Shish Taouk With Tzatziki Sauce And Moroccan Carrots

For Shish Taouk:

Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Add remaining ingredients, and mix well (with your hands). Marinate, covered or in a zip-loc bag, in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours, or overnight.

Heat grill to high. Place chicken on skewers, or on a barbecue grid, and cook over direct heat for 10-15 minutes, turning frequently. Serve with rice or in pitas, with chopped iceberg lettuce, tomato and cucumber, Tsatziki Sauce and Moroccan Carrots.

For Tzatziki Sauce:

Line a sieve with a damp cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Dump the yogurt into the sieve, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to drain in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Peel the cucumbers. Cut them in half lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, scrape out and discard the seeds. Grate the cucumbers into a colander, using the large holes on a four-sided grater. Salt the cumcumbers and allow them to drain for 1/2 hour. Place the garlic, vinegar, and olive oil in a bowl and marinate while the cucumbers are draining. Squeeze the drained cucumbers as dry as possible and blot on paper towels. Place in the bowl with the marinated garlic. Add the drained yougurt and stir. Add a few grindings of fresh pepper and salt if necessary.

For Moroccan Carrots:

In a steamer set over boiling water steam the carrots, covered, for 8 minutes, or until they are just tender. In a skillet cook the garlic in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, for 1 minute, or until it is fragrant, add the cumin, the cinnamon, the sugar, the cayenne, and the carrots, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute, or until the carrots are well-coated with the mixture. Stir in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste, transfer the carrots to a bowl.