This is a dish you can prepare beforehand, the combination is out of this world and you never have leftovers! My sister in law, Portia makes this perfectly, she says the secret to this dish is using a LOT of spices, more than you think you need. The first time I made it, it was quite bland, David remembered it having a lemony tang to it so I added some lemon juice and a LOT more spices to the left overs and it tasted far better!
Ingredients
2 loaves pita bread
2 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 lbs Lamb Meat(lean lamb from the
leg or lamb shanks)
(you can use chicken breasts
or 2 lbs lean top round London broil beef instead)
5 cups Greek Yoghurt
1/2 cup Pine nuts
1/2 cup Slivered Almonds
Salt
Pepper
Allspice
1 can Campbell's Beef Broth
1 tablepoon Tahini
2 cloves Garlic
2 Lemons squeezed
Directions
This dish is layered in a pyrex dish starting with rice at the bottom and ending with toasted pita bread on the top, the bread tends to become soggy if placed on the bottom layer.
Toasted Pita Bread
Pine Nuts and Slivered Almonds
Yoghurt Mixture
Meat
Rice
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1 The first layer is rice. You need 2 1/2 cups cooked rice. Prepare rice with chicken broth.
The second layer is lamb meat (you can also use beef or chicken)You need approximately 3 lbs lamb meat. Cook the meat in a saucepan with 1 can beef broth and 1 cup water until very tender, add more water if needed. While simmering add 1 tablespoon salt,1 teaspoon pepper and 2 tablespoons allspice.
The third layer Greek Yoghurt. Make a mixture using 5 cups yoghurt, 2 large cloves garlic mashed,1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoons tahini. In a bowl mash the garlic and salt together using a pestle. Stir in the yoghurt and tahini. Refrigerate until needed. Do not heat this until last minute, heat yoghurt very slowly as it can curdle, keep stirring. You can also just bring the yoghurt mixture to room temperature instead of heating.
4.Toast pine nuts and slivered almonds in oven or saute in olive oil. Keep a close watch to make sure they do not burn. To toast the nuts, place on a baking sheet lined with silver foil and bake in a preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for approximately 5 minutes until they are golden brown. Or saute in melted butter until golden brown. Set nuts aside.
The top layer is 2 loaves pita bread toasted at a low temperature in the oven whole, do not separate the layers. Place bread on a baking sheet lined with silver foil. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden. Check for crispness. Break into pieces.
Set nuts aside
Have everything prepared, the bread toasted, the pine nuts and almonds toasted or sauteed, the rice and the meat cooked, both rice and meat can be reheated before serving. Squeeze the juice of two lemons over the rice.Just the yoghurt mixture has to be heated at last minute. Take an oblong pyrex dish and layer each ingredient.
