Pita, chicken and yogurt dip

I made this chicken before, when I tried making Chicken Tikka Masala. This time, I decided to cook the chicken and put it in a pita sandwich.

Yogurt-marinated chicken:
refer to Chicken Tikka Masala recipe.

The chicken, marinated overnight

Sliced up after cooking in the oven

I decided to make a yogurt dip for my sandwich.
Yogurt dip:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 onion, sliced thinly
1/2 small cucumber, cut in bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper

1. First, you have to drain the whey off of the yogurt to make it thicker. To make life easier, you could also buy Greek-style yogurt, and skip this step. I took a wire strainer and put it on top of a large bowl or pot. Then, I lined the strainer with a sheet of paper towel. Then, I put the yogurt in the strainer for about 3 hours.

2. After your yogurt has been strained, put the yogurt in a small bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and let it sit in the fridge for at least a day to let the flavors mix.



And here's how to make pita bread! I took this recipe out of a book called The Bread Bible by Beranbaum. I made a double batch.

Pita Bread: makes 8 6-inch pitas

3 cups + scant 1/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cup water at room temperature

1. Combine all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. With the stand mixer, mix on low for about 20 seconds, until the dough is moistened. Raise the speed to medium and knead for about 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can knead it by hand. The dough should clean the bowl, be soft and smooth, and just a little sticky to the touch.

Here's about how stretchy your dough should be.

2. Coat a large bowl in oil to keep the dough from sticking. Place the dough in the bowl and cover. Let the dough rise until it has doubled (about 1-2 hours on a hot day) or you can leave it overnight.

3. Next, you shape the dough. Make sure to cover the cutting board and your hands with oil, or else the dough will stick. Cut the dough into eight pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

4. Press the balls flat with your hand. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. This will make it easier to roll the dough out later. If you try to roll the dough now, the gluten will make it spring back into the original shape.


5. Use a rolling pin to shape each piece of dough to 1/4 inch thick. Make sure to use lots of flour to coat the board, the dough, and the rolling pin.


6. You can cook the dough on the stove. I used two frying pans to speed up my cooking time. Put a little bit of oil in your pan and heat on medium-high heat. Place one pita bread in the pan and cook for 20 seconds, then flip over. Continue to cook for about a minute, or until the dough balloons.