These easy kabobs are a pretty orange color from the tamarind paste and the Greek yogurt will keep the chicken moist on even the highest temperature grill. I will normally make tamarind marinated chicken kabobs for parties and picnics as they will taste equally good hot or at room temperature plus they travel really well. Any leftovers are the perfect topping for a green salad at lunch the next day. I have used onions and squash on my kabobs but any veggies you like would work just as well: bell pepper, mushroom, or eggplant. Artfully arranged on top of a bed of rice or couscous these kabobs can be a show stopper. Sorry no fancy pictures on this post, but we were having a simple BBQ on the patio the night we made these so they came off the grill and went right into our bellies.
Tamarind Marinated Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients
For the Kabobs
- 1-2 lbs of chicken breast cut into cubes
- 1-2 purple onions
- 2-3 small yellow squash
- Olive oil
- Lemon
For the Marinade
- ½ cup of plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 small onion grated.
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- 3-6 cloves of garlic diced
- 1.5 tbsp of tamarind paste
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne or other hot pepper powder
Instructions
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Mix all the spices, the lemon and the tomato paste into the Greek yogurt and then coat the chicken with marinade. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or as long as overnight.
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Cut the veggies into large cubes about the same size as the chicken and coat with olive oil and salt and pepper. Thread the meat and vegetables on to the skewers.
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Place the skewers onto a hot grill or under a hot broiler. Flip them once. You will know the skewers are ready to flip when they release from the grate with only a gentle pull. If you have to tug on them they are not ready to flip wait another minute.
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Give the kebabs a drizzle of fresh lemon juice and dash of salt when they are done. Serve on their own or on top of a platter of rice or couscous.
Recipe Notes
If you are using wood skewers don't forget to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes to help stop them from burning.
