Fatteh

Fatteh

Lebanese, Syrians, and their Levantine neighbours all like a properly made Fatteh. Comfort food, like thick soup, must be prepared just before serving to avoid becoming soggy.

I started to appreciate it at my dearest aunt Nehad's house in Karachi, a grand lady who never fails to charm us with the most delicious meals from her home kitchen. We are really lucky to be her family.

This dish can be served in a bowl rather than on a plate, with as little broth as desired.

 

 

 

Serves 4

2 cups of cooked chicken (two breasts of chicken work perfectly.) See Tips

2 cups of good chicken broth, lightly flavoured with a cinnamon stick and 6 cloves, seasoned with salt pepper and the juice of one lemon.

2 cups of cooked chickpeas

Juice of one lemon

2 cups of thick yoghurt that has been seasoned -with a pinch of salt and sugar, and the tahini paste.

2 tbsp. tahini paste

1/2 cup of birista or crispy fried onion

1 tsp. sumac

One large pita, broken into pieces and tossed with garlic and olive oil, is baked or panfried until crisp. 

 A cupful of finely chopped, fresh mint and parsley

To assemble

Place the chunks of cut-cooked chicken and the chickpeas into the seasoned chicken broth. When ready to serve, bring it to a boil and pour it into a deep dish. 

Place half the pita crisps over it. Pour the prepared yoghurt all over. Place the other half of the pita all over. Sprinkle this with sumac, the birista, and freshly chopped herbs. serve immediately.  

Tips

To poach the chicken, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Season this with 2 teaspoons of salt, an onion, cinnamon, and cloves, dried and fresh herbs, bay leaf, and celery stick—any or all of the above. Add the chicken, whole or in pieces, and bring this to a simmer. Cook for an hour. Remove the chicken, cut it into equal chunks, and keep it aside. Return the bones of the chicken to the poaching liquid and continue to simmer the broth until only 2 cupfuls are left. Strain and keep aside. 

If you are using roasted chicken, gather the bones and skin of the chicken and prepare the broth, starting with 4 cups of water and reducing the salt to just one teaspoon. Bring the water with all the vegetables and spices to a boil and cook at a simmer for 2 hours. Cover the pot so it does not evaporate rapidly. 

To prepare the pita,  rub it with a clove of garlic and brush it with oilive oil. Break or cut them into bite size pieces. Heat the oven to 170 C | 350 F and place it on a cookie sheet to toast for 10 minutes, Or heat a fry pan and toss them over the heat until crispy and golden brown. 

If you do not have tahini paste, grind two tablespoons of sesame in a coffee grinder. 

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself via email, in independent book stores across the world and on Amazon India.

The Route to Parsi Cooking: From Pars to India and Beyond is an award winning book. It has been self published in June 2024. Email at theroutetoparsicooking@gmail.com

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Vegetarian Parsi, inspired by tradition is an award winning cookbook. It was published by Spenta Multimedia India and is available on Amazon India and through email order at thevegetarianparsi@gmail.com.

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.