Shish Tawook Jordani
Jordan's grilled chicken skewers: boneless thighs marinated overnight in garlic, lemon, yogurt, tomato puree, allspice and paprika, then charred.
Overview
Yogurt-based marinade with lemon, garlic, tomato puree, allspice, paprika and olive oil. Chicken thighs cube small (3 cm), marinate at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. Threaded onto skewers; grilled hot 8-10 minutes total. Served with garlic toum, hot bread and grilled tomatoes.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 kg boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into 3 cm cubes)
- 300 ml plain yogurt
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 lemons (juice)
- 6 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
To grill
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper (cut into chunks, optional)
- 1 lemon (cut into wedges)
To serve
- Garlic toum (or yogurt sauce)
- 4 pita (large, or shrak breads)
- Pickles (turnips, cucumbers)
- Salata Baladi
Method
Stage 1 - Marinade
- Whisk all marinade ingredients in a wide bowl.
- Add chicken cubes; turn to coat.
- Cover; refrigerate 6 hours minimum, ideally overnight.
Stage 2 - Skewer
- Thread 5-6 chicken cubes onto each flat metal skewer.
- Alternate with cherry tomatoes and bell pepper chunks on separate skewers.
Stage 3 - Grill
- Heat charcoal until ashed over (or gas grill / oven grill to maximum).
- Grill chicken skewers 4 minutes per side, turning, until edges are charred and inside is cooked through.
- Grill tomato/pepper skewers 3 minutes per side.
Stage 4 - Serve
- Slide chicken off skewers into warm pita or shrak.
- Add toum, pickles, salata. Wrap.
- Lemon wedges alongside.
Notes
- Yogurt marinade tenderises: The lactic acid keeps the chicken juicy through a hard char. Don't skip the overnight rest.
- Hot grill, not medium: A medium grill gives grey chicken; high heat gives the proper Levantine char.
- Garlic toum: Whipped garlic-lemon-oil emulsion. Sold at Middle Eastern shops; or whip 6 garlic cloves with 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp lemon juice + 300 ml light vegetable oil in a stand mixer until thick.
Storage
- Marinated raw chicken keeps 48 hours.
- Cooked chicken refrigerates 2 days; reheat in a hot pan.
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