- 4 chicken thighs, skin and bones removed
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 200g/7oz basmati rice
- 400ml/14fl oz chicken stock
- 75g/2½oz butter
- freshly ground black pepper
- 5 filo pastry sheets
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
- Remove the skin and bones from the chicken thighs and roughly chop.
- Warm the olive oil in a large pan. Add the chicken and spices and cook on a low heat for three minutes, taking care that the spices do not burn.
- Add the rice and the stock to the same pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Replace the pan lid and allow to cook for 10 minutes.
- Melt the butter and season generously with pepper.
- Lay a sheet of filo pastry on a large baking tray and brush generously with the peppery butter. Lay a second, third and fourth sheet of filo, brushing each one with more butter as you go.
- When the 10 minutes of rice cooking has elapsed, evenly spread the chicken and rice mixture on one half of the filo rectangle.
- Brush around the edges of the mixture with more butter and then fold the empty filo side over the mixture like a book and press down the edges.
- Take the remaining filo sheet, soak it in the butter, crumple and place on top of the parcel as decoration.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.