Chicken Döner Kebab: Original & Easy Homemade Recipe 🌯

Ingredients

🍗 4 free range chicken thighs (with drumsticks)
🥛 1 Greek yogurt
🧅 1 red onion
🧄 1 clove of garlic
🍅 1 tomato
🥬 50 g. chopped lettuce
🍋 10 ml. lemon juice
🌶️ ½ teaspoon of sweet paprika
🌿 ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
🧂 ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
⚫ ½ teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
🫒 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
🧂 Salt (to taste)
🥙 4 pita breads (homemade or store-bought)

The “ Döner ” is the most traditional Turkish dish and the most famous worldwide.

It consists of preparing thin slices of lamb, chicken or beef, which are previously cooked on a vertical wheel. And hence the expression “ döner kebab ”, which means “ grilled meat that turns ”. Perhaps the most famous is the beef or lamb kebab, more common in Arab countries.

This meat is then usually accompanied by vegetables and other accompaniments. It is eaten in a traditional pita bread , which you can also make at home, or in the “ durum ” version, in a kind of rolled pancake. As a final touch and as another suggestion, a yogurt sauce or the well-known tzatziti sauce is added .

This street dish can be found in many restaurants, as Turkish food has spread throughout Europe, including our country. But there is nothing like preparing it at home, with basic ingredients that don’t require too much work.

This time I have decided on chicken, which is an easy and inexpensive meat to cook and is delicious with the marinade that we are going to make in the recipe. If you like Arabic cuisine , I recommend other dishes that you can find on the blog, very healthy and that also fit into a vegetarian or vegan diet , in some cases. Among them are falafel with yogurt sauce , hummus or chickpea cream , baba ganoush or eggplant cream or a delicious tabbouleh , a Lebanese couscous salad. How are you going to make your kebab?

Chicken Doner Kebab Recipe 🌯

Preparing the chicken

1. The first thing we will do is debone the thighs, so that we are left with only the meat. If you are not good at this, tell the butcher when you buy them. Also remove parts of fat or tendons. Peel the garlic clove and chop it very finely.
2. In a large bowl, add the Greek yogurt, chopped garlic, spices, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste. Mix everything well until it forms a smooth cream.
3. Cut the meat into large pieces. Add it to the bowl with the marinade and mix everything well, making sure that all the chicken pieces are well coated. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. Peel the onion and cut it into thin julienne strips. Cut the tomato into thick slices and then into quarters. Set aside.
4. In a frying pan with a little extra virgin olive oil, fry the chicken with the marinade (cream). Turn over and over until it is golden on both sides. Remove and cut into strips.

Preparing the Chicken Döner Kebab

1. The pita bread comes ready-made, but it needs to be heated. You can do this in the oven, but a more practical way is to use a toaster. It will be ready in 3–4 minutes.
2. Assembling the doner kebab: cut open the pita bread with a knife (be careful not to burn yourself), leaving an opening where you will fill it. Start with a base of chopped lettuce, then the chopped tomato, the chicken meat, and a little onion. As a finishing touch, serve with a yogurt sauce or the well-known Greek sauce “tzatziti”.

More Chicken Recipes

Garlic Chicken Recipe  |   Andalusian Stew Recipe  |  Chicken Minced Meat Soup  |  Catalan Stew Recipe  |  Chicken Shawarma Recipe  |  Chicken Pepitoria Recipe  |  Chicken Döner Kebab Recipe  |  Chicken Stir-Fried Rice Recipe  |  Grandma’s Chicken Recipe  |  Chicken Mushroom Stew Recipe

Tips for a Perfect Chicken Döner Kebab

• It is best to prepare the doner kebab with the chicken hot or at least lukewarm. The intense flavour of the marinade will be better appreciated. You can prepare the meat in advance and then heat it up at the last minute before placing the dish in the pita bread.
• I have prepared this recipe with a combination of spices that give the marinated chicken a delicious flavour. If there is an ingredient that you don’t like, there is no problem in substituting it, but don’t change too many things, otherwise it would no longer be a traditional Turkish kebab.
• This dish is also perfect to take to work. Wrap it in cling film or aluminium foil, without adding the sauce, and then heat it up before eating. Once hot, add a little sauce, which you bring on the side.
• The “durum” option, instead of pita bread, is made with wheat or corn tortillas. Assembly is also very simple. Add a similar filling to the tortilla and then roll it up. Cut it in half (to make it easier to handle) and it’s ready.