Summer means game time for grilling. A decidedly healthful way to cook, grilling is also one of the simplest methods I know (bonus points: it results in fewer pots and pans to clean). Making these Grilled Chicken Kebab Wraps adds an extra step to your basic barbecue, but it’s worth the effort for three good reasons:
- Cutting poultry into small pieces and marinating it for a good while infuses it with flavor that you just don’t achieve with a bigger cut of meat.
- Threading all those pieces onto a skewer means they won’t drop between grill grates and be lost to the fire.
- A pile of skewered chicken, with its signature grill marks, makes for a very pretty and somewhat dramatic presentation.
Tasty Kebab Marinade
The marinade for this kebab is inspired by one I learned from my friend, Humaira. She’s from Afghanistan, where cooking beef, lamb, and chicken on skewers is very much a part of the food culture. There, kebabs are served with giant sheets of flatbread, along with flavorful salads. Lavash, naan, or other flasbreads will all work well here. Salad fixings and grilled chicken get tucked inside, making a flavorful wrap.
A Nutritious Chicken Kebab Wrap
Unlike a lot of kebabs, which are often made with rich and fatty cuts of meat, I use boneless skinless chicken breast. To combat the lack of flavor and dryness that can accompany such a lean cut, the chicken marinates in seasoned yogurt that tenderizes and adds heaps of flavor. Once grilled, wrap it in up and layer on crunchy vegetables and more yogurt. The whole wrap, generous in size, comes in at just 315 calories a serving.
If you like these Chicken Kebab Wraps, you might like:
Cilantro Lime Yogurt-Marinated Chicken
Everything Spiced Baked Chicken
Chicken Paillard with Shallots and Capers
Chicken Piccata from Simply Recipes
Grilled Chicken Kebab Wraps
These chicken kebabs are full of flavor and supremely tender thanks to a yogurt marinade that's packed with seasoning. Tuck into warm wraps and add crunchy salad and you've got a tasty, healthy, straight-from-the-grill supper.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups plain non-fat or low-fat yogurt, divided
- 2 large cloves minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large handfuls chopped hearts of Romaine lettuce
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh mint
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup thinly sliced English or Persian cucumbers
- ½ thinly sliced red onion
- 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 flatbreads, such as lavash or naan
Instructions
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Cut the chicken breast into 1 ½-inch pieces.
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In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of the yogurt, garlic, coriander, cumin, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, cover with plastic wrap, and marinate for several hours, or ideally overnight.
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When ready to cook, pull the chicken from the refrigerator. If using wooden skewers, immerse them in water for at least 20 minutes before cooking. Thread the chicken onto the 6 skewers and use your hands to wipe off as much of the yogurt as you can manage without getting obsessive about it.
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Heat the grill over a medium-high flame. When it is ready, grill the chicken until browned on all sides and the inside is cooked (just barely no longer pink).
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While the chicken cooks, put the lettuce, mint, tomatoes, cucumber, and onion in a large bowl. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice of the lemon along with the olive oil over the salad. Season with a big pinch of salt.
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Just before serving, quickly warm the flatbreads on the grill. Serve the chicken, warm flatbread, salad, and remaining ½ cup of yogurt at the table for everyone to make their own wraps.
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To assemble, pull the chicken from the skewer and lay on a flatbread. Add a generous spoonful of both salad and yogurt. Roll up and eat.
