Spiced Chicken Skewers with Raita

Nicole over at For the Love of Food has
a wonderful blogging event Taste & Create. I love this event because you are able to showcase someone else's talent. There are so many bloggers out there with creative and inspiring dishes. It is a novel idea to be able to shower someone else with praise. For this event you are paired with a fellow blogger and browse through their blog. From the wide variety of choices you choose a post, prepare the recipe, photograph your creation and blog about it. Nicole will put all the entries up at the end of this month. Have a peek!!

For the month of October I was paired with the talented Sara at Whisks & Needles . From her blog I chose to create Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts. My version of her recipe is here on my blog. It was so delicious. I will be sure to make it time and time again. Her original recipe is here . It is an original recipe of hers as well. One that she has tweaked and nurtured to fruition.

Sara emailed me yesterday and she has chosen my recipe for "Spiced Chicken Skewers with Raita". They love East Indian food! Her recipe and recreation of my dish and post are here . I hope she enjoyed this event as much as I did.

I tend to barbeque all year long. Chicken is always a staple for us during barbeque season. Canada is such a melting pot of diverse cultures, so, what can really be classed as Canadian cuisine. This chicken dish takes a little while to prepare, but it is well worth the wait time. I'm so glad that Sara enjoyed it!!!

I don't have my own photo of this recipe, but, my photo is taken in the countryside overlooking Lake Okanagan in the town of Naramata, British Columbia.



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**Spiced Chicken Skewers with Raita**

3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 T peeled fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cardamon
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
1/4 tsp saffron threads, crushed
1/8 tsp ground cloves
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
cooking spray
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

To prepare kebabs, combine the first 12 ingredients through to red bell pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag, seal and marinate in refrigerator overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Thread chicken, onion and bell peppers alternately on each of 8 (12-inch) bamboo skewers (having soaked them immersed in water for hours). Coat kebabs with cooking spray, and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray or oil. Grill 25 minutes or until chicken is done, turning occasionally. Remove from grill, keep warm.

**Raita**

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/3 cup diced seeded tomato
1/4 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, grated and squeezed dry
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
1 T minced jalapeno pepper
1 T chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt

Combine 1/2 cup yogurt with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Serve with kebabs.

Serves 8