This doesn't need much of an intro as, chances are, you've probably heard of it. It's a Middle-Eastern street-food classic, typically cooked on a rotisserie grill in a restaurant window, luring you in! There's a good reason why it's so popular - it's delicious! It's the kind of food you want to dive into; serve it with flatbreads or wraps, 'tarator' (a garlicy tahini based sauce), chilli sauce, pickles and salad. Here's our take on the classic.
Ingredients (feeds 4-6):
1kg boneless chicken thighs
1-2 large onions (red or white)
For the marinade:
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp (heaped) harissa paste
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 lime
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp yoghurt
Tarator:
- 4 tbsp yoghurt
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2-3 minced garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
To serve:
- 4 wraps or flat-breads
- Pickles
- Chilli sauce
- Salad of your choice (we made tabbouleh)
Equipment:
- 3 or 4 Kebab skewers
- Roasting dish
Method:
1. First, place all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl or large Tupperware and mix. Add the chicken thighs and coat them thoroughly. Marinade them for at least 2 hours but ideally longer! We left them overnight for maximum flavour.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan
3. Halve an onion and skewer one half into all 4 skewers. Then skewer each thigh so that they each go through all 4 of the skewers; start to layer the thighs on top of each other leaving no gaps. Once all the chicken thighs are in place, cap it off with the other half of the onion.
4. Put in the oven for 30 minutes. If you can fit it in the oven standing up in a roasting dish then do so although it might not be that sturdy! Otherwise, rest the ends of the skewers on a dish/tray so that the meat is held up (not resting on the tray) and place another dish/tray underneath to capture the juices.
5. In the meantime, prep your sides. If you're making the tarator, mix together the yoghurt, tahini, garlic and lemon and season to taste.
6. At the 30 minute mark, take the chicken out of the oven and baste with the juices it will have released. Put back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
7. If you're serving it standing up, you can place the cut side of half an onion facing down on a serving plate, then stick the skewers into the domed half of the onion (like we've done in the picture) so it's stood upright.
8. Serve with wraps or flatbreads, your tarator, some salad, pickles and chilli sauce and DIG IN.
We'd love to see your creations. If you try this recipe, be sure to tag us @Thefoodinstatution
R & J x
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