150g melted butter
3lbs Chicken, quartered (whole chicken works, I buy legs)
2 large red onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
Pinch saffron threads soaked in warm water
500ml chicken soup
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp flat leaf parsley
3 tbsp chopped coriander
5 eggs lightly beaten
100g blanched almonds, toasted and finely chopped
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
14 sheets filo pastry
100g melted butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 320 degrees
Melt butter in a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat and brown the chicken well.
Set aside
Add onion and cook 10 minutes or until golden. Stir in the garlic and spices then stir in the saffron, it’s soaking liquid and stock. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and put in the oven for 1 hour, turning occasionally or until cooked. Add a little water if needed. Remove the chicken, reserving the sauce. Discard the cinnamon stick. Remove the meat from the bones and cut into small pieces. Increase the oven to 350 degrees.
Put the reserved sauce, lemon juice and herbs in a saucepan and reduce over high heat for 10 minutes until thick. Reduce the heat to very low, gradually stir in eggs until scrambled, then remove from heat. Add meat and season.
Mix almonds with the icing sugar and cinnamon
Grease a deep pie plate with butter.
Stack 8 sheets of filo pastry and brush top sheet with melted butter. Place that sheet evenly across pan with ends overhanging. Repeat with the next 7 sheets, brushing and fanning sheets to cover pan, with filo hanging evenly all round.
Fill with the chicken mixture and smooth over. Fold four of the flaps back over and brush top with melted butter and sprinkle with almond mixture.
Brush remaining six sheets of filo fanning onto the pie.
Using kitchen scissors, cut the overhanging pastry evenly around the edge about 1 1/4 inch from edge of pan. Using rubber spatula to lift the edge of pie, tuck verhangng pastry underneath. Bake 40-50 minutes until golden.
Let sit for 10-15minutes.
Flip pie out of the pie-plate and onto the plate.
Sift extra icing sugar over top of pie and create a pattern with extra ground cinnamon.
Recipes 