Can I skip the bread?

The flavor of this recipe is all in the bread that is soaked and mixed with lemon and garlic. If you prefer to skip the bread, you can use the lemon garlic mixture with the rice and/or pour over the chicken on top.

Can I bake the chicken instead of boiling it?

You can certainly do that, but keep in mind that you’d need chicken broth for juicing the bread which brings the essential taste to this dish, in that case, you can either boil one piece of chicken and bake the rest or use a previously made chicken broth.

What type of rice can I use?

I like to use short-grain or Egyptian rice with this recipe. But you can use basmati, or whatever rice you like.

Chicken Fatteh

Name: Chicken Fatteh
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Palestinian
Ingredients: 2 breast chicken with bones; 3-4 cups of tap water; 2 cardamom seeds; 1 stick cinnamon; 2 bay leaves; 1 cup rice; 1-2 flatbread lightly toasted and cut into small pieces; 4-5 cloves of garlic; 2-3 juice of fresh lemons; ½ sea salt; ¼ cup toasted pine nuts and/or almonds

Description

Chicken Fatteh is a delicious recipe that consists of layers of bread soaked in chicken broth flavored with garlic and lemon juice, then topped off with rice, tender chicken, and sprinkled with crunchy toasted almonds and pine nuts.

Ingredients

Scale

2 breast chicken with bones
3-4 cups of tap water
2 cardamom seeds
1 stick cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 cup rice
1-2 flatbread lightly toasted and cut into small pieces
4-5 cloves of garlic
2-3 juice of fresh lemons
1/2 sea salt
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts and/or almonds

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Instructions

To cook the chicken:

In a medium pot, cover chicken with water until submerged about 3-4 cups tap water. Add bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom seeds.
Once it starts boiling remove any extra foam on top, and let it boil on medium heat for 20-30 minutes and until the chicken is fully cooked.
Let chicken cool until it's safe to touch, remove bones, and shred chicken into small pieces.
Meanwhile, cook the rice separately.

To make rice:

Soak 1 cup of rice for about 10 minutes, then drain and rinse.
In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil or butter, add rice, and ¼ teaspoon of salt, then add 1 cup of boiled water, and stir it.
Cover, and reduce heat to low, let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

To assemble:

Cut bread into bite-sized pieces and lightly toast them.
Pour chicken broth, crushed garlic, lemon juice, and salt over bread.
Mix everything well and layer at the bottom of a platter.
Layer rice on top of the bread, then spread the shredded chicken on top of the rice.
Sprinkle toasted almonds and pine nuts.

Notes

When boiling chicken, I like to boil it first with water only, cover the chicken with water, and once it starts boiling get rid of that water, then add fresh water, the spices, and let it cook following instructions.
While you can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time, it’s best to layer everything just before serving.
Make sure chicken broth is hot, bread needs to be soaked and not crunchy with this recipe.
Mix the garlic, salt, and lemon with the broth before adding them to the bread. Any extra can be used on top of the chicken for extra flavor.
Be generous with lemon when mixed with the soaked bread, that's where all the flavors come from.
Toast pine nuts under a broiler for 2-4 minutes, or in a skillet heat neutral or olive oil and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.