Filo Pastry Bundles with Chicken and Curry

The filo pastry bundles with chicken and curry are a delicious dish that blends oriental flavors with the crispiness of filo pastry. Here is how you can prepare them:

Ingredients

• 200 g of chicken breast
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of curry powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 sheets of filo pastry
• 25 g of melted butter
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation

1. Start by cutting the chicken breast into small cubes.
2. Thinly slice the onion and chop the clove of garlic.
3. In a pan, heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sauté the garlic and onion until they become translucent.
4. Add the chicken cubes and sauté until they are golden on all sides.
5. Add the curry, salt, and pepper, and continue to cook over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, so that the chicken is well-flavored.
6. Take the filo pastry sheets and cut them into squares of about 15x15 cm.
7. Brush each square with a little melted butter.
8. Place a spoonful of the chicken filling in the center of each filo pastry square.
9. Close the filo pastry over itself forming bundles, making sure that the filling is well sealed inside. You can help by brushing the edges with a bit of melted butter.
10. Brush the outside of the bundles with more melted butter, and if you like, sprinkle them with sesame seeds.
11. Arrange the bundles on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
12. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C for about 15-20 minutes, or until the bundles are golden and crispy.

Serve the bundles hot, perhaps accompanied by a simple green salad or a yogurt-based sauce to counteract the spiciness of the curry.

Curiosity

Filo pastry is very versatile and common in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine, but it adapts very well to fillings of different inspirations. Curry, used in this filling, is a blend of spices native to the Indian subcontinent but widely used around the world to give character and an exotic touch to dishes.