Frikkeh with Chicken

Ingredients
1 Chicken (1450 gr.)cut into 8 pieces
4 cups of Frikkeh (wheat)
7 cups water
2 onions (chopped medium)
2 Tblsp olive oil
4 bay leaves
Pinch of ground cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and ground caraway
1 stick of cinnamon Salt
1 Tblsp of all spice (pimento)and ground black pepper
Almonds and pine seeds (slightly boiled and peeled)

Place the chicken pieces in a deep pot with the water, one onion, cinnamon stick, cloves, caraway, bay leaves and one tea spoon of salt. Cook the chicken until color whitens but not totally cooked.

Take out the chicken pieces, place them on a pan and roast them in the oven until golden. Keep the broth water for later use.

To prepare the Frikkeh ,place the four cups in a bowl and wash out the Frikkeh several times until you see clear water when draining it. Cover the Frikkeh with hot water and keep it standing for 10- 15 minutes, then drain.

In a new pot ,place the olive oil over high heat and when heated add the other onion and stir until onion becomes pale Add the frikkeh and continue stirring for a couple of minutes to rid the excess water in the frikkeh. Then add four cups of the broth (from the chicken boiling water)and throw in the rest of the spices and some salt to taste. Bring to a boil ,and then bring the heat down to low, cover the pot but keep it tilted. You could also put the pot in the oven for 25 minutes instead of keeping it on the burner.

It is recommended to keep a bit of the broth within the frikkeh to prevent dryness.

Meanwhile ,heat some corn or other vegetable oil fry the pine seeds until lightly golden (they fry pretty quickly),then place them on a paper towel to absorb excessive oil. Do the same thing with the almonds.

When the frikkeh is done, place the frikkeh on a platter ,top it with the chicken pieces and cover sprinkle the almonds and pine seeds over the entire dish.

This is a great dish for winter and could be accompanied with an Arabic (finely chopped)salad or yogurt.

Bon appetite!