Chicken Fatteh Recipe (Palestinian-Style Layered Dish)
A comforting Middle Eastern layered dish with broth-soaked pita, spiced rice, shredded chicken, and creamy yoghurt tahini sauce. Finished with olive oil fried pine nuts, and fresh parsley for mix of flavours and textures.
Servings: 3 People
Calories: 620kcal
Ingredients
For the Chicken Broth:
- 500 grams boneless chicken thighs (see notes)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 small red onion halved
- 1 green cardamom
- 2 cloves
- ½ inch cinnamon stick
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups water
For the Yoghurt Sauce:
- 2 cups full-fat yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ¼ cup water
For the Rice:
- 1 cup raw rice rinsed (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 2¼ cups chicken broth
- salt to taste
For the Chicken:
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 teaspoon Baharat spice mix
For the Base (Layer 1):
- 2 pita bread torn roughly
- ¾ cup chicken broth warm (adjust based on the bread)
For the Topping:
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts (or chopped almonds)
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
Prepare the chicken broth
- Add the broth ingredients to a pressure cooker. Don't have to peel or chop the garlic and onion. Close the lid and cook on medium heat for 2 whistles until the chicken is tender. Let the pressure release naturally.500 grams boneless chicken thighs, 3 garlic cloves, 1 small red onion, 1 green cardamom, 2 cloves, ½ inch cinnamon stick, 5 black peppercorns, 1 tsp salt, 3 cups water
For Instant Pot: Set to High Pressure for 8 minutes, then allow a natural pressure release for 8-10 minutes before opening.
Make the yoghurt sauce
- In a bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic, and water until smooth and pourable. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Cover and set aside until assembly.2 cups full-fat yoghurt, 1 tbsp tahini, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, ¼ cup water
Shred the chicken
- Remove the chicken from the broth and let it cool slightly. Shred using two forks or your fingers.
- Strain and reserve the broth. You will need it for the rice and for soaking the pita.
Cook the rice
- In a bowl, combine the rinsed rice with the spices.1 cup raw rice, ½ tsp turmeric powder, ¼ tsp cardamom powder, ½ tsp cumin powder
- Heat the olive oil in a deep pot. Add the spiced rice and sauté for 2 minutes until all grains are coated.2 tsp olive oil
- Pour in the reserved chicken broth and add salt if needed. Bring to a boil until the grains surface, then cover and cook on low heat for 5–8 minutes. Switch off and let rest, covered, for another 10 minutes until the rice is soft and slightly sticky.2¼ cups chicken broth, salt to taste
Pan-roast the shredded chicken
- Heat cooking oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the shredded chicken and sprinkle with Baharat. Toss and cook for 3–4 minutes until lightly roasted and aromatic. Set aside.1 tbsp cooking oil, 2 tsp Baharat spice mix
Prepare the topping
- Heat olive oil in a small pan and fry the pine nuts (or chopped almonds) until golden and fragrant. Keep the olive oil to drizzle over the finished dish.2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp pine nuts
Prepare the base
- Use an 11-inch oval serving dish, about 2 inches deep (or any similarly sized deep dish). Arrange the torn pita pieces in the base. Pour the warm chicken broth evenly over the bread to soften.2 pita bread, ¾ cup chicken broth
Assemble the fatteh in layers
- Layer 2: Spread the warm pan-roasted shredded chicken evenly over the pita.
- Layer 3: Top the chicken with the warm spiced rice.
- Layer 4: Spoon the yoghurt-tahini sauce all over the rice.
Finish and serve
- Spoon the fried pine nuts and their olive oil over the yoghurt layer. Sprinkle generously with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.2 tbsp fresh parsley
Notes
Chicken: You can use a small whole chicken or bone-in pieces, too. Avoid using only breast pieces.
Raw rice: Use whichever you enjoy eating; basmati, calrose, American, etc. Adjust the water/broth accordingly.
Please read the post for more details and tips.
Nutrition information is calculated on an approximate basis and is provided as a courtesy only.
Nutrition
Calories: 620kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 26g
