EGYPTIAN creamed chicken with yogurt (Kishk Masri)

• 8 ounces day-old yogurt
• ½ cup flour
• 1 4-pound roasting chicken
  
• Salt
  
• 3 tablespoons vinegar
  
• 6 split cardamom pods
  
• 4 mastic nuggets, optional
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 1 cup sunflower oil
  
• 3 medium onions, grated
  
• 1–2 teaspoons lemon juice, optional 4 serving

• Combine the yogurt and flour in a bowl. Cover and let sit in the warmest spot in your kitchen for at least 1 hour.
• Trim the excess fat from the chicken and rub it generously with salt inside and out. Rinse thoroughly and sprinkle inside and out with vinegar. Place in a colander, breast side up, to drain.
• Place the chicken in a pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil then maintain at a lively simmer for 8–10 min­utes, removing any scum that rises to the top.
• When the poaching liquid is clear, add the cardamom, mastic, chopped onion, and salt. Partially cover and cook on medium heat for 40–50 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and fry the grated onions until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
• Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid, measure out 4 cups of the stock, and place in another pot to cool.
• Bone the chicken and cut it into small pieces. Set aside.
• Add the yogurt mixture to the 4 cups of stock and stir or whisk until well combined. Add the chicken pieces and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it starts to thicken. Add 1 tablespoon of the fried onions and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
• Add the lemon juice and stir to mix. Pour the mixture into one large bowl or separate bowls and sprinkle the rest of the caramelized onions on top.
• You may serve warm or cold. It will keep refrigerated for a few days.
  About the dish
  Kishk refers to a variety of thick, pudding-like dishes made of fermented grains or legumes, or yogurt or buttermilk, with the addition of poultry stock. Kishk sa’idi, or dry kishk is made in Upper Egypt with green wheat and buttermilk. The green wheat is soaked in hot water for 4–5 hours, drained, combined with sour milk in a cheesecloth bag, and then left to ferment for 2 days. It is then shaped into walnut-sized balls, transferred to a terracotta pot, and kept for 3–4 days. Next it is left to dry either in the sun or in a drafty area, and rolled from time to time until it is completely dried, at which point it may be stored for 6 months. To cook, it is covered with stock or water and left to simmer for 20–30 minutes. It is then drained, mashed, and served as thick soup, drizzled with melted butter. Christian communities in Upper Egypt make kishk during fasts with fermented chickpeas, prepared similar to the green wheat kishk. When ready, water is added to the kishk and stirred until it dissolves. Next, cubed or shred­ded pumpkin is added along with more water and it is stirred until thick. Since Coptic fasts entail abstaining from animal products, it is topped with vegetable oil instead butter.
  Kishk Beheiri is the most common type of kishk prepared in the Delta. It calls for yogurt, flour, sometimes rice, and may be prepared with or without cooked chicken, but I prefer to include it. Dishes cooked this way are topped with crunchy fried onions.Variations
  - For a meatless kishk, add 2 tablespoons of cooked rice with the yogurt at step 7 and omit the chicken.
  - For richer kiskh replace 1 or 2 cups of the stock with milk.