These Grilled Chicken Skewers are such a delicious addition to any meal especially paired with pita, hummus and a salad on the side. The chicken thighs are marinated in a flavourful concoction of fresh herbs and chillies, and grilled to perfection. Perfect char outside but juicy and succulent inside.
I have a small balcony garden at home, not too many plants but I do grow most of the herbs and a few leafy greens. And the hailstorm that we experienced last week was not very complimentary to my gardening efforts. Since I do not have too much space inside my apartment to move all the plants, I decided to be selective and move in only the curry leaves and basil along with a few other ornamental ones. But with the wind raging all day, all my herbs took a real beating. And then the hail started!
Since I wasn’t sure if the plants were going to survive, I cut off all the herbs and thus ended up with a huge amount of parsley and a bit of coriander, mint and some rosemary too.
I didn’t want the herbs to just wilt off in the fridge especially the parsley so decided I must do something delicious with it. Chimichurri came to my mind immediately especially since I have made it before. I had some chicken thigh fillets stocked too so the decision was made; I will grill the chicken and have it with the chimichurri. But tweaking is something I love to do and what I finally ended up with was these absolutely gorgeous Grilled Chicken Skewers with fresh herbs and chillies.
Veered away from the traditional chimichurri as I was thinking of a marinade and not a sauce. So I wanted more flavour which is why the fresh red chillies and ginger ended up in it. Along with the freshness from the parsley, coriander and basil, this marinade has the depth of flavour from the aromatics and that mild kick from the chillies. Long red chillies which are not very fiery are best for this style of marinade.
The grilled chicken skewers turned out so good that I decided to share it with all of you. An extremely easy dish to make, hardly any prep work except for chopping up some herbs and a very affordable one too especially if you grow herbs. Perfect for an easy and healthy weekday dinner.
We had these grilled chicken skewers Middle Eastern style served up on my trusted wooden board. So pita bread, chicken skewers, garlic dip, tzatziki, olives and a green salad. Even better the next day to take to work….just put it all into the pita and roll it up for a delicious wrap for lunch. Winner, isn’t it!
Hope all of you enjoy these grilled chicken skewers (with fresh herbs and chillies). And if you make it, I would so love to see it so please tag me in all your pictures using #thespiceadventuress. Have a great weekend folks!
Grilled Chicken Skewers (with fresh herbs and chillies)
Ingredients
- 500 gms chicken; cubed into even sized pieces
- 2 heaped tbsps herb marinade
- Salt; to season
- Juice of half a lemon
- Bamboo skewers
Herb Marinade:
- 1 cup parsley; finely chopped
- ½ cup fresh coriander leaves; finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh basil; finely chopped
- 3 medium garlic cloves; grated
- ½ inch ginger; grated
- 1 ½ fresh red chillies long variety; seeded and finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups olive oil
- Salt; to season
Instructions
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water for 15 minutes to prevent burning.
- To prepare the herb marinade, place all the ingredients in a bowl and add the olive oil. Season with salt.
- Place the cubed chicken pieces in a bowl and add the marinade, salt and lemon juice. Mix well to combine.
- Skewer the chicken pieces and allow to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Heat a grill pan (or frying pan) to high and place the skewers on top. Since olive oil is already added to the marinade, no extra oil is required.
- When grilled on one side, turn over, baste with more marinade and cook. Repeat till you get good caramelization all over and then finish off in the oven (another 2-3 minutes). You can continue to baste with the marinade as required.
- Serve warm with dips, salad and pita bread.
Notes
Looks great Dhanya. Thanks for sharing and the marinade sounds super interesting. Wondering if I could try this with paneer or any other veggie since we are vegetarian ?
Yes, this would work with veggies like mushrooms, zucchini, baby corn, bell peppers, potatoes (parboiled first).
Your marinade sounds so good! so much flavour. Gorgeous photos too
Thanks much…..it’s a wonder how a few handful of herbs can create so much magic.
Yum these look delicious and your sauce YUM. so glad you saved the herbs from the hail storm. Thanks for sharing with YWF
Thanks Vicki.
Thanks Dhanya for sharing this wonderful recipe , I tried making this turned out yumm
So happy to hear that Rashmi
These look absolutely delicious! We’re sweltering here so this is perfect fodder with a nice salad and flatbread, Thank you! #YWF
Thanks Nancy; its indeed perfect for summer.
Anything made from scratch will always taste amazing… love such simple flavors in chicken… A delicious meal…
Thanks a lot Rafeeda; absolutely true
These skewers are calling me. I can hear it :)) I also love the marinade. It will really come handy on many things. It definitely gives a bursting amount of flavours 😀
Totally, a very versatile marinade. Thanks Nagi.
Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser and commented:
Use Kosher Chicken
What dip you use there? Ranch?
No…one is tzatziki and the other Lebanese style garlic dip.
Love that marinade! It would be good on so many things 🙂
Totally Elaine, a very versatile one. I have frozen a batch to try out with prawns
Good plan 🙂