Middle Eastern Chicken Kebabs and Basmati Rice Pilaf

July 18, 2015 by quirkyjazz 1 Comment

Recipe Review(s):  From “Once Upon a Chef”
Follow the links below for the original recipes.

Middle Eastern Chicken Kebabs:
http://www.onceuponachef.com/2012/09/middle-eastern-chicken-kebabs.html

Basmati Rice Pilaf:
http://www.onceuponachef.com/2012/10/basmati-rice-pilaf-with-dried-fruits-and-almonds.html

Middle Eastern Chicken Kebabs from Once Upon a Chef

Basically the chicken recipe involves marinating the chopped up chicken thighs in Greek yogurt plus gobs of spices: paprika, cumin, cinnamon, crushed red pepper, black pepper, lemon juice, garlic, etc. After marinating, the chicken is threaded on kebabs and grilled. Voila! That is it. The hardest part is finding all the spices (in my messy spice cupboard) and remembering to marinate the chicken. The chef recommends marinating for several hours or overnight, but I usually manage it for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Basmati Rice Pilaf from Once Upon a Chef

For the rice pilaf, the onion is browned in butter and then the spices (turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, garlic) and basmatic rice are added to the skillet. After all those ingredients get acquainted in the hot butter, the liquid goes in. After it simmers for a while, the almonds and raisins get tossed on top before serving.

REVIEW: FIVE FORKS!

Both recipes are EXCELLENT. Yes, there are a lot of ingredients, but once you get organized it is not difficult.
I love the flavor and the healthy eating factor.

Tweaks:

I used chicken broth instead of water in the pilaf. I also added 1/2 cup more rice and about 1 1/2 cups more water. I cook rice in a 1:2 ratio of rice to water usually so I added the extra broth/water to be sure the rice would be moist and cooked through.  One could use brown rice.  A little saffron would be nice, too.

As I mentioned, I couldn’t find all the spices in my cupboard. I couldn’t find the paprika nor the turmeric. They seem to like to hide. I substituted sweet curry powder one time and Maharaja another time. I think I also used tandoori spice in a pinch. Basically anything that has turmeric in it will be fine. As always, I use Penzeys Spices.

I did not use all the salt in the marinade. I used about 1 teaspoon.

I used bottled lemon juice and left out the zest today. Sometimes I’m not in the mood to fiddle with real lemons. I used real garlic because I happened to have some, but the minced or chopped garlic in a jar would be perfectly good for this recipe.

DO use Greek plain yogurt. NO vanilla or anything other flavors!

If you don’t have time to put the chicken on skewers or if it is raining — or if you just don’t feel like grilling out — heat up some olive oil in a large skillet and brown the marinated chicken on medium high heat until the chicken is cooked through. If the marinade sticks to the skillet and begins to burn, add a little water or chicken broth to deglaze the pan. We did it this way tonight and it worked really well and tasted really great!