Fattah Masriya فتة المصرية

This fattah is .. The bomb.

Ingredients
leg of lamb (quantity depending on your serving)
5 cardamon pods
1 table spoon and salt
1 table spoon pepper
1 onion quartered
4 cups of water
3 cups of stock which you will get from boiling the meat.
2 tablespoons of ghee or butter
2 cups of short grain rice
3 cups of water
half cup of tomato paste
3 cloves of garlic mashed
1/4 cup vinegar
1 cup of water.
3 toasted pita bread broken to peices.

To make the stock, in a pot, put 4 cups of water along with cardamom pods, salt, pepper, onion and leave to boil. When boiled add your meat. Cook for 2 hours until meat is tender. Remove meat to the side and reserve the stock for later use.

In a pot melt your ghee or butter on low heat and add your rice. Stir your rice in the butter and keep stiring until the rice turns abit see through and you can feel the rice that its warm but be careful. DO NOT BROWN THEM. after about 7 minutes of doing this add your 3 cups of water and abit of salt. Turn heat on high until most of water is absorbed then turn on low and with the lid on cook for 25 minutes. Fluff up your rice with a fork.

In a saucepan, add some oil and put ur gloves of garlic, when they start to sizzle and you can smell the garlic you will get excited because thats how good the garlic smells when its cooking. when the garlic starts to turn a golden colour, add your vinegar, tomato paste, 1 cup of water and simmer on low until its bright red in colour and thickness of your desire. the sauce should be like ketchup consistency.

Now prepare your toasted bread. Place pita bread under a grill until its golden. When its cooled break it into peices and unto a deep tray where you will layer your fattah.

Place your rice on top and press down so its kept in place. You should have something that looks like this:

 With the stock that you have kept, Lade the stock evenly all over the bed of rice and bread. Make sure you ladle enough that it reaches the bread but not too much. 3 cups of stock is more than enough. Leave for 5 minutes for the rice and bread to absorp the flavours of the stock.

Then spread your sauce on top of the rice. Arrange your meat on top nicely or you can break the meat with a fork, especially if you have children.