Chicken Gyros at home!!

"Gyros" the Greek name for the "donner", this delicious food which - those of you who have travelled in Greece or Turkey - you have tried more than once and are still drooling....! A dish that it is not easy to cook at home since the traditional way is to cook it in a huge spit vertically placed in a special grill and cooked while it is turning around (hence the name "gyros") very slowly. But sometimes we have to improvise so to be able to enjoy something we really enjoy. Here is a classic recipe for chicken gyros, but you can easily substitute it with pork or lamb

Ingredients (for 4-6 people):
1Kg of chicken (weight after taking the bones off), breasts and legs
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp of sweet paprika
the juice out of 1-2 large grated onions (after grating, pass them through a fine sieve to extract the juice)
black pepper
1 tsp of oregano
1/2 tsp of dried mint
1/4 tsp of cinnamon powder
1/4 of nutmeg
1 tsp of allspice, powder
1/2 tsp of sumac spice (optional)
1-2 tbsp of mild mustard (optional)
1/2 tsp of cumin, powder (optional)
2-3 tbsp of olive oil

Method:
Mix together all the dried spices in a bowl and leave aside for later.

Cut the chicken (or ask your butcher to help) in very thin and small slices.

Put the meat in a large plastic bowl and add the olive oil, the minced garlic and the onion's juice. Stir very well and leave aside.
Sprinkle the chicken with the mixed dried spices and stir well. Cover the bowl and let the meat to marinade in the fridge for 4-8 hours, stirring every now and then.

Preheat the oven grill in the highest possible temperature.

Spread the chicken slices on a non stick oven pan or a pan lined with baking paper and put under the grill.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes stirring the meat often so to get thoroughly cooked but also to get nicely coloured and lightly crunchy.

Serve immediately along with pitta breads, tzatziki, fried potatoes and green salad on plates or wrapped in the pittas.