isithalal.food

Halal-conscious recipe

Halal lamb souvlaki

Quick grilled souvlaki skewers with Halal lamb in place of pork, marinated in lemon, oregano and paprika, with a gelatine-free yogurt and cucumber sauce.

  • Cuisine Greek
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 4 skewers
  • Time 35 min
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Greek chicken souvlaki merida: grilled meat cubes on wooden skewers with pita, fries, tomato, onion and tzatziki
Photograph from our ingredient library: chicken souvlaki, not the finished dish.

Photo: Leeturtle · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why Halal checks matter here

Souvlaki is often pork, chicken and lamb need Halal slaughter, and low-fat yogurt for the sauce can contain gelatine.

Souvlaki are small pieces of meat grilled on skewers, served with flatbread, salad and a yogurt sauce. Bought out, the meat is often pork; chicken and lamb versions are common too, and both need Halal slaughter (see souvlaki).

This version follows BBC Good Food's pork souvlaki, a quick midweek recipe with a 10-minute lemon and oregano marinade, and uses Halal lamb cut to the same 2 cm chunks. For the sauce, check the yogurt: some fat-free and set yogurts are thickened with gelatine, so choose one with none.

Keep the chunks the same size so they cook evenly, and cut into one before serving: the source's 3 to 4 minutes a side was timed for pork.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • The meat The published recipe is pork, and souvlaki bought out is often pork too; lamb and chicken are Halal only from Halal slaughter. Use lamb from a Halal butcher or a certified pack. When buying souvlaki, ask which meat it is. See Souvlaki, Lamb and Pork.
  • Fat-free yogurt Some set and low-fat yogurts are thickened with gelatine, which is often pork. Read the yogurt's ingredients and choose one with no gelatine. See Yogurt.

Safe substitutes

  • Pork shoulder → Lean Halal lamb leg or shoulder, cut the same size
  • Yogurt of unknown ingredients → A fat-free yogurt with no gelatine

Allergens

milk (yogurt), gluten (flatbreads, if used)

Ingredients

Skewers

  • 400 g lean Halal lamb leg or shoulder, cut into 2 cm chunks (instead of pork)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • ½ tsp hot paprika
  • 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks

Sauce and to serve

  • 100 ml fat-free yogurt without gelatine
  • 1 small garlic clove, grated
  • ½ cucumber, trimmed and grated
  • 2 Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated
  • 4 flatbreads, warmed (optional)
  • to serve chilli sauce (optional)

Method

  1. Marinate the lamb. Put the lamb in a large bowl with the oil, oregano, lemon zest and juice, paprika and a good pinch of salt. Toss together and leave to marinate for 10 minutes.
  2. Make the sauce. Mix the yogurt with the garlic and grated cucumber, season with salt and set aside.
  3. Thread the skewers. Heat the grill to high. Thread the lamb and the pepper chunks alternately on four metal skewers and lay them on a non-stick baking sheet.
  4. Grill. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until golden. Cut into one piece to check it is cooked to your liking, and give it another minute or two if not.
  5. Serve. Serve with the lettuce, the yogurt sauce, warm flatbreads and chilli sauce, if you like.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Pork souvlaki' by Esther Clark (400 g lean pork shoulder in 2 cm chunks marinated 10 minutes in olive oil, dried oregano, lemon zest and juice and hot paprika; yogurt with grated garlic and cucumber; threaded on four skewers with red pepper and grilled on high for 3 to 4 minutes a side until cooked through). We replaced the pork with Halal lamb cut the same size and specified a yogurt without gelatine. The grilling time is the source's for pork; lamb of the same size is cooked to taste in it, so check a piece before serving. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Pork souvlaki — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Esther Clark; serves 4: 400 g lean pork shoulder in 2 cm chunks, olive oil, dried oregano, lemon, hot paprika; 100 ml fat-free yogurt with garlic and cucumber; red peppers, Little Gem, flatbreads; marinated 10 minutes, grilled 3 to 4 minutes a side. We replaced the pork with Halal lamb.

  2. Souvlaki analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Which meat souvlaki is made with, and what to ask when you order it.

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