Smash burgers walked so smash tacos could absolutely lose the plot.

These started with a fairly simple idea: take all those warm, garlicky, chilli-forward flavours I love in doner kebab, spread the meat directly onto a tiny roti, and smash the whole thing onto a screaming-hot pan.

What you get is the best part.

The chicken cooks directly against the pan and develops this deeply browned, almost crisp crust while becoming one with the roti underneath. Then we pile on toum, a runnier muhammara, and a sharp sumac-onion salad.

Messy? Very.

Worth eating hunched over the kitchen counter while sauce runs down your hand? Absolutely.

We made mini rotis from scratch, but small flour tortillas work perfectly well if you want to make this significantly easier.

A cast iron pan is ideal here because you want even, sustained heat and a proper sear on the chicken. Let the pan get properly hot before the first taco goes down.

Recipe

Makes: 8–10 mini tacos

For the mini rotis

1 cup atta
1/4 teaspoon salt
About 1/2 cup warm water, as needed
1 teaspoon neutral oil

You can also use 8–10 small flour tortillas.

For the chicken

500 g chicken mince
3 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon za’atar
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the toum

40 g peeled garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup neutral oil
2–3 tablespoons ice-cold water

For the runny muhammara

2 large red bell peppers
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon pickled red peppers
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup almonds
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
2 slices toast, crumbled
3–5 tablespoons water, as needed to loosen

For the sumac onion salad

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 generous handful parsley, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sumac
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt

Method

1. Make the mini rotis

Mix the atta and salt in a bowl.

Slowly add warm water and knead until you have a soft, smooth dough. Add the oil and knead for another minute.

Cover and rest for about 20 minutes.

Divide into 8–10 small balls and roll each one into a thin circle, roughly the size of a small taco.

You do not need to cook these beforehand. The roti and chicken will cook together in the pan.

If you're using tortillas, skip all of this and feel smug about how much time you just saved.

2. Season the chicken

Add the chicken mince, garlic, sumac, za’atar, Aleppo pepper, salt and olive oil to a bowl.

Mix until everything is evenly combined.

Take a small amount of chicken and spread it in a thin, even layer directly onto one side of each roti.

Take it all the way to the edges. The thinner and more even the layer, the better the sear.

3. Make the toum

Add the garlic, salt and lemon juice to a blender or food processor and blend until very finely broken down.

With the motor running, slowly stream in the neutral oil.

Alternate with small splashes of ice-cold water as the mixture emulsifies.

Keep going until you have a fluffy, creamy garlic sauce.

Taste and adjust with a little more lemon or cold water if required.

Keep chilled until you're ready to assemble.

4. Make the runny muhammara

Char the red peppers directly over a flame until blackened all over.

Let them cool, peel away the heavily charred skin, remove the seeds and roughly chop.

Blend the olive oil, garlic and almonds first.

Add the roasted peppers, pickled red peppers, brown sugar, tomato paste and breadcrumbs and blend again.

Season with cayenne and salt.

Now add water, one tablespoon at a time, until the muhammara becomes loose enough to drizzle easily from a spoon or squeeze bottle.

You want sauce, not dip.

5. Make the onion salad

Toss the sliced onions with parsley, sumac, lemon juice and salt.

Let it sit for 10–15 minutes while you cook the tacos.

This slightly softens the onion while keeping plenty of crunch.

6. Smash

Get a cast iron pan or tawa very hot.

Place a taco chicken-side down onto the dry pan.

Press it down firmly with a spatula so as much chicken as possible is making contact with the surface.

Leave it alone long enough to develop a deep golden-brown crust.

Once the chicken releases cleanly from the pan, flip the taco and cook the roti side briefly until toasted and cooked through.

Repeat with the remaining tacos, allowing the pan to come back up to temperature between batches if necessary.

7. Assemble

Arrange the cooked tacos on a plate.

Drizzle the toum generously across all of them.

Follow with the runny muhammara in the opposite direction.

Top each taco with a handful of the sumac onion and parsley salad.

Pick one up while it's still hot.

Fold.

Squeeze.

Accept that sauce is probably going to end up on your hands.

Eat immediately.

Notes

No homemade rotis?
Use small flour tortillas. This becomes an extremely quick dinner once the sauces are ready.

Why cast iron?
The whole recipe depends on getting colour onto the chicken without the pan losing heat as soon as the meat hits it. Cast iron holds onto heat beautifully, which helps create that deep sear rather than steaming the mince.

Make ahead:
Both sauces can be made ahead and kept chilled. The onion salad is best made shortly before eating, and the tacos should absolutely be cooked fresh.

Vegetarian version:
The same technique should work with a well-seasoned soy or plant-based mince. Keep the layer thin so you still get plenty of crispy edges.