BM # 13 Day 3 : Shish Taouk ( Lebanese Chicken Kebabs) with Creamy Garlic Dip

Shish Tawook (taouk) is a traditional Turkish shish kebab which can also be found in Syrian and Lebanese cuisine. Cubes of chicken are skewered and grilled. Common marinades are based upon yogurt or a tomato puree, though there are many variations. Shish taouk is typically eaten with garlic paste toum. Hardly any of us know what the word tawook means. Well, let me tell you. Tawook is a variant on the Turkish word tavuk, meaning chicken. So shish tawook means chicken skewers.

I made a tomato puree based kebab with a creamy garlic dip.

 

Ingredients :
4 Skinless,boneless chicken breast, cut into medium cubes
3-4 Garlic cloves, crushed or grated
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs/dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp all spice powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cubed


Direction:
1. Combine crushed garlic cloves, lemon juice, tomato paste, Italian herbs/Dried thyme, pepper powder, all spice powder, salt and little oil and prepare a marinade.
2. Keep a little marinade aside and add rest of the marinade to the chicken and coat the chicken pieces well. In a separate bowl, add onions and coat the onions well with the little marinade.
3. Let the chicken and onions marinate in refrigerator overnight or for at least 5 hrs.
4. Preheat oven to 210 degrees C.  Arrange chicken and onion pieces alternatively on the skewers and place them on a baking tray. Slightly oil the skewered chicken.

5. Bake for 7 mins on each side.
6. Switch the oven to grill/broil mode and grill for 3-4 mins on each side.
7. Serve hot with creamy garlic dip.


Note: If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water atleast for 2 hours before use.
You can also use mushrooms and capsicum. Marinate diced mushroom and capsicum along with the onion.
Avoid over baking, else chicken may go dry.


Creamy Garlic Dip:
1 cup thick yogurt/hung curd
4 garlic cloves grated
1 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp oregano
Chopped coriander 
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
Mix all ingredients till smooth and creamy.
If it becomes very thick, add some more milk and serve cold.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#13