Moroccan Chicken Bastilla/Pastilla

Chicken Bastilla or Pastilla is a traditional Moroccan chicken  pie made with phyllo pastry. It is an intriguing combination of sweet and savoury served as an appetizer.

The filling for the Chicken Bastilla consists of chicken, eggs, herbs some light spices and almonds. Sugar is also also used when preparing the almond mixture and some sugar may also be sprinkled once the pie has been cooked.

Contrary to my Moroccan couscous recipe which takes only 10 minutes to make, bastilla preparation requires a lot of time and effort. The end result is very rewarding and you won't regret spending that much time in the kitchen.

I had been yearning to make bastilla for quite sometime but not being able to find the phyllo dough always kept me back. Until, I thought of trying my luck with spring roll wraps which are always in my freezer. The result was amazing, the pie was flaky and crispy as a bastilla should be. Chicken Bastilla is usually prepared with whole chicken with skin but I have made it with boneless chicken. You can also use chicken thighs if you like.

Ingredients	Quantity
boneless chicken	500g
onions	1 medium
turmeric powder	1 tsp
black pepper	1 tsp
cinnamon	2 tbsp
ginger powder	1 tsp
saffron	1/4 tsp
chicken stock	1/4 cup
egg	1 large
almonds roasted	1/2 cup
icing sugar	2 tbsp
salt	to taste
melted butter	1/2 cup
spring roll wraps	10
olive oil	3 tbsp
cilantro and parsley chopped	to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a tray with  the greaseproof paper. Roast until the almonds turn golden brown in colour. Takes 10- 15 minutes.

Grind into a coarse powder with 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp cinnamon powder.

Saute onions with 3 tbsps olive oil or butter. Cook till translucent.

Add the chicken and cook until chicken pieces start to change colour.

Now add the spices i.e.turmeric, ginger powder, black pepper and salt and a pinch of saffron dissolved in a tbsp of water.

Cook for 10 minutes and then add the chicken stock.

Let cook for a few more minutes. There should still be some stock left in the chicken mixture. Add the egg and cook while stirring. Now add the chopped cilantro and parsley. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Add the coarsely ground almond mixture to the cooked chicken and mix to combine. Set aside

Take a 10 inch greased pie dish, place a spring roll wrap right in the center. Apply melted butter with the help of a pastry brush. Place buttered spring roll wraps all along the sides until the pie dish is completely covered with the spring roll wraps.Repeat this process one more time. Leave the ends of the spring rolls over hanging.
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Place the chicken mixture in the center of the layered spring rolls.

Now fold the overhanging spring roll edges on top of the filling as shown in the picture. Apply one more coating of melted butter after the wraps have been completely folded.

Place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C. Bake until the Chicken Bastilla is light golden brown in colour.

Chicken Bastilla can be served as an appetizer. I hope you like this recipe and will try to recreate the Chicken Bastilla in your kitchen and hopefully receive compliments like I did.