Chicken-kebab

They are an obligatory feature on special occasions, such as weddings. Azerbaijanis love to make kebabs at picnics and at their summer houses and, as is the case the world over, it is the men who take charge of the barbecue. The traditional name for kebabs, shishlik, after the metal skewer or shish on which a kebab is cooked, entered the Russian language as shashlik, which is now the name for any kind of barbecued meat in Russia. Chicken kebab is a tasty, lighter version of the lamb kebab.

Preparation time: 20-25 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 500 g/1 lb 1 oz chicken
• 1 large onion
• salt & pepper
• 1 tbspn lemon juice
• coriander
• parsley
• pinch of sumac

Preparation

• Cut the chicken into 40-50 gram/1.5 to 2 oz pieces. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and place in a bowl with rings of raw onion. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice and mix well. Cover and leave to marinade for an hour or so before cooking.
• Thread the marinaded chicken pieces onto long thin metal skewers and cook over hot coals.
• As soon as they are cooked, serve the chicken pieces with rings of raw onion, chopped herbs and sumac. Sumac, an alkaline red powder from barberry bark, has a zesty flavour and is thought to aid digestion of acidic meat.
• Barbecued tomatoes, aubergines and peppers or barbecue salad are an excellent accompaniment to chicken kebabs.