This Sumac chicken Fatteh dish is a 30-minute meal that is so glamorous you could serve it to your guest and no one will ever know you made it in under an hour and you threw it all together with a few pantry ingredients. It will be our secret. 🤫
So much I love about this right now. So, so much.
Starting first and foremost on the list of loves is the crunchiness of the pita chips and then followed by the fact you can use any topping in the world. And last but not least, a delicious yogurt sauce that has just a tiny touch of garlicky, lemony yumminess that I can't get enough of.
And now you can add this to my resume in the part-time blogger section: pouring –> yogurt tahini sauce –> into my mouth –> all –> day –> long. It’s almost inappropriate.
Except not at all because I need lotza sauce-y on le Fatteh.
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 <– how much I like this Sumac Chicken Fatteh.
My life was one big Fatteh party last week – no complaints whatsoever. Maybe it’s too obvious, but I SO love all kinds of Fatteh. It’s ingrained in my soul. My adult self is prone to falling in love FAST with any and all things even close to resembling Fatteh.
Before we go forward here, I have to ask you a favour which is please do not imagine how much of this fatteh I ate during the creation of this recipe post. Just don’t. It’s better for everyone if you don’t.
There are a few types of fatteh in the world, so let’s break it down.
TYPE ONE: THE CHEAP VEGETARIAN FATTEH
These are the ones that you throw together for a quick meal cause your just lazy too cook or you not have time to wait for the meat dethaw. Or, you just love fried eggplants swimming in a savoury tomato sauce, and drizzled with creamy, tangy yogurt sauce, nesting on a bed of crunchy pita chip. Not above it. Not gonna lie.
TYPE TWO: MEAT & CHICKPEA FATTEH
Meat & Chickpea are the ones that you probably make when you planned for it. They’re loaded with everything delicious, like spiced meat and fried vegetables and chickpeas and yogurt sauce…so delicious and simple, yet depressing since you know the bowl of deliciousness will ultimately come to an end.
They are not missing any of the critical elements of saucy meat and creamy, tangy yogurt sauce and the crave-worthy crunch factor that keeps you coming back, making your dinner feel like just chips with delicious food on them. However, still, S-A-D cause the bowl will be empty, and it's not going to fill itself up again. I feel pretty strongly about this.
TYPE THREE: THE RICE FATTEH
Most often found on a table at a family gathering, and almost always eaten during some kind of event. You know the ones. These are the fatteh that nail it with the two types of meat and creamy yogurt sauce, crunchy bread and when you eat them you are in heaven. But OMG re-grrrehhht. Should you really have eaten that whole plate just before midnight? (Answer: yes. always worth it.) Please tell me you know.
TYPE FOUR: PERFECT FATTEH 👌
Which brings us to this humble “perfect” fatteh. When your fatteh is loaded with a filling that is reminiscent of the classic tart saucy favour of all the best fatteh, and then swimming in a homemade sauce and topped with all the fresh things like pomegranates and parsley and nuts fried in ghee, and equal parts good wholesome ingredients and saucy, crunchy wonderfulness, THEN YOU KNOW that this is your perfect fatteh for share with someone you love. Cause everything always tastes better with a friend.
What you'll need to make Sumac Chicken Fatteh
Chicken: 2 Chicken breast or 4 chicken thighs can be used in this recipe, I'll leave it up to you.
Onions & Garlic: the Middle Eastern twins that are almost always at the party! You can use either white or red onion for this dish it doesn't really matter. Just use what you have.
Ghee & Olive Oil: I love this combo together. If you don't have Ghee just stick to Olive oil, it will be ok.
Ground Sumac: Ground sumac is a versatile spice from the Levant with a tangy lemon-like flavour, although more balanced and less tart than lemon juice. (No lip-puckering included.😉) A small sprinkle also adds a beautiful pop of colour to any dish. So head over to Amazon or your local middle eastern store and stock up. Warning! This is not an optional ingredient for this recipe, you can't make Sumac chicken without sumac.
Chickpea: It's ok to embrace the canned chickpea, this is a judgement-free zone. Don't worry I can keep secrets, besides who has the time to boil chickpeas when you're hangry?
Yogurt Sauce: I strongly suggest using greek yogurt for this sauce, its creaminess will take this sauce to the next level. I like this sauce to be thick but some people prefer it thinner. Traditionally it's a thinner sauce. Try it both ways and let me know what you think.
Pita Chips: You can fry the pita bread in oil or bake in the oven. I prefer to bake my pita bread, lower fat and I think it tastes better or at least I feel better when I eat it. 🤷🏼♀️
Nuts: You can use pinenuts, almonds, or cashews. Try frying them in ghee, and using the leftover oil as an extra garnish.
Garnishes: Use what you have on hand you don't have to go buy a pomegranate to make this recipe although it is a very tasty addition it's not mandatory.
How to make Sumac Chicken Fatteh?
You make this Fatteh dish in three easy steps!
Saute. The onions, chicken, chickpeas, and garlic in one pan. Add the sumac at the end.
Mix. In a small bowl add the ingredients for the life-affirming yogurt sauce.
Assemble. Time to layer this beauty. Pita chips, Chicken mix, and yogurt. Top with parsley, pomegranates, and fried nuts of your choice.
Easy-peezy my friends!
The Variations of fatteh are Endless, if you tried this dish please let me know in the comments below.
For more Fatteh dishes you can try the Fatteh Makdous made with the Everyday Hashwa
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SUMAC CHICKEN FATTEH
This Sumac chicken Fatteh dish is a 30-minute meal that is so glamorous you could serve it to your guest, and no one will ever know you made it in under an hour and you threw it all together with a few pantry ingredients. It will be our secret.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breast, slice into thin strips
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoon sumac
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of ghee
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 can of chickpea
- 1 cup of low-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon tahini
- 1 small garlic clove, mashed with salt
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 4 small pita bread, toasted
Instructions
- Prepare the chickpeas. Heat a medium-sized frying pan on medium heat. Add the ghee, olive oil and onions to the frying pan. Saute until the onion starts to become transparent. Add the chickpea and saute for 5 minutes to crisp them up a bit.
- Add the chicken and garlic once your chickpeas start to crisp up; it time to add the chicken to the pan. Saute the chicken for 2-4 minutes; until white. Then cover the pan with a lid and continue cooking for about 10 minutes.
- Reduce liquid. After 10 minutes, you may notice the chicken has released its juices, and the pan looks a bit watery. A little bit of chicken juice is ok, but I’ve found there’s often way too much. If you find you’re looking at a lot of chicken juice, just increase the stove to high heat and reduce the liquid by half.
- Time to add the spice. Add the sumac spice and salt to the chicken mixture. Give everything a good mix, cook for 2 more minutes and remove from heat.
- Prepare yogurt sauce. It’s best to prepare the yogurt sauce while the chicken is cooking. In a small bowl, combine tahini, lemon, yogurt and garlic. Mix well. Some people like the sauce thin, and some like it thick. Feel free to add a bit of water if you want a thinner sauce. I like my yogurt sauce thick; I find the pita chips tend to stay crispy longer.
- Time to make Fatteh Art! Get all your toppings ready for assembly. Depending on how you would like to serve this dish is important for deciding which dishes to use. You can use an individual salad bowl, or 1 large shallow serving bowl, or even a sheet pan. It’s up to you.
How to layer:
First layer: Pita Chips.
Second layer: Sumac Chicken
Third layer: Yogurt Tahini sauce
Final touch: pinenuts, parsley, & pomegranates
Notes
Optional garnishes: pomegranates, pinenuts, and parsley.
You can swap the pinenut for almonds or cashews
To make pita chips: Heat oven to 350°. Rip or cut some old pita bread into small squares, drizzle some olive oil on the bread and massage the oil onto the bread. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bread is completely dried out. (It’s ok to use fresh bread if that’s what you have.)
Pinenuts: I like to fry my nuts in ghee until golden then top the yogurt sauce with both ghee and pinenuts.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 420Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 772mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 6gSugar: 6gProtein: 33g
Marlynn
such a beautiful dish, and I love how it can be made in less than an hour!
Carrie Robinson
Wow! This looks & sounds so flavorful and delicious. Definitely trying this recipe soon! 🙂
Angela
There are some many great flavors and textures in this dish. So delicious!
Heidy
This Sumac chicken Fatteh recipe was outstanding! I enjoyed every bite and my family went for seconds.I loved how fast it came together and clean up was super easy.
Have a great afternoon
H
Luci
I instantly fell in love with this Sumac Chicken Fatteh! It is absolutely delicious. I loved the added crunch from the pita chips and how all the flavors came together so perfectly! I will definitely be making this once a week because it was a hit!
Hashim
I would like to try this receipe but mix with rice. How can i add that with rice? Do i need to mix the rice with sumac and other spices as well? Thanks in advance.
Sarah
You most definitely can add rice as apart of you’re layers, just add it on top of the pita chips, and then top it with the chicken mixture. Then continue the recipe as directed. As for flavouring the rice you can enjoy it plain or cooked with chicken stock. There’s no need to add more spices to the rice unless you want too. The yogurt and chicken is very flavourful so you don’t need more add more spices but cooking the rice in chicken stock is always a tasty option.
Z
Hi, I'm really excited to try this recipy as part of ramadan iftar, please may you advise how many people this recipy cover?
Sarah
It serves four modest portions, but it’s easily doubled or tripled.
Devi
Hello Sarah, this sounds like a wonderful dish. But I was wondering about the cook time for the chicken breast. It’s being cooked for 2-4 minutes first and then for 10 minutes - on what flame? Wouldn’t 10 minutes cook time dry out the chicken? And you also mention cooking over high heat if there’s too much liquid. Wouldn’t this also cause the chicken to be overcooked? I wanted to understand before I tried this recipe today. Thank you very much.
Sarah
Thank you for your reply. I just reviewed the recipe, and you're right; the wording is a bit confusing. When adding the chicken to the onion and chickpea mixture, it will turn white as soon as it hits the heat. As soon as one side of the chicken is heated, then stir and cover the pan. The heat should still be on medium heat. Allow the chicken to cook in the mixture for up to 10 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked through. Sometimes the chicken has a small of liquid, and other times it's almost like a soup. If an abundance of the chicken's juices appears, increase the flame to high to reduce the liquid by half. There should be a little bit of liquid in the mixture⏤around 2-3 tablespoons.
This recipe is one of my first recipe posts. In light of your thoughtful questions, I'm going to retest and update this post as soon as possible, with more details and photo instructions in the very near future. I hope this is helpful, and I wish you all the success with this recipe.