Saturday, August 3, 2013

Mediterranean Chicken Salad with Tzatziki

 
Marinated strips of grilled chicken over a bed of lettuce with fresh diced tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, black olives, red onions and dill served with tzatziki. 
 
 
 
To make the tzatziki, you will need: Greek yogurt or thick plain yogurt, Cucumber, Garlic, Lime juice, Dill, Salt and Pepper.

Pour 1 1/2 cup yogurt through a fine-mesh strainer placed over a bowl.

and strain for several hours to remove as much liquid as possible and thicken the yogurt.

Next, peel 1 cucumber, cut them in half, lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds.
Grate the cucumber..
 
and transfer it to a strainer with a bowl placed under to catch the liquids.
 
Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and  let sit at least 10 minutes.
 
Meanwhile peel 2 garlic cloves

and chop some fresh dill.

Transfer the thick yogurt to another bowl.

Squeeze 1/2 Tbsp Lime Juice into the yogurt.

Grate 1 1/2 tsp of Garlic.

Then,squeeze as much liquid from grated cucumber as possible and add the cucumber to the yogurt.

Add 1/2 Tbsp. Dill

Combine it thoroughly.

Add 1/4 tsp Pepper and ..

1/4 tsp Salt.

Mix it all up and serve it.

Next, for the chicken, you will need : Boneless chicken pieces, Yogurt, Lime, Dill, Oregano, Garlic, Cumin, Red chilli powder, Salt and Pepper.

Add 1/2 cup Yogurt

1/2 tsp. Lime juice
 
1 Tbsp. Dill

1 1/2 tsp Grated garlic

1/4 tsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Red chilli powder 
 
1/4 tsp Cumin

1/4 tsp Pepper

and 1/2 tsp. Salt in a bowl

Combine all the ingredients.

 Coat the chicken generously with the marinade.

Refrigerate it atleast for an hour.
 
Place the chicken pieces on a hot grill or a hot pan.

After 2 to 4 minutes, lift the chicken pieces with tongs and flip them over.
 Keep rotating 45 degrees every few minutes to make grill marks on each side.

Next get the salad ingredients ready-Chopped lettuce, Onion, Cucumber, Plum tomatoes, Olive, Dill and Green pepper.
Toss the salad ingredients together and top it with sliced chicken and tzatziki. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!!


 RECIPE

Tzatziki
Ingredients:
  • Yogurt- 1.5 Cup (Greek yogurt or if unavailable plain yogurt )
  • Garlic-1/4 tsp
  • Lime Juice-1/2 Tbsp
  • Cucumber- 1
  • Salt- 1/4 tsp
  • Dill- 1/2 tbsp.
  • Pepper- 1/4 tsp
Directions:
  • Pour the plain yogurt through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Do not squeeze. The bowl will catch the excess liquid from the yogurt. Skip this step if you are using greek yogurt or any thick yogurt.
  • Peel the cucumber and grate them and pour into a strainer.
  • Salt them and allow the salted cucumber to rest in the strainer for 30 minutes.
  • This will drain off the water from cucumber.
  • After 30 minutes, press the cucumber firmly with both your hands to strain out all the excess water from cucumbers.
  • Pour the thick yogurt into a bowl.
  • Add the grated cucumber.
  • Add grated garlic, chopped dill, salt and pepper.
  • Give it a good stir and refrigerate for an hour.
  • Serve it cold with any meat or eat with vegetable, chips or fresh bread.

Mediterranean Chicken
Ingredients:
  • Boneless chicken pieces - 1/2 lb
  • Yogurt - 1/2 Cup
  • Lime juice-1/2 tsp
  • Dill- 1 Tbsp
  • Garlic-1 1/2tsp
  • Oregano-1/4 tsp
  • Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
  • Cumin- 1/4 tsp
  • Salt- 1/2 tsp
  • Pepper- 1/4 tsp
Directions:
  • Make a marinade by mixing all the ingredients.
  • Marinate the chicken for an hour.
  • Cook the chicken on a grill or on stove top until the chicken is cooked through.
  • Once cooked, transfer the pieces to a cutting board and slice them into strips.
  • Slice it against the grilled marks if cooking on a grill. That will give nice even grill marks on all the chicken strips.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
  • Lettuce sliced - 2 Cup
  • Plum tomatoes diced - 1/2 Cup
  • Cucumber diced - 1 Cup
  •  red onion, diced - 1/4 Cup
  • kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped - 1/4 Cup
  • Green Pepper diced - 1/4 Cup
  • Dill minced - 1 Tbsp
  • Cooked Chicken cut into strips - Recipe above
  • Tzatziki - For dressing - Recipe above.

Directions:
  • Plate salad, then place the chicken strips on top
  • Serve the Tzatziki in a small bowl