How to make the traditional moroccan "Bastila"

The traditional Moroccan "Basstila"

As soon as you mention the pastilla, the Kingdom of Morocco, and specifically the city of Fez, comes to your mind, because this city is the home of many traditional Moroccan dishes and clothes. , and we find the city of Fez preparing it with chicken and pigeons, and we find in the north of Morocco they prepare it with fish and seafood, and we find it in the southern regions such as Rashidiya they prepare it in the form of an experience called “buried”. We go back to the Saadian era, when diplomatic relations existed between the Kingdom of Morocco and Britain, where a number of English ambassadors came to Morocco and expressed their admiration for Moroccan culture and the rich Moroccan cuisine, which knows a great diversity in terms of dishes and tastes. We received the Moroccan pastilla with chicks of pigeons, which the English ambassadors spoke about during the Saadian era And there is a dish that is considered by Moroccans as an appetizer, although it is a sufficient dish alone to be the first and the last, given the colors, types and spices it contains, and this dish is known to them as “Bastilla”! He spoke about it after the English ambassadors since the days of the Saadi era and said that it was stuffed with chickpeas and ground almonds.

Ingredients:

• 12 sheets of baklava dough
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 300 g chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 two carrots, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 one zucchini, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 200 g broccoli florets
• Cinnamon pinch
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• Black pepper to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped

How to prepare:

1. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and cook the chicken cubes for 10 minutes, then set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and saute the onions for 5 minutes until they turn a light golden color.
3. Add the carrots to the onions and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add the zucchini, capsicum and broccoli and cook until the vegetables are tender.
5. Add the cinnamon, cumin, ginger, salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Add chicken, lemon juice and coriander to vegetables. Stir well to combine the ingredients together, then set aside to cool.
7. Brush each dough sheet with butter and fold it in half. Place each wafer in a small bowl, then place the filling in the center of each wafer, then fold the sides of the dough over the filling. Brush with more butter as needed to seal the dough.
8. Invert each bowl so that it free the pasta in an oven tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven to 210 degrees Celsius.

Tip: We use clarified butter to grease the phyllo dough. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a low heat, then remove the white layer formed on its surface.