Rajah's Chicken- For- Lunch

A fan of BAKLAVA, I was looking for something that was similar, but was not a dessert ... and came up with this for a summer lunch

• Ready In: 24 hrs 40 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• FOR THE FILLING

• 1  tablespoon  cooking oil
• 4  cloves garlic, minced
• 4  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch squares
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  hot pepper flakes
• 1⁄2 cup cashews
• 1⁄2 cup  dried apricot, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup raisins
• 1  cup  orange juice
• 1⁄4 cup soya sauce
• 1  tablespoon curry powder, to taste

• THE PASTRY

• 16  sheets phyllo pastry
• 1⁄2 cup butter, melted
• 3⁄4 cup fresh basil leaf, chopped

• THE SAUCE

• 1⁄2 cup maple syrup
• 1 1⁄2 cups white wine

Directions

1. Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat
2. Add minced garlic and stir-fry for about 30 seconds - don't burn the garlic! Add chicken and hot pepper flakes and stir-fry until meat changes colour but is not cooked through
3. Remove chicken from heat
4. In food processor,rough-chop cashews, apricots and raisins
5. Add orange juice, soya sauce and curry powder
6. (To make your own curry powder combine equal parts ground coriander, ground cumin, ground pepper, turmeric and ground ginger
7. Sore in screw-top jar
8. ) Whirl to combine
9. Add cooked chicken to mixture in processor
10. Chop to chunky paste
11. Refrigerate chicken mixture for 1 hour
12. Preheat oven to 350*F
13. Brush 4 sheets of phyllo with melted butter and sprinkle each sheet with chopped basil
14. Layer 4 sheets on top of each other
15. (Keep phyllo not being used covered under a damp cloth
16. )
17. Cut the phyllo in half and place one half over the other
18. Place phyllo in the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking pan and trim the edges if needed
19. (I use scissors
20. )
21. Lightly spread the phyllo with one-third of the chicken mixture - about 1-1/2 cups
22. Repeat the above twice more with another 4 sheets of phyllo, just lightly placing the next layer of pastry on top of the chicken mixture
23. Finish with the last four sheets of phyllo
24. Top off by brushing the top with remaining melted butter
25. Score top layer of pastry into 4 portions
26. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until an even, golden-brown
27. While baking is in the oven, combine white wine and maple syrup in a small pan
28. Simmer for approx 10 minutes, then remove from heat
29. Allow to cool to room temperature
30. On removing from oven, and while dish is still hot, pour wine syrup over-all to coat
31. Cover and refrigerate overnight
32. To serve, cut through scored lines
33. Serve cold with a dab of chutney on top, a green salad on-the-side, and a glass of the remaining white wine