Shish Tawook: A Lebanese Grilled Chicken Skewer Recipe for Iftar
Every Lebanese grill house runs on two smells: charcoal, and shish tawook. The name is Turkish — shish for skewer, tawook for chicken — but the marinade is pure Lebanon: yogurt and lemon to tenderise, garlic without restraint, tomato paste and a warm spice blend that stains the chicken its signature sunset orange. It is exactly the kind of main course an iftar table wants after the soup and salad — substantial, bright, and eaten hot off the grill with bread and a snowfall of toum, the fierce garlic sauce no tawook is served without.
Tawook is also a gift to the fasting cook, because nearly all of its work happens hours ahead. Cube the chicken in the afternoon, drown it in the marinade, and walk away; at sunset the skewers need fifteen minutes on the grill and nothing from you but turning them once. The yogurt does quiet chemistry in the fridge, so the chicken grills up juicy inside with charred, spiced edges — never the dry fate of plain grilled breast. Thread the skewers while the soup is reheating, and dinner lands on the table in the easy order iftar deserves: dates, soup, then tawook with fattoush alongside.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halal-certified (about 500 g), cut into 5 cm cubes
- 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Toum (garlic sauce) and warm pita, to serve
- Grilled tomato and onion wedges, to serve (optional)
Method
- Put the chicken cubes in a mixing bowl and add the crushed garlic.
- Add the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, tomato paste, salt and all the spices. Mix thoroughly until every piece of chicken is coated in the orange marinade.
- Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, and up to 4 hours for the best flavour — set this up in the afternoon and the evening's work is nearly done.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers (if wooden, soak them in water for 30 minutes first).
- Grill over medium-high heat for 10–15 minutes, turning halfway, until the chicken is cooked through (74°C / 165°F inside) and lightly charred at the edges.
- Serve straight onto warm pita with toum for dipping, and grilled tomato and onion alongside.
Rule source: Qur'an 2:183–187 — the Ramadan fast is kept from dawn to sunset ('eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct… then complete the fast until nightfall'); iftar is the meal that breaks it at sunset. Beyond the fast's hours, the standing halal rules apply: the chicken in this recipe is specified halal-certified, and there is no pork or alcohol in the dish.
Notes
- Halal chicken. The recipe specifies halal-certified chicken, as it would be in Lebanon. If your butcher sells tawook pre-marinated, check the same box.
- No grill? A grill pan or a heavy skillet gives a good char; the oven at 220°C / 425°F for about 20 minutes works too, though the edges will be less smoky. Grilling is the version worth planning for.
- Toum is an emulsion of garlic, salt, lemon and oil — fierce, white and essential. A garlic aioli or even thick Greek yogurt with crushed garlic is the weeknight stand-in.
- Double it for iftar guests. Three servings is the source's family supper; the marinade scales 1:1, and skewers are the easiest main to multiply.
- Leftovers wrap beautifully in pita with toum and pickles the next night — the Lebanese shawarma-adjacent sandwich every home cook discovers by accident.
Frequently asked questions
When is shish tawook eaten during Ramadan?
At iftar, the sunset meal — as a main course, after the dates, soup and salad that open the table.
What makes the chicken halal in this recipe?
The recipe specifies halal-certified chicken; everything else in the marinade — yogurt, lemon, garlic, tomato paste, spices, olive oil — carries no halal question, and there is no alcohol in the dish at any point.
How long should the chicken marinate?
At least 1 hour, and 4 hours is better. Much beyond that and the lemon in the marinade starts to toughen the surface, so an afternoon is the sweet spot. ---
