Food and Recipes Recipes Spiced Chicken and Veggie Kebabs With Grilled Pita Bread Don't forget to grill your pita. By Southern Living Test Kitchen Southern Living Test Kitchen The Southern Living Test Kitchen has been publishing recipes since 1970, four years after the first issue of Southern Living Magazine appeared on newsstands. The Southern Living Test Kitchen team includes a team of professionals with deep expertise in recipe development, from pastry chefs and grilling experts to nutritionists and dietitians. Together, the team tests and retests, produces, styles, and photographs thousands of recipes each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on June 14, 2021 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Active Time: 30 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 Jump to recipe Get ready to up your grilling game. Hamburgers and hot dogs will always remind us of summertime, but after the third barbecue of the season, we're itching for something different. These Spiced Chicken and Veggie Kebabs with Grilled Pita Bread are on track to become your new signature dish. Reminiscent of chicken shawarma with a light char and juicy interior, these kebabs have big flavor from the dark meat of the chicken thighs. Adding tomato paste to the marinade gives the chicken a nice color and helps it caramelize on the grill; 2 teaspoons of coriander bring a welcome dose of fragrant, floral spice to the skewers. The 4-ingredient marinade punches above its weight to deliver vibrant, robust flavor to these chicken kebabs. The mint-yogurt sauce is an easy, tzatziki-style sauce that is simple in flavor but pulls everything together; grilling the pita is the extra step that truly elevates this dish. It's easy to make this recipe ahead of time (especially if you marinate the chicken overnight before grilling); you can even double the quantities to feed a crowd. The yogurt sauce will last for a few days in the fridge and improves in flavor the longer it rests. The cool, creamy sauce and the charred red-orange skewers make a really pretty platter—plus, it's a fun activity for your guests to assemble their own wraps. Ingredients 1 tablespoon tomato paste 2 teaspoons ground coriander 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided 4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut crosswise into 1-inch strips 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt ¼ cup chopped fresh mint 1 pint (10 oz.) cherry tomatoes 1 medium-size red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges 4 (6-inch) pita bread rounds Directions Whisk together tomato paste, ground coriander, 3 tablespoons of the oil, and 2 teaspoons of the salt in a medium bowl until combined. Add chicken; toss until evenly coated. Set aside. Preheat a grill to medium (350°F to 400°F). Stir together yogurt, mint, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a medium bowl until combined. Chill until ready to serve. Thread tomatoes and onion wedges alternately onto 4 (8-inch-long) skewers. Thread chicken onto 4 separate skewers. Discard remaining marinade. Arrange chicken skewers on 1 half of a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil; arrange vegetable skewers on other half. Drizzle vegetables with remaining 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Place chicken skewers on well-oiled grill grates. Grill, covered, until lightly charred and a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of meat registers 165°F, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating halfway through cook time. Remove from grill. Add vegetable skewers to grates. Grill, covered, until charred and some tomatoes have burst, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from grill. Wrap pita tightly in aluminum foil. Place on grates; grill until warmed, 2 minutes. Serve pitas and skewers alongside yogurt sauce. Print