Chicken Fatteh (Fattet Djaj)

Flash fry the chicken breasts on high heat in a non stick pan until slightly golden on the outside, around 5 minutes

Transfer to a pot with the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom pods, turmeric and salt along with the 4 cups of water

Bring to the boil then simmer for around 25 minutes and set aside

Shred the chicken breasts and set aside

Drain the chicken stock through a fine sieve and set aside.

Meanwhile wash the rice for a few minutes until the running water becomes clear

In a medium pot, sauté the rice in a tablespoon of vegetable oil for a few minutes then add 1.5 cups of chicken stock and simmer for fifteen minutes

Chop the flatbreads into small squares around an inch wide or so.

Deep fry them in hot vegetable oil until golden and crunchy. Drain on a kitchen towel lined plate and set aside

Alternatively, sauté the bread in a non stick pan with a few tablespoons of oil until golden, adding a little more oil if necessary to make them crunchy

In a pestle ad mortar crush the garlic well

In a bowl, mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, tahini, crushed garlic clove and salt together. Taste to adjust the seasoning and add some chicken stock to loosen if necessary.

In a small pot, add the butter and pine nuts on low heat, keeping an eye on it until it starts to froth and brown

In a large serving dish, spoon the rice out at the base.

Then add the flat bread croutons, then the shredded chicken

Just as the brown butter starts to froth, swirl to check it has browned then turn off the heat

Add the yoghurt tahini sauce over the chicken, then drizzle the brown butter and pine nut on top

Serve immediately