MUSAKHAN (PITA BREAD WITH CHICKEN AND SUMAC)

Some popssibilities for dinner tonight. I fondly rememebr this dish from our Palestinian friends when they lived in Omaha. I've got chicken and will drive by a Penzy's on the way home....whadya think? Should I try it? You betcha.....

MUSAKHAN (PITA BREAD WITH CHICKEN AND SUMAC)
Serves 4 as a meal, 8 as a snack

A Palestinian country dish, musakhan is popular in Jordan, where a large proportion of the population is Palestinian. The chicken, flavored with sumac and other spices, is traditionally baked on thick, spongy tabun bread, which is similar to Turkish pide; ordinary pita bread is often used as a substitute.

3 tablespoons olive oil and a little butter
3 to 4 onions, chopped (about a pound)
1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 teaspoons ground sumac
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and ground black pepper
4 pita breads, halved to form 8 pockets

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil and butter in a heavy pan and stir in onions. Cook until they just begin to color, then add chicken and sumac. Cook for a few minutes to sear the chicken, then reduce heat and stir in spices and lime juice. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until chicken is tender.

Season to taste, then fill pita pockets with chicken mixture. Arrange on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Serve with a salad and strained yogurt either spooned into the pocket or on top.