Curry Marinated Chicken Skewers with Homemade Tomato Dill Tzatziki

Seventy-two degree afternoons with a light breeze and a few fluffy, white clouds passing overhead. This is why we love living in Maine in the summer. And it’s why the ability to sit outside on a slate patio, looking at the grass and birds and trees, grilling meat over an open flame for our evening meal is so delicious. This dinner comes together quite easily and could be adjusted to serve either two or twenty.

Curry Marinated Chicken Skewers with Homemade Tomato Dill Tzatziki
Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, pounded flat
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 garlic gloves, crushed or microplaned
• 2 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper

For the tzatziki:

• 1 24-ounce container of plain, whole milk yogurt
• 1 cucumber, seeded and grated
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 2 tablespoons dill
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or smashed in a mortar and pestle
• Lemon juice, to taste
• Kosher salt

For Assembly:

• Store-bought naan
• Olive oil
• Chopped tomatoes, to garnish

Method:

For the chicken:

I sliced eight boneless, skinless chicken thighs and marinated them in a large Ziplock bag for an hour, at least. I threaded the chicken onto soaked skewers, and grilled for about six minutes a side.

For the tzatziki:

1. Line a medium-sized bowl with multiple layers of cheesecloth, and pour in the yogurt. Gather the ends of the cheesecloth, and fasten with a rubber band, so that the yogurt is in a ball. Suspend the ball over a bowl in the refrigerator overnight, so that the excess liquid whey drains away.
2. The next day, pour the strained yogurt into a bowl, reserving some of the whey that has drained away.
3. Grate the cucumber into a colander, sprinkle with salt, and leave for 1/2 an hour for the excess liquid to drain.
4. Beat the yogurt in a medium bowl with the minced garlic, tomato, and mint, and fold in the grated cucumbers. Add lemon juice to taste, and a splash or two of the reserved whey if the dip is too thick. Season with salt, to taste.

To assemble:

I brushed the naan with olive oil and grilled it for a quick minute. Remove chicken from skewers and onto the naan, spread generously with tzatziki. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with lemon zest. Enjoy outside.

Tagged as: chicken, dill, garlic, tzatziki, yogurt

About the Author: Jillian Bedell

Jillian grew up in Connecticut, went to university in Boston, college in New Haven, did some post-grad soul searching in New York, exiled herself to Mexico, married her longtime sweetheart, and lived in a house on the ocean. She suspected Maine might be the perfect place to raise a family, so she came back home to New England two years ago. Now a mom to Violet Maeve and living in Rockland, where she hopes to settle for a good, long while, Jillian reads, writes, walks, and practices Nia, when not watching Malcolm photograph sandwiches.