Tavuk Izgara ve Soğan Salatasi

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Tavuk Izgara ve Soğan Salatasi

 I'm so excited! I haven't made Turkish food in a while, especially not Turkish dinner. (Turkish breakfast is really good, and easy, so I have it on occasion- but that's a post for another day.) Seems like every time I get a craving for Tavuk Izgara, I want it NOW. And I don't like it as well if I haven't started it the day before. When that happens, I usually just "settle" for some generic grilled chicken, or some other dish that wasn't really what I wanted. You know what I mean; you've done it too. Anyway I started it yesterday, and I cooked it today. And while I was waiting for the grill to heat, I threw together a little Soğan Salatasi. There is nothing better (in my opinion) with grilled meat. It's fresh, and tangy, and sour, and flavorful- it's just the perfect side for Tavuk Izgara. 

This big bag of sumac was $6.49 at a Middle Eastern grocery

Now, it calls for "sumac" which may or may not be found easily. Penzeys carries it, but they charge something like $27 a pound (On the bright side, they sell small containers, as small as 1.2 ounces, for $4.55. I have never tried their sumac, but their other spices are excellent, so I have no reason to believe the sumac would be otherwise.) Personally, I bought a little over a pound from a Middle Eastern grocer- and paid $6.49 for it. It's supposed to keep for several months after you open it, but I keep it in its original bag inside a zipped freezer bag, in the freezer. I don't think it's degraded at all yet (over a year). You don't want to miss out on sumac- it's not easily substituted (although some believe you can use lemon zest and salt, or lemon pepper and salt- I just don't think it's a suitable substitution).

The rest of the ingredients for this dinner are pretty common, and if you don't have them in your kitchen already, at least they are easy to find in a regular grocery.

Tavuk Izgara 

Tavuk Izgara
"Grilled Chicken"

2 cups plain yogurt
2 Tablespoons chili powder (I used half hot, half mild)
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, 5 pieces

Rinse chicken breasts; set aside to drain.

Combine yogurt and spices. Stir to blend thoroughly.

Place a small amount of yogurt mixture in bottom of covered refrigerator container. Add a chicken breast and spread with yogurt. Repeat until all chicken and yogurt is used. 

Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, pick up each piece of chicken with tongs, allowing excess marinade to drip off into container.

Grill over high heat until done (charcoal grill is best, but I have a gas grill, so I make do), turning chicken several times during cooking.

Now, this might feel a little "wrong" but when I drip the marinade back into the container, I usually end up with about half of it left over. So in the name of accuracy, I only count half the calories, carbs, etc. in the marinade. This shows all the nutritional information on the chicken AND the marinade:

Per Serving (based on 5 servings):  380 Calories; 7g Fat (17.5% calories from fat); 67g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 170mg Cholesterol; 254mg Sodium. 

 Soğan Salatasi

Soğan Salatasi
"Onion Salad"

1 medium onion
1 bunch parsley
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sumac
1/2 teaspoon salt, I didn't use this
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

Cut onion in half (or quarters) lengthwise, slice into paper-thin semi-circle slices. Chop parsley. Toss together in a medium bowl. 

Add lemon juice, sumac, salt and pepper (if using) to the bowl; toss gently.

Serve immediately, garnished with fresh lemon slices, if desired.

Per Serving (based on 4 servings): 17 Calories; trace Fat (7.5% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 276mg Sodium.