This is a very easy recipe to make, if you get your ready made Filo pastry. Start by sauteing chopped onion, ginger and garlic in a pan. Add a teaspoon of ground cumin, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, then toss in the minced chicken. Stir until the meat has become white, then add a teaspoonful of sweet paprika powder. Make sure this latest addition to the pan does not burn, otherwise the whole dish will turn bitter. Splash in a little bit of warm water that had a pinch of saffron soaking in it (for at least half an hour).
It will need about 15 minutes cooking time altogether. Do brake up the chicken bits to even sizes. We want them to cook evenly (they do have the tendency to form clumps when they are shocked by the heat).
When it's all cooked, add in either 3-4 chilies, or a good spoonful of Harissa (traditional Moroccan chili paste, or God forbid: Sambal Oelek- not very Moroccan). Basically you just want to spice it up a bit, so anything you have at your hands that contain chillies, will do just fine. I also have chopped into the mixture here about two tablespoons of fresh coriander, same quantity of mint leaves, and same of parsley.
I tried to make some tidy parcels of Filo pastry, stuffed with this mixtures.
But my parcels turned out more like pillows. I brushed them with a beaten egg, and sprinkled them with un-toasted sesame seeds, then popped them into the oven for 15 minutes on 180 Celsius.
I didn't want to push away all the aromatics in this chicken dish, so I served it with plain boiled potatoes.
Bon Apetit!
