-
1
Wash the chicken.
-
2
Pull off the skin and trim off excess fat.
-
3
Place the cold water and chicken in a large soup pot.
-
4
Add the peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, onion, and thyme and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
-
5
Lower the heat and simmer gently, partially covered, for 1 hour.
-
6
Remove from the heat.
-
7
Meanwhile place the yogurt in a sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth.
-
8
Let drain over a bowl for 1 hour to thicken.
-
9
Remove the chicken from the broth with tongs, and place the chicken on a work surface.
-
10
Let cool somewhat, then pull the chicken meat off the bones, shredding it into bite-size pieces.
-
11
Discard the bones.
-
12
Strain the broth and discard the solids.
-
13
Pour 4 1/2 cups of the broth into a container and place the broth in the refrigerator to cool (If you are in a rush, you can skip this step and use the broth without defatting it).
-
14
Set aside the remainder of the broth in the refrigerator or freezer for another use.
-
15
Skim the fat off the surface of the cooled broth.
-
16
Rinse the rice thoroughly in cold water until the water runs clear, then drain well.
-
17
Place in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and add 2 1/4 cups of the defatted broth.
-
18
Bring to a vigorous boil, then cover, reduce the heat to very low, and cook for 20 minutes.
-
19
Remove from heat.
-
20
Meantime, combine the remainder of the defatted broth, the chopped garlic, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil.
-
21
Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and simmer for 5 minutes.
-
22
You are now ready to assemble the fatteh.
-
23
Assemble the fatteh on a large shallow serving dish or platter.
-
24
Leave 1 cup of the toasted pits in triangle-shaped pieces and break up the rest into bite-sized pieces.
-
25
Spread the broken pieces over the bottom of the dish and lean the triangles up agains the sites, or if using a platter, place around the edge.
-
26
Pour two thirds of the garlic broth over the crumpled bread.
-
27
Spoon on the rices, spreading it evenly, then distribute the chicken pieces evenly over the rice.
-
28
Pour the remainder of the broth over the chicken.
-
29
Mix together the yogurt and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and spread over the chicken.
-
30
Scatter the chopped herbs over the yogurt, then sprinkle on the pine nuts and chopped pistachios.
-
31
Alternatively, you can mix the chopped mint into the yogurt, leaving only the parsley and nuts as top dressing.
-
32
Serve immediately.
