Chicken Kabsa

Ingredients

• 1whole chicken, about 3½ lb (1.6 kg), cut into 8 pieces, skin on
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 2onions, large, finely chopped
• 6 clovegarlic, minced
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 3tomatoes, ripe, grated on the large holes of a box grater, skins discarded
• 1carrot, large, grated
• 2dried limes, loomi, pierced a few times with the tip of a knife
• 1cinnamon stick
• 6green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 4whole cloves
• 2bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspblack pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 quartwater
• 2 1/2 cupsbasmati rice
• 1/3 cupraisins
• 1/3 cupcashews, raw, unsalted
• 1/4 cuppine nuts

Method

1. 1

   Put the rice in a large bowl of cold water, swirl it with your hand and pour off the cloudy water; repeat 3 or 4 times, until the water runs almost clear. Cover it with fresh cold water and leave it to soak for at least 20 minutes; it can wait there until the broth is ready. Measure the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, cumin, coriander and pepper into one small bowl so they're ready.

2. 2

   Pat the chicken dry and season it all over with 1 tsp of the salt. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large, heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat, and brown the chicken skin side down in two batches, about 5 minutes a batch, until golden. Lift it onto a plate.

3. 3

   Turn the heat down to medium and cook the onions in the fat left in the pot, stirring often, until soft and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, the bowl of spices and the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant.

4. 4

   Stir in the grated tomatoes, the carrot and the dried limes, and cook until the tomato darkens and the oil starts to separate at the edges, about 5 minutes.

5. 5

   Return the chicken and any juices from the plate to the pot, pour in the water, add the rest of the salt and bring it to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer gently for 35 minutes, until the thickest pieces reach 165°F and the juices run clear. About 15 minutes before it's done, heat the oven to 425°F.

6. 6

   Lift the chicken onto a foil-lined sheet pan, skin side up. Measure the broth, vegetables and all, into a heatproof bowl a cupful at a time: you want one and a half times as much broth as rice. Top it up with hot water if it's short (keep any extra for soup), then pour it back into the pot.

7. 7

   Taste the broth: it should be a little saltier than soup, since the rice soaks it all up. Bring it to a boil, stir in the drained rice and boil it uncovered, without stirring, until the broth sinks just below the surface of the rice and small holes appear, about 5 minutes.

8. 8

   Cover the pot tightly, turn the heat to its lowest setting and cook the rice for 20 minutes without lifting the lid. Meanwhile, roast the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin is golden; it's already cooked through, so this is only for color.

9. 9

   Take the pot off the heat and let the rice rest, still covered, for 10 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the chicken inside to stay warm.

10. 10

    While the rice rests, heat the rest of the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Fry the cashews, stirring, for 2 minutes, then add the pine nuts and raisins and stir until the nuts are golden and the raisins puff, about 1 minute more. Tip them straight onto a plate, because pine nuts go from golden to burnt in seconds.

11. 11

    Fluff the rice with a fork and pile it onto a large platter, picking out the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and dried limes as you go. Lay the chicken on top and scatter the cashews, pine nuts and raisins over.