It’s officially SUMMER! The season of outdoor grilling, BBQ gatherings & loads of good food & memories has just started.

I am planning to share with you many recipes & ideas for grilling to help make your summer as delicious as it gets!

I am starting the grilling season this year with shish tawook! For me the best shish tawook is flavorful & delicious without one spice or ingredient overpowering the taste of chicken.

In this recipe, I am cooking the shish tawook in the oven as an alternative to outdoor grilling just to make sure you can still enjoy this meal even if you don’t have a grill or too lazy to set it up!

The star of this recipe is the tzatziki sauce; preparing it with homemade greek yoghurt takes this dip to a whole new level.

Bonus: you get to know how to make greek yoghurt at home woohooo.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken breast boneless صدور مخلية
• 1 1/2 packs plain yoghurt
• 1 tbsp tomato paste صلصة طماطم
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp worcesterchire sauce
• juice of 1 1/2 lemons
• 5 large garlic cloves minced
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chicken spices بهارات فراخ
• salt & pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Veggies for the Skewers:

• 2 red peppers cut into chunks
• 2 green peppers cut into chunks
• 2 yellow peppers cut into chunks
• 2 large onion cut into chunks

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

• 2 packs plain yoghurt
• 1/2 large cucumber peeeled & shredded خيار مقشر ومبشور
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 tbsp dill chopped شبت
• tiny squeeze of lemon
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

• Cut the chicken into medium size cubes. Place the chicken cubes in a large bowl & toss with all the marinade ingredients except the olive oil. Cover & refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 200 C for 30 minutes (check notes for other cooking methods).
• Thread the chicken & veggies into the skewers; pressing them up against each other. I usually put 6 pieces of chicken per skewer (this can change depending on the size of your skewer) & I put the veggies between every 2 pieces of chicken.
• Line a pyrex with foil & place the skewers on the upper edges of the pyrex; they should be hanging on top of the pyrex & not touching the foil to allow the heat to circulate around the chicken. Brush the chicken with olive oil.
• Place in the oven for about 20 minutes. Get the skewers out of the oven & flip them on the other side; drizzle the chicken with the pan juices (that will be on the foil) & brush with olive oil. Place in the oven again for about 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. You can turn on the broil شواية in the last couple of minutes to get a nice char on the chicken.
• Meanwhile, place a piece of coal directly on the stove flame until it is red hot. Put the hot coal on a piece of foil then place it under the chicken skewers in the pyrex. Pour 1 tbsp oil on the coal & cover the skewers (tightly) immediately. Keep covered for about 15 minutes.
• To prepare the taztziki sauce: Line a tight sieve مصفاة ضيقة with 2 layers of kitchen paper towel مناديل مطبخ. Place the sieve over a bowl. Pour the yoghurt into the lined sieve & fold the hanging paper towel over the yoghurt. Place in the fridge for 6-8 hours up to overnight to drain all the water. The yoghurt is ready when it is thick & creamy & all its water is collected in the bowl. Squeeze the shredded cucumber with your hands to get rid of its water. In a bowl, mix the yoghurt with the shredded cucumber, dill, garlic, lemon & salt. Drizzle with olive oil. Serve the chicken skewers immediately with the tzatziki sauce.

Notes:

• You can use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast.
• You HAVE to soak the skewers in water for about 30 minutes before using to prevent them from getting burnt.
• Instead of the oven, you can grill the tawook on a charcoal or a stove top grill; make sure you brush the chicken with oil so that it doesn’t stick to the grill.
• The brand of chicken spices I use is Bab El Sham (found in large supermarkets) but you can use any brand you prefer.
• Preparing the tzatziki with greek yoghurt makes it creamier & thicker but you can use regular yoghurt if you don’t mind the dip being loose in consistency.
• You HAVE to use kitchen paper towel مناديل مطبخ & not any kind of paper tissue in preparing the tzatziki dip.
• For the step by step video, check my instagram account.