Textual Chef Textual Chef

Chicken Fatteh

A festive Levantine layered dish of toasted pita topped with tender spiced chicken, chickpeas, garlicky yogurt sauce, and toasted pine nuts - served warm and assembled just before eating.

75 minMediumServes 4520 cal/serving

Middle EasternLunchStovetop and OvenHigh ProteinHigh FiberLow-SodiumAlcohol-FreeCorn-Free

Ingredients

  • 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 4 pita bread, torn into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 cans chickpeas (15 oz), rinsed, drained
  • 2 cups whole-milk plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

  1. 1

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Season 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs all over with 1 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground cumin, and 1 tsp salt.

  2. 2

    Heat half the 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin-side down and sear for 5 minutes until golden. Flip, pour in 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast for 30-35 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove and let rest 5 minutes, then shred the meat, discarding skin and bones.

  3. 3

    While the chicken roasts, spread 4 torn into bite-sized pieces pita bread in a single layer on a baking sheet, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, and bake in the same oven for 8-10 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove and set aside.

  4. 4

    Warm 2 cans rinsed, drained chickpeas (15 oz) in a small saucepan over low heat with a splash of the roasting liquid from the chicken. Season with a pinch of salt.

  5. 5

    In a bowl, whisk together 2 cups whole-milk plain yogurt, 1/4 cup tahini, 4 minced garlic cloves, and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice until smooth. Season with salt to taste.

  6. 6

    To assemble: spread the toasted pita in a single layer on a large platter. Ladle the warm chickpeas and some of the chicken broth over the pita to soften slightly. Top with the shredded chicken, then pour the yogurt-tahini sauce generously over everything.

  7. 7

    Garnish with 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, and a dusting of 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. Serve immediately.

Questions

Can I make Chicken Fatteh dairy-free?

Yes. The dairy in this entry is 2 cups whole-milk plain yogurt. Swap the yogurt for an unsweetened coconut or soy yogurt. The richness shifts slightly, but the method does not change.

Can I make Chicken Fatteh gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 4 pita bread, torn into bite-sized pieces. Swap the bread or crumbs for a gluten-free loaf or gluten-free panko. Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does Chicken Fatteh keep?

Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within three days. Reheat covered in a 300 F oven until warmed through.

Can I halve or double Chicken Fatteh?

Yes. As written it serves 4. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. Doubled, split it across two pans and rotate them halfway; one crowded pan bakes unevenly.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,504 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.

More Middle Eastern entries

All Middle Eastern recipes · All Lunch recipes · All Chickpeas recipes