It’s summer, it’s time for some Middle Eastern Chicken Kebabs.
My photographs represent my state of mind! I am not sure about you but its always the case for me. If I am stressed or worried I cannot give my the best work. I am sorry my last post was not the most picturesque. I hope you did not start hating me already.
Life is never easy. It has it’s ups and downs. First, my cleaning lady quit. Now I understand how my mom used to feel whenever we lost our domestic help. I called a few other services and finally found one that I like. When that problem was being sorting out work related problems started. I was extremely tense about it. I even lost my appetite (and a couple of pounds) because of it. I could not go to the gym or my regular cardio classes last week. On top of that, I attended a cake decorating class at Micheals. It was a two day 6-hour classes over the weekend.
The classes were okay but there are a couple of things I did not like. First, it cost only 22 dollars to enroll but you have to buy about $80 worth of supplies. Despite this I was still okay with it but I didn’t like that the course was time bounded. The trainer was trying to teach too much in 3 hours. And we are talking about a lot of technique. Enroll if you are interested in such hobbies but take everything with a grain of salt. There will be more details to come in a later post.
July 4th is coming and we generally travel during the long weekends but this time my husband and I decided to stay home. We are not going to The Esplanade to see the fireworks along the Charles River because I am phobic of large crowds. Instead we are going to see the one they have at MIT. I am also thinking about cooking up a storm for my husband. We also have a reservation for a romantic dinner for two at Alden and Harlow.
July 4th is also a barbecue day for us. I was going for a hamburger patty but Saveur changed my mind. When I was going through this month’s issue I found that they posted a recipe for Chicken Kabobs. So rather than eating a hamburger, I decided to make Middle Eastern chicken kebabs. They are healthy and delicious!
For this middle eastern chicken kebabs, I recommend marinating the chicken over night, but if you are on a deadline 30 minutes is fine. Just marinate it before preparing the rest. It’s perfect with yogurt cucumber sauce, also known as as Cacık (Turkish pronunciation: [dʒaˈdʒɯk]) or Tzatziki Sauce. You can serve it with rice or Pita. Wrap a slice of pita with salad, tzatziki, and chicken kebab! It’s more than delicious.
Happy Independence Day!
Middle Eastern Chicken Kebabs with Tzatziki sauce
Tzatziki Sauce
I recommend marinating the chicken over night. But if you’re in rush, 30 minutes is fine.
- 1 cup plain green yogurt
- 2 persian cucumbers, peeled and grated
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried mint,crushed by hand
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt to taste
Chicken Kebab
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inches square pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayennne pepper
- 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground all-spice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges (for serving)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, washed
- ½ teaspoon fresh parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
Tzatziki Sauce
1. In a bowl add yogurt, cucumber, garlic, mint, cayenne pepper and salt. Stir it to mix well. Keep refrigerated until the rest is prepeare.
Chicken Kebab
1. In a bowl, add chicken pieces, garlic, lemon, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, crushed black pepper, ground turmeric, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, ground all-spice, ground nutmeg, fresh parseley and olive oil. With hands, mix well. Cover it with cling wrap and keep it outside for 30 minutes. If you are keeping overnight, refrigerate it.
2. Slide the chicken pieces into metal skewers. Set in a broiler pan.
3. Broil for 7 to 8 minutes on one side. Take it out and turn it over. Broil for another 7 to 8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Garnish with lemon, cherry tomatoes, ½ teaspoon fresh parsley and serve with rice, pita, tzatziki Sauce and suman onion salad.
Dolphia – I’m sorry to hear that your cake decoration classes was not upto what you expected! But on the positive side, I hope you learnt a few techniques in your cakes that I’m longing to see and probably learn a thing or 2 from you. 😀
And that chicken kebabs looks scrumptious! I love the recipe
Hi Dolphia,
I love the oil drop shot….sharp….I have always told you before…too much in less time is never worthy the price……! Happy Independence day 🙂
Thanks Pallavi! I so agree with you.
I am just like you.. If I’m not in the right frame of mind I cannot work well. So I’d put everything aside and do something completely different. And be back when I’m ready. It’s all about the state of mind… and intuition too, sometimes! Or is it the gut feeling … I do know. Do you feel that too? And sorry to hear about the cake decor classes. So can we expect some kickass cakes from you soon? Tasting it will be great though… but will settle for the pictures for now 😛
Love this photos here … what riot of colors. My fav. is the plated meal ( one before the last) Beautiful shot!
P.S – Happy 15th Aug to you too.
Okay … feel silly right now. Just realized it was published on 4th of July …and tomorrow is our Independance day. The timing is just right. so ended up adding a “too” there. 😛
Dear,
There is nothing to be silly about! 🙂
Happy Indepence day to you as well!
I doubt I can work when I can ever shoot when I am upset! It just does not work with me, I am sure it’s the same with you as well.
Kickass cakes – I am not sure about that. Maybe sometime in near future 😛