Another truly unforgettable meal/dish from my trip to Istanbul was the doner kebab. This is basically made form lamb or chicken that has been generously seasoned, skewered together and slow roasted on a rotisserie to provide gorgeously tender shavings of meat to be layered into soft warm pita or fluffy flat breads topped with zingy salads and a refreshing drizzle of tzatziki.

I’m making a chicken version that has been marinated over night in a marinade taken from the wonderful Meliz cooks, I’ve tweaked the method a little to adjust for my oven and achieve the best results possible.

Let’s get cooking…

Mix all of the ingredients together and marinade overnight or for a minimum of 2 hours

About 30 minutes before cooking, remove the marinated chicken from the fridge and soak the wooden skewers in water to prevent it from burning.

Using 3 skewers, thread each fillet horizontally onto the 3 skewers, pushing each fillet closely together but leaving a little room for it to cook

Place over an oven dish so that the skewers are resting on the dish and the chicken is not touching the bottom of the dish

Roast for 20 minutes at 180, remove from the oven, baste and turn over, roast for a further 20 minutes and repeat once more for a total cooking time of 60 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest

I served mine with oven fried potato chips, flat breads and tzatziki.

Turkish inspired doner kebab

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

Ingredients

1kg chicken thigh fillets, about 6 thighs
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp red pepper paste OR tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp crushed chillies
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp onion granules
½ tsp garlic granules
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients together and marinade overnight or for a minimum of 2 hours
About 30 minutes before cooking, remove the marinated chicken from the fridge and soak the wooden skewers in water to prevent it from burning.
Using 3 skewers, thread each fillet horizontally onto the 3 skewers, pushing each fillet closely together but leaving a little room for it to cook
Place over an oven dish so that the skewers are resting on the dish and the chicken is not touching the bottom of the dish
Roast for 20 minutes at 180, remove from the oven, baste and turn over, roast for a further 20 minutes and repeat once more for a total cooking time of 60 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest
served mine with oven fried potato chips, flat breads and tzatziki.