Shish Taouk (Lebanese Chicken)

This is one of my favorite Lebanese dishes to make.  I got the recipe from Nita Mehta's Lebanese Cooking for the Indian Kitchen.

This will require some planning ahead because you will have to assemble your Lebanese spice mix and also marinate your chicken for at least 4 hours (I usually marinate overnight), but the results are well worth the extra planning. I usually double this for my family.





Serves 3-4
250 gms boneless chicken - cut into 3/4" pieces
1 medium sized onion- cut into 8 pieces

Marinade
1 egg
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste (I usually just use fresh grated ginger and minced garlic)
4 Tbsp. thick curd (yogurt)
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. salt
1 onion, grated
1 tsp dried thyme or oregano
1 tsp Lebanese spice mix
1 tsp roasted cumin (bhuna jeera) powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder or paprika (degi mirch) powder (I always use paprika b/c of the little people)
2 tsp tomato ketchup
2 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp oil

1. Mix all ingredients of the marinade in a bowl.
2. Add chicken pieces and onion.  Keep in fridge covered for at least 4 hours.
3. Preheat oven at 180 C for 10 minutes.
4. Grease the wire rack with oil.  Place the chicken pieces on it. (I always use the skewers that came with my oven.)
5. Bake at 180 C in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is well cooked.

This goes great with some hummus, and carrots, cucumbers, and Megan's pita bread for dipping.

Lebanese Spice Mix

This is a great Lebanese spice mix that I use with several recipes. You can find all of these easily in an Indian grocery store. I have re-purposed my husband's old coffee grinder to grind my spices. I quadruple this recipe to make the grinding easier, then I store the extra for later use. The ground spices will keep for 6 months.

Makes 2 tsp.
1/2 tsp. black pepper corns (saboot kali mirch)
4-5 cloves (laung)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (jaiphal) - grated
1/4 tsp.  fenugreek seeds (methi daana)
1/4 tsp. ginger (sonth) powder
1/2 tsp. green cardamom seeds (chhoti illaichi)
1 star anise (phool chakri)
1" stick cinnamon (dalchini)

 Grind all ingredients in a small mixer (or coffee grinder) or crush with a pestle and mortar to a powder. Store in a jar with a tight fitting lid and use as required.