Gyros make me happy! We have a farmer’s market here every Saturday with local vendors and artists, and plenty of food and music. My usual go-to brunch there is at the gyro stand. Digging into a big bite of my beef gyros, an idea flashed into my mind… what if I play a little with the flavoring of the meat? What better flavoring than some of my Indian herbs and spices? Tada!! My chicken tikkas! They would go so perfectly with a dash of tzatziki and some salad in a gyro. As it is, we sometimes eat our tikkas wrapped in our naan roti bread, along with a good sprinkling of either some kind of chutney like my cilantro mint chutney or good spoonfuls of some kind of raita, which is so similar to tzatziki… naan bread is so much like a pita… so why not create this fabulous new creation, with loads of flavor and fun? These chicken tikka gyros are a great company meal, with your very own gyro station. Everything can be prepped and cooked beforehand, and then everyone can build their own gyros. It’s a fun way to entertain and less stress on you. You can marinate the chicken the previous night so all those Indian flavors seep into the meat. Then make the tzatziki sauce in the morning and refrigerate. So all that’s left is to chop a few veggies and cook those tikkas in your oven or on the stove.
First, let’s work on the chicken…
These tender chicken pieces are the star, so we’ll get those marinating first. You can get a more detailed description and more pictures on my chicken tikka post. Cut your chicken into bite sized pieces and mix well with tumeric, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Add remaining ingredients, minus the butter. Marinate at least one hour, preferably overnight. If baking, preheat oven to 500°F. Slide chicken pieces onto metal skewers and place on a foil lined pan, baste with melted butter and cover with foil. Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil, baste again and bake, uncovered an additional 15 minutes. Broil an additional 3-4 minutes on high, until just slightly charred. You can also cook the pieces on the stove top, without skewers. Heat butter and oil in a pan over high heat. Sear chicken pieces on both sides. Then reduce heat to medium and cook 10-12 minutes.
And your tzatziki…
This is easy. Check out my tzatziki recipe for full details, or read on… Grate your cucumbers with the largest holes on a box grater. Put the shreds in a colander, mix with 1/2 tsp salt, and let sit 10-15 minutes. This helps remove excess water so your tzatziki isn’t watery. Then rinse and squeeze out any remaining excess water by hand. Now just mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and chill for at least 1 hour.
And now let’s complete this gyro spread…
Of course we need pita bread. Maybe one of these days I will try home made, but for now store bought works great. Feta cheese is another necessity. I love my feta. Some chopped lettuce (romaine is perfect), cucumber and halved cherry tomatoes and we are all set. Layer your tikkas and veggies atop your pita bread, douse generously with tzatziki, and a nice scoop of feta. So next time you are having guests, impress them with this easy, delicious and so-much-fun meal. And raise a glass to GypsyPlate! Καλή όρεξη! आनंद लीजिये!
Chicken Tikka Gyro, on my Gypsy Plate… enjoy!
