Name: Chicken Basteeya
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1 tbsp orange blossom water; 3 tbsp icing/confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for dusting; 5 cm/2 in piece of root ginger, peeled and grated; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 500 g/1 lb 2 oz mixture of chicken legs and thighs; 1 onion, finely chopped; juice and zest of 1 small lemon; 2 tbsp sunflower oil; 75 g/2½ oz/5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted; 7–8 sheets of filo/phyllo pastry depending on the sheet size (defrosted if frozen); sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 handful of coriander/cilantro leaves, finely chopped; 1 handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped; 125 g/4½ oz/1 cup blanched almonds; 4 eggs; ½ tsp turmeric or ground saffron; ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for dusting

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
1 hr 50

Appears in

The Jewelled Kitchen

By Bethany Kehdy

Published 2013

About

Traditionally, basteeya is a sweet and savoury delicacy made from pigeon layered with crushed almonds and egg, enclosed in a filo-like pastry. I decided to add a literal twist to the recipe by shaping the basteeya into snakes.

Ingredients

2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
500 g/

Method

Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add it to the pan. Sear for 3–4 minutes, browning on both sides, then drain off any excess fat. Add the garlic, ginger and turmeric and cook for 1 minute until aromatic, tossing the chi

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Chicken Basteeya

Ingredients

Method

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