Foodie Fridays: Chicken Shawarma

If I can only find a smaller jar of tahini sauce, I plan to cook up this recipe for Chicken Shawarma from the July issue of Cooking Light. The Middle Eastern flavors seem like they will be delicious, and a good way to use the left over pita pockets that have been pushed to the back of the fridge (but still good!). Note that tahini sauce is like peanut butter, but made of sesame seeds. I found it in the international food aisle of the grocery store in my suburban Boston hometown (in the Greek foods section), but suspect I could find more size options at a store in a more culturally diverse neighborhood - or even at Trader Joe's.

Ingredients
Chicken:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 16 (3-inch) strips

Sauce:
1/2 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt (such as Fage)
2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Remaining ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 (6-inch) pitas
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
8 (1/4-inch-thick) tomato slices

Preparation
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. To prepare chicken, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.
3. To prepare sauce, combine yogurt and next 4 ingredients (through 1 garlic clove), stirring with a whisk.
4. Thread 2 chicken strips onto each of 8 (12-inch) skewers. Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done.
5. Place pitas on grill rack; grill 1 minute on each side or until lightly toasted. Place 1 pita on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup lettuce and 2 tomato slices. Top each serving with 4 chicken pieces; drizzle each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce.

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 45 minutes