Spicy Chicken Kebabs

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You can cook these chicken kebabs on the barbecue or under a hot grill. Either way you are in for a tasty treat as well as a versatile dip.

You know your family and friends best, so if my ‘one chicken breast per person’ seems a little excessive to you, feel free to reduce the number to six. You could also use thigh fillets instead. In fact, I nearly always do.

This recipe is for eight people. You need:

8 chicken breasts or thigh fillets
200g of plain yogurt
½ tsp chili paste
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin
1tsp of grated ginger
2 crushed garlic cloves
Some chopped oregano or tarragon
Salt and pepper

Cut the chicken into kebab sized pieces.

Mix all the ingredients together, including the chicken and leave in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, and not before, thread the chicken on to bamboo skewers (I cheat and use stainless steel!) which all the cookbooks tell you to soak in water for 30 minutes. Good luck!

I tried this by attempting to soak half the skewers and leaving the rest natural. The result was the same with both sets of skewers, they all burnt at the ends. Which is why, of course, I use stainless steel. One added bonus is that the steel skewers conduct heat and help to cook the chicken from the inside.

So why do I mention bamboo skewers at all? Well, some people like to be traditional in their approach to cooking over naked flames, and chook was cooked on sticks long before there was steel.

I’ve taken the time to explain all this because there’s nothing else to do except cook the chicken over your favorite barbie, or under your red-hot grill.

Oh yes, the dip. Take one small cucumber, deseed it, grate it and squeeze out as much water as you can. Stir this into 100g of plain yogurt, add 1tbs chopped mint (or 2 teaspoons of thick mint sauce), 60mls of cream and some freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add a little salt if necessary.

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