Chatti Pathiri

Ingredients (Serves 12 - 16):

Chicken breast         --   1 lb
Turmeric Powder   --   ¼ tsp
Chilly Powder          --   1 tsp
Salt                               --   as required

Filling:

Onions                            --   3 medium sized
Green Chillies              --   5 - 6
Ginger Garlic Paste  --   1 tsp
Coriander leaves      --   a handful chopped
Turmeric Powder     --   ¼ tsp
Pepper Powder         --   1 tsp
Garam Masala          --   1 tsp
Salt                                 --   as required
Oil                                   --   1 tbsp

Layers:

All Purpose Flour   --   2 cups
Eggs                             --   2 large
Salt                               --   as required
Water                          --   2 cups or as required for a thin consistency
Ghee                             --   2 tsp

Custard mixture to dip the layers:

Eggs                            --   5 large
Milk                             --   ½ cup
Salt                              --   as required

Garnishing:

Cashew Nuts           --   10 - 15
Poppy Seeds            --   2 tbsp

Preparation of chatti pathiri:

Marinate the chicken with turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt. Cook until done and the water is completely evaporated. Shred the chicken pieces with a fork or spoon. Keep aside

In a large frying pan, add oil and saute the thinly sliced onion, green chillies, ginger garlic paste and salt until the onions are translucent.Add turmeric powder,  and pepper powder and saute for few more minutes. Add the shredded chicken and mix well. Saute for few more minutes until they are well combined. Switch off the flame and add the coriander leaves and garam masala and mix well.

Make the custard mixture to dip the layers.In a wide bowl, add the eggs, milk and salt and combine well with a whisk. Keep aside.

  

Prepare the batter for making the pancakes/dosas for the layers. Mix the all purpose flour,eggs,salt, water and ghee until well combined and with no lumps. The consistency should be thin, to make thin pancakes.

The pancakes should be of the same size or preferably slightly bigger than the pan you use to bake.This helps to keep the pathiri in shape.

Pour a ladle full of batter into a frying pan at medium flame. Swirl the pan to create a thin round pancake of required size. You can also spread the batter the same way as making dosas. When the pancake is cooked, may be in a minute, flip over to the other side and let it cook for another minute or half. Repeat until the batter is over. I got around 14 pancakes to fit into my 8 inch pan. Make sure that the pancakes do not stick to each other, it might be a pain to separate them retaining its shape.

Prepare the pan to make the chatti pathiri.Chatti pathiri can be made in a sauce pan cooking on the stove Or in an oven safe dish cooking in an oven. Grease the pan well on the bottom and the sides. If using the oven, preheat to 350F.

Take a pancake, dip it in the custard mixture and place it in the bottom of the pan. Do the same with the second pancake. On top of the second pancake, spread some filling and then place the third pancake dipped in the custard mixture on top of the filling. Alternate the filling and the dipped pancake until the you use up all the prepared pancakes.Divide the filling into equal parts too.

When done with the layering, pour the remaining custard mixture onto the top of the pathiri. This helps to hold the layers together and form a cake like structure for the chatti pathiri. If you do not have enough mixture, use one more egg and mix it with the left over mixture.

Garnish with fried cashews and also sprinkle the poppy seeds/couscous on top of it. Cover it with aluminum foil and bake for 30 - 40 minutes in the middle rack. It depends upon your oven. So bake until the custard mixture is well set and a toothpick / knife inserted at the center comes out clean. Remove the aluminium foil and broil it for another 2 - 3 minutes to make the top part light brown in colour.

Alternately, if preparing in a sauce pan, close the pan with a tight lid and cook on a very low flame until the custard is well set and completely cooked. Remember, the only uncooked item in the pan is the custard mixture. It might take around 25 - 30 minutes. Once done, flip over the pathiri into a plate and slide it back to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. You can also flip it directly onto a wide pan and cook for another 5 minutes. It might be easy this way as you don't have to flip it multiple times, but at the cost of cleaning multiple pansJ.