← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 900 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breast), cut into 4 cm cubes
• ¼ tsp saffron threads, ground with a pinch of sugar
• 3 tbsp hot water, for the saffron
• 150 g Greek yogurt
• 1 large onion, grated or very thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Lemon, juiced
• ½ tsp Ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste) (optional)
• 1½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 30 g Butter, melted, for basting
• 4 small tomatoes, for grilling (optional)
• 1 tsp Sumac (optional)

Method

1. Stir the ground saffron into the hot water and leave it to bloom until deep orange. Keep 1 tbsp aside for basting.
2. Mix the yogurt, onion, oil, lemon juice, turmeric, tomato paste (if using), salt, pepper and most of the saffron water. Add the chicken, coat well, cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 min if using them. Scrape most of the onion off the chicken and thread the cubes snugly onto the skewers.
4. Heat a grill, barbecue or griddle pan to medium-high. Stir the reserved saffron water into the melted butter.
5. Grill the skewers for 10–12 min, turning every few minutes and brushing with saffron butter, until charred in spots and cooked through to 75°C (165°F). Grill the tomatoes alongside until blistered.
6. Rest for 5 min, then serve on saffron rice or warm flatbread with a dusting of sumac.

Tips

• Thighs stay juicier than breast; if you use breast, take it off the heat the moment it reaches temperature.
• Overnight marinating gives the most tender, deeply golden chicken.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Unicorns in the Kitchen The Mediterranean Dish The Cook's Cook