Tavuk Sis (Turkish Chicken Skewers)
Tender Turkish chicken skewers in a yogurt, pepper paste and paprika marinade. The kebab-shop classic, made easily at home on the BBQ or under the grill.
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Ingredients
700g boneless chicken thighs, cut into 3-4cm cubes
3 tbsp strained yogurt
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp mild red pepper paste
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp Turkish pepper flakes (pul biber)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1.5 tsp salt
Instructions
- 1
Whisk the yogurt, tomato paste, pepper paste, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, pepper flakes, oregano, black pepper and salt into a thick marinade.
- 2
Add the chicken cubes and massage the marinade in thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
- 3
If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes. Thread the chicken snugly onto the skewers, leaving no big gaps so the meat steams itself juicy.
- 4
Heat a BBQ, grill pan or your oven grill to high. Cook the skewers for 12-15 minutes, turning every 3-4 minutes, until charred in spots and cooked through with juices running clear.
- 5
Rest the skewers for 3 minutes under loose foil while you grill a few tomatoes and long green peppers alongside.
- 6
Serve over baldo rice pilav with the grilled vegetables, pickles and cold ayran, with lemon wedges for squeezing.
Tavuk sis is the gateway kebab: cubes of chicken thigh soaked in a yogurt and pepper paste marinade, threaded onto skewers and grilled until burnished at the edges and impossibly tender inside. It is the dish Turkish families reach for at every summer barbecue, and the one most likely to convert anyone who thinks grilled chicken is boring.
The marinade does all the work. Strained yogurt tenderises the meat while tomato and pepper paste, sweet paprika and pepper flakes build that deep brick-red crust you know from a good ocakbasi. Chicken thigh is strongly recommended over breast; it forgives an extra minute on the heat and stays juicy. Give the marinade at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Serve the skewers the Turkish way, over buttery baldo rice pilav with grilled tomatoes, peppers and a pile of pickles, and pour everyone a cold ayran. Every store-cupboard ingredient in this recipe, from the pepper paste to the paprika, ships across the UK from Turkish Online Market.
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