Grilled Chicken Souvlaki

It’s been a Greece obsessed month. Started with Tzatziki, then to the Cucumber Cooler and now to the famous Souvlaki. Maybe it has more to do with summer and the fact that Greek cuisine is so suited for hot balmy weather. When you scrutinize their cuisine, it’s filled with light and fresh recipes packed with flavor. Lemons are abundantly used, as are olives, yoghurt, herbs and cheese. Souvlaki is actually Greek fast food – Meat on a skewer. But unlike the fast food of the west (burgers and fries), this one is a lot more healthy, wholesome and delicious! Greeks generally use pork/ lamb for souvlaki but chicken is popular as well. The grilled skewers can be eaten as a starter or combined with Pita, tzatziki, lettuce and tomatoes to make a super sandwich! The most refreshingly light and filling lunch for a hot day! Now to complete the picture ….I’m on a Greek island overlooking the aquamarine ocean and have a gorgeous Greek God for company …. Sigh! (Yes, I remember I’m married already, but a girl can day dream can’t she?!)

Grilled Chicken Souvlaki

Prep Time: 10 mins

Marinade time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

What you need:

500 gms Boneless Chicken breast

Olive Oil for basting

Marinade:

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Lemon, Zest and Juice

2 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp Chilli flakes

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp Yoghurt

1 Tbsp Cream

1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil

What to do:

Soak bamboo skewers. Mix the marinade ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Use thick yoghurt to ensure it is not too runny. Flatten the chicken breast and cut diagonally into strips of 1" width. (You should get about 4-5 strips per breast). Toss the chicken strips into the marinade and mix well. Marinate for 30 mins or longer in the fridge.

Preheat the grill for 10 mins or heat charcoals till red hot. (I used my oven - ran the grill function for 10 mins to get it to the desired heat, before putting my skewers in). Now skewer the chicken strips in a wave onto the bamboo sticks. (This allows for maximum area to be exposed to the grill.) Baste with olive oil. (I used a spary can. So much fun!) Place the skewers on a wire rack with a dripping pan below and grill for 15 mins, turning once in between to baste. Check for doneness. Take off the heat and serve with some warm Pita bread, Onion rings, tomatoes, lettuce and Tzatziki (Click here for recipe)!

Tzatziki - Cucumber Yoghurt Dip from Greece

It’s pronounced zad-zi-ki, in case you were wondering. I do have a penchant for strange sounding names, they intrigue me and force me to delve deeper into them. And this dip is something that you want to dive deep into. Especially on a hot summer day! It’s really refreshing and cooling and goes fabulously with vegetable crudités or grilled meat. After making it, I served it with some olives and toasted pita for a mezze like feel. And announced with a flourish that the Tzatziki was served! Mom took a look at it and declared that it was not really that exotic or strange, actually it reminded her of the ubiquitous Indian raita or pachadi! Nothing like ‘experience’ to throw water on someone’s excitement! (hmph!). I of course brushed the comment aside with a cool wave of the hand and grumbled that she was closed to experimenting with new cuisines (all the while knowing that I had lost the battle!). So in essence, yes it does look and feel like pachadi and maybe the Greeks were our distant cousins and swapped recipes. (one global village huh?) But that doesn’t take away from the fact that its bloody delicious and makes for one fabulous dip!

Tzatziki

Prep time: 20 mins + refrigeration

Makes: 2 cups

What you need:

2 med Cucumbers

500 gms thick Yoghurt (I use Nestle set dahi)

4 cloves Garlic, crushed

1 tsp finely chopped Dill

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt and Freshly ground Black Pepper

To serve:

Vegetable crudites

Olives

2 Pita Breads

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

What to do:

Wash, peel and cut the cucumber in half. Scoop out the seeds. Now grate the cucumber coarsely and spoon into a strainer. (Do this to remove the water from the cucumber. Collect the cucumber juice and reserve – I made a fabulous cocktail with it later. Recipe in next post). After you are fairly certain that you have pressed out as much water from the cucumber as possible – press into strainer again. Surprised? Yes there will still be some more cucumber juice you can extract. (I got 400ml of gorgeous green cucumber juice from 2 cucumbers). Now the grated cucumber is ready to go into the dip. (Note: You can also strain the yoghurt to make the dip creamier).

In a medium bowl add the cucumber, yoghurt, dill, garlic and olive oil and mix well. Cover and refrigerate till use. (Some people leave it overnight to develop the flavor). My impatience reduced overnight to till I toasted the pita bread …. The dip tasted fine!

Preheat oven to 180°C. Cut through the center of the pita bread. Brush the rough sides with olive oil. Now cut each circle into 8 wedges. Bake bread on ungreased tray for 10-15 mins or until crisp. Serve with olives and tzatziki!