Main Dish

Grilled Chicken Ražnjići with Ajvar

Name: Grilled Chicken Ražnjići with Ajvar
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Serbia & Bosnia
Ingredients: 600 g free-range chicken thigh, cut into 3 cm cubes; 30 ml extra virgin olive oil; 5 g sweet paprika; 2 cloves garlic, grated; 4 red romano peppers, for the ajvar; 1 small aubergine, for the ajvar; 15 ml red wine vinegar; 1 lemon, halved and charred

Lean protein skewers over charcoal with a slow-cooked fire-roasted pepper spread.

40 min 4 servings 95 kcal per serving

Ingredients

600 gfree-range chicken thigh, cut into 3 cm cubes
30 mlextra virgin olive oil
5 gsweet paprika
2 clovesgarlic, grated
4red romano peppers, for the ajvar
1 smallaubergine, for the ajvar
15 mlred wine vinegar
1lemon, halved and charred

Method

01
Marinate the chicken with olive oil, paprika, garlic and pepper for at least 20 minutes at room temperature.
02
Roast the peppers and aubergine over open flame until the skins blister black, then steam covered for ten minutes and peel.
03
Blend the flesh coarsely with vinegar, a spoon of olive oil and salt — the ajvar should stay textured, never smooth.
04
Thread the chicken tightly onto skewers so the pieces protect each other from drying.
05
Grill over medium-high charcoal 10–12 minutes, turning every two minutes, until lacquered and just firm.
06
Rest five minutes, then serve with the ajvar, charred lemon and a handful of parsley.

Why this dish works

Grilled Chicken Ražnjići with Ajvar is built for 4 servings and lands at roughly 95 kcal per plate, with 42g protein, 13g carbohydrate and 17g fat across the recipe. It comes together in about 40 minutes using 8 whole-food ingredients — led by free-range chicken thigh, cut into 3 cm cubes, extra virgin olive oil, sweet paprika — so nothing here relies on packaged sauces, refined sugar or ultra-processed shortcuts. That balance is what keeps it a realistic weeknight option rather than a weekend project.

The main dish sits inside our Serbia & Bosnia collection and carries the High-Protein, Gluten-Free, Low-Glycemic, Blood Pressure tags, so it slots straight into the Smart Recipe Finder when you filter by dietary focus or allergens. Scale the portions in the recipe drawer and the ingredient quantities and macros recalculate together; sync it to your shopping list and the pantry tracker subtracts what you already own before the list is generated.

Cooking and storing it well

Read the method through once before you start — the 6 steps are written in the order a working kitchen would run them, with prep that can overlap grouped together. Hands-free cook mode reads each step aloud and runs the timers, so your phone can stay on the counter. Season at the end rather than the beginning: salt, acid and good olive oil do more for the finished plate when they are adjusted against the cooked dish. Leftovers keep well chilled for two to three days in a sealed container; bring anything dressed or herb-heavy back to room temperature before serving so the aromatics come forward again.

Complete the meal