipe for this bread now. I experimented using Melt Organic and dry coconut milk. It turned out well but still not quite what I had in mind as it has a slight aftertaste of coconut, so I will tweak it further and let you know. If you’d like to try the recipe as it (it really does taste good, and putting anything on it like jam, meats, or dipping it in oil will disguise the coconut completely, I promise), I will post my work in progress. Just let me know! 

Darkish bread with grains

Dark, grainy breads, somewhat dense and immensely filling are among the things I miss the most about living in Norway and Germany. In Europe, you can go into any grocery store and pick up one of these beauties, or, better yet, zip by one of the bakeries on every street corner for amazing selections of breads with whole grains, seeds, rye, oats, barley, millet, or wheat. Or, if you’re in the mood for something lighter or sweeter, there’s ciabattas, baguettes, or wheat rolls,  raisin breads and “julekake” and “voerterkake” in Norway, and rolls, pretzels, and croissants are all proudly displayed in the glass counters. In Norway, we eat bread for breakfast and lunch; in Germany they eat bread for breakfast and dinner–the third meal of the day usually consists of something hot.