Today I’m excited to introduce you to one of my favorite summer recipes. If shawarma and gyro had a baby it would be this recipe. And what better time to learn this than at the beginning of grilling season.
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 3 pounds chicken thighs
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 5 garlic cloves - grated on a microplane
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2 teaspoons ground fenugreek
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice - from 1 lemon
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon black pepper
Yogurt sauce:
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup cucumber - grated and salted
- 2 medium garlic cloves - salted and pureed
- ½ cup cilantro - finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon coriander seed
- ½ teaspoon cumin seed
- ½ lemon - juiced
Serve with:
- Flatbreads
- Red onions
- Salted cherry or grape tomatoes
- Crunchy lettuce
- Yogurt sauce
- Spicy sauce
Instructions
For the Chicken:
Pound out the chicken into an even layer:
- Lay out a couple layers of plastic wrap.
- Lay out the chicken on the plastic wrap and then cover the chicken with the other layer of plastic wrap.
- Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound out the chicken, then flip them over and continue pounding into an even thickness.
Marinate the chicken:
- Place the chicken into a large bowl and combine it with the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, smoked paprika, Kashmiri chili powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, cardamom, white vinegar, ground cumin, ground fenugreek, and ground coriander.
- Mix all ingredients thoroughly with your hands.
- Cover and place in the fridge for 2 hours or 24 hours or up to two days.
For the yogurt sauce:
- Grate the cucumber on the largest holes of a box grater.
- Sprinkle grated cucumber with kosher salt and place the cucumber into a fine mesh strainer, and using your hand, squeeze out as much of the water and moister as you can.
- Next, add the Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, chopped cilantro, coriander, cumin and lemon juice to a mixing bowl.
- Stir and mix well to combine.
- Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use.
For the Sides:
- Slice a red onion into thin strips then soak the strips in ice water for about 5 to 10 minutes. This takes away the spicy harsh flavor, and makes them crunchy.
- Brush pita bread with olive oil and toast them in a frying pan until they blister slightly.
- Slice a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes in half lengthwise and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Separate and wash Large Lettuce leaves.
Cook the chicken and serve:
- Set a broiler to high.
- Place the marinated chicken onto a cookie sheet, and broil for five minutes per side until they reach an internal temperature of 170 to 175 degrees F.
- Remove from oven and allow the chicken to rest on a wire rake for 5 minutes.
- After resting slice the thigh meat into cubes and serve.
Build the wrap:
- Layer the toasted pita with lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, onion, and sauce. Close up the pita and enjoy.