[EN] Sweet Chicken-Almond Pastilla / بسطيلة الدجاج واللوز - CookingWithAlia - Episode 695

If you ask about the most festive Moroccan dish, Pastilla will be the answer with no doubt. It can be either sweet or savory and it's served during celebrations and Eid! Today, in collaboration with @La Maison Arabe, we are sharing with you the sweet version of Pastilla: Chicken and Almond Pastilla. It's made of layers of chicken, eggs, and almonds, all flavored with cinnamon and orange blossom water! Check the video and let me know what you think ;)
RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken Filling:
1/2 chicken (around 750 grams / 1.7 pound)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, to taste
1 teaspoon pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon fresh finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh finely chopped cilantro
Water
A pinch of saffron threads
1/2 teaspoon arabic gum pebbles
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
Eggs:
4 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
Almonds Filling:
250 grams almonds, blanched and fried (0.5 pounds)
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
Shaping:
500 grams (1 pound) Warka, large circular size (you can replace it with phyllo dough)
1 egg
Vegetable oil
Decoration:
Powdered sugar
Ground cinnamon
Almonds
DIRECTIONS:
Step 1: Cooking the Chicken
1- In a large pot, place the finely chopped onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, ground turmeric, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, finely chopped parsley, and finely chopped cilantro. Mix all the ingredients together.
2- Add the chicken pieces then add water until chicken pieces are half covered. Stir the sauce and cover the pot. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.
3- Add saffron threads, pebbles of Arabic gum, and butter.
4- Cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes.
5- Add the sugar and continue cooking the chicken on medium-high heat until done and the sauce thickens. From time to time, check on the chicken, turn it over, and add hot water if necessary for the chicken not to stick to the pot and burn. Note that there should never be more than 2 cups of sauce in the pot.
6- Once done, remove the chicken from the sauce. Place it in a plate and reserve.
7- Keep the sauce in the pot, uncover, and cook it for a few minutes on high heat to reduce it until it becomes thick.
8- Add 2 tablespoons of this sauce to the chicken and leave the rest in the pot.
9- Once the chicken cools down, remove the chicken meat from the bones. Discard the bones.
10- Shred the chicken meat and mix it with the thick sauce that you have reserved with the chicken.
Step 2: Cooking the Eggs
11- Break the eggs and add them to the sauce in the pot. Stir until well mixed.
12- Add ground cinnamon and orange blossom water.
13- Cook the eggs in the sauce on medium heat for around 5 minutes until they are cooked.
14- Remove the pot from the heat and reserve.
Step 3: Preparing the Almond Mixture
15- In a food processor, place the fried almonds and mix into a chunky mixture.
16- Place the almond mix in a plate and add powdered sugar, ground cinnamon, orange blossom water, and melted butter.
17- Mix all the ingredients together.
Step 4: Assembling the Bastilla
18- Using scissors, cut the uneven edges of the warka sheets.
19- In a plate of 22 cm / 8.6 inches diameter, spread a little bit of vegetable oil.
20- Place two warka sheets in the plate and place a little bit of the egg mixture in the center.
21- Top the egg mixture with the chicken mixture and finally, top with the almond mixture.
22- Bring the sides of the warka sheets towards the center over the filling to create a circular shape. Use egg yolk to glue the warka folds in the center.
23- Place a small warka sheet round in the center to cover the exposed filling.
24- Cover the entire surface with a large warka sheet circle and tuck the edges in the bottom.
Step 5: Cooking the Bastilla
25- Bake the bastilla in a preheated oven at 190°C / 380°F for 30 to 40 minutes until the pastilla get a beautiful golden brown color.
26- Remove from the oven, decorate with powder sugar, ground cinnamon, and fried blanched almonds. Serve immediately, when still hot and crunchy.