Healthy Chicken Shish Kebabs

I'm as guilty as anyone else of loving my takeaways, and I always think if we have a Turkish takeaway it's healthier than most - although probably not when we have the chips to go with it all! I've been having a go for the last couple of months at different versions of a homemade chicken shish kebab, and this is where we've landed with it. Our very own fake-away!

I always serve it as a platter for the family, as it's just fun; it looks great to look at, and we all love digging in and sharing off of the same platter. I do have to do some plainer chicken, not for the baby, who will literally devour the chicken on these kebabs, but for Bridget who says these are too spicy! They are very mild, but that is toddlers for you! Luckily she does eat everything else on the platter! 

The recipe here is just for the chicken shish, but I serve with toasted pitta, a tomato, red onion and cucumber salad (literally as simple as that with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of black pepper), tzatziki, and either white rice, or couscous, or in this case, both! I'm obviously watching my calorie and carb intake, so couscous is a good option, but Bridget and Beatrice love their white rice, and Glen prefers it over couscous too! For my couscous, I use a basic one, and add parsley, mint, dill and chives plus some chopped up dried apricots - it's delicious with the chicken shish.

The below makes 5 healthy sized skewers and the trick is to marinate the chicken for as long as possible, if you can do overnight for the following evening meal, the chicken will be so flavourful and tender, it's well worth the wait. 

One final note - this is by no means an authentic Turkish recipe, it is in fact, an amalgamation of me trying tons of recipes and experimenting, and this is simply the one we've settled on as our favourite. 

Healthy Chicken Shish Kebabs

Here's how:

• 3 large chicken breasts
• 5 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1 large lemon
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 red onion
• 4 cloves garlic

Firstly open up the container you're using to marinate the meat, this can be a plastic container, a zip up bag, or you can use a large yoghurt container, as I have - I save these for such occasions! 

Pour in the olive oil, yoghurt and tomato puree. 

Now you need to grate the onion, and throw in the result, including the juicy pulp, into the marinade. 

Mince the garlic and add to the mix. Slice the lemon in half and then squeeze out as much of the juice as you can then throw the lemon halves into the marinade. 

Finally add all of the herbs and spices and give a really good stir. 

Now dice the chicken into decent sized chunks, this doesn't have to be exact, but try to get similarly sized pieces where possible. Throw all of the chicken into the marinade, and use a spoon to mix so all of the chicken is fully immersed in the yoghurt mix, then pop the lid on and place back into the fridge. 

Chicken Shish Marinade

Try to leave to marinade for at least four hours, but overnight is better. 

If using wooden skewers, soak these for an hour or so in water before cooking. 

To cook, simply load the marinated chicken pieces onto the skewer, pack them pretty tight together, and leave a good gap at either end of the skewers, and place under the grill for about five minutes, then turn and cook for a further five minutes. If you like a more charred chicken shish, increase the cooking time slightly. Before serving, just use a sharp knife and make an incision into one of the biggest pieces of chicken into the centre, to ensure the chicken is cooked through. If so, turn off the grill, and leave the chicken to rest for a few minutes, before serving.

Serve with your choice of accompaniments: pitta, rice, couscous, tzatziki, hummus, salad, chilli sauce, feta, halloumi - all will work a treat! If cooking for the family, do try and serve on a board to add a bit of theatre and fun to your evening meal, pile it high and let everyone dig in! Enjoy!