Steven and I loooove Mediterranean food. It was one of our go-tos in Austin. We haven’t found new spots in Houston yet, so I decided to try for myself. I’ve been wanting to make a yogurt marinated chicken kebab for a while, too, so this killed two birds with one stone. Initially I didn’t want to make this because it seemed like a lot of moving parts for a weeknight dinner between the chicken, saffron rice, and cucumber salad. And I’ll admit, there were quite a few dishes to clean up. BUT the prep itself wasn’t hard and the outcome was well worth it.

What you need:

• 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 3 tsp minced garlic (or 3 cloves)
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Make marinade by combining all ingredients and pour over chicken. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes, but up to 24 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F
3. Place marinated chicken on a rack on top of a baking sheet. I lined my sheet with aluminum foil.
4. Place chicken in oven for 20 minutes until chicken is almost 165°F internally. Then switch oven to broil for 3 minutes to allow chicken to crisp up.
5. Serve over saffron rice and top with yogurt dill and cucumber salad! (Recipes to come this weekend!)