Chicken Biriyani Beggars Pouches

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 lb skinless chicken piece, cut up,washed (i used boneless thighs)
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 24 cashew nuts
• 4 tablespoons raisins
• 3/4 cup ghee or 3/4 cup cooking oil
• 1 medium onion
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 6 cardamom
• 2 whole green chilies, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 2 sprigs cilantro, chopped
• salt
• 16 sheets phyllo dough
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup creme fraiche
• fresh cilantro, chopped to sprinkle on for garnish

Recipe

• 1 mix the cayenne powder, coriander powder and tumeric powder, set aside
• 2 in a clean food processor grind the medium onion, garlic and ginger to a paste
• 3 dry the chicken well and chop finely, but do not grind ( a couple of pulses in the food processor will do fine
• 4 heat the oil or ghee in a pan and fry the onion slices to golden and set aside
• 5 do the same to the cashew nuts and raisins and set aside
• 6 add the ground paste and dry spice mix to the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the chopped chicken
• 7 cook the chicken in the spice paste for a few minutes, turning it over a few times with a spoon, until it is no longer pink
• 8 add the green chilies, garam masala, whole cardamom, yoghurt, coriander leaves and salt to taste
• 9 let the chicken simmer in the sauce until the chicken is cooked and the sauce thickens
• 10 remove from heat and let cool
• 11 cut the phyllo sheets in half, so you have 32 squares
• 12 cover the phyllo with plastic wrap and a damp towel while working so it does not dry out
• 13 place one sheet of phyllo on your work surface
• 14 brush with a little melted butter, especially the edges
• 15 place a second sheet on top in the opposite direction to make a cross, brushing this sheet with melted butter as well
• 16 place two more sheets in the same manner (criss crossing and brushing with butter) on top of the previous sheets of phyllo (you will have 4 layers, criss crossing each other
• 17 divide chicken mixture into 8 and place 1/8th of mixture into center of one of the layers of phyllo
• 18 sprinkle 1/8th of the cashews and raisins on top
• 19 loosen the sheets of phyllo with a flat metal spatula or knife and using your fingers, carefully lift and gather the phyllo (as if making a pouch) encasing the chicken in a bundle with a loose flowing frilly top
• 20 pinch the gather together and hold for 5 seconds
• 21 this will hold the package closed
• 22 place each purse on a lightly greased baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken and phyllo
• 23 refrigerate until ready to bake (this can be made in advance up to this point)
• 24 when placing the chicken on the sheet pans, leave enough space between the bundles to that they will become crispy on the sides when baked
• 25 preheat oven to 375*f
• 26 place the pans with the beggars purses on them into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, until nicely crispy (do not overcook)
• 27 to serve place one beggars purse on a warm plate, with a dollop of creme fraiche on the side, sprinkling the chopped coriander on for a garnish
• 28 if you wanted, two of these purses could be served as a main course along with a spicy basamati pilaf