Chicken with caramelised onion and cardamom rice

Ingredients:

40g sugar

25g currants

4 tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions, finely sliced (250g)

1kg chicken thigh fillet, with bone and skin

10 cardamom pods

1/3 tsp whole cloves

2 long cinnamon sticks, broken in two

300g basmati rice

550mL boiling water

5g parsley, chopped

5g dill, chopped

5g coriander, chopped

100g Greek yoghurt

s+p

Method:

1. Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and season with 1 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and mix well with your hands.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté pan for which you have a lid, add the onion and cook over a medium heat for 10-15minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion has turned a deep golden brown. Transfer the onion to a small bowl.
3. Heat the frying pan again and place the chicken and spices inside. Sear for 5 minutes on each side and remove chicken from pan. Keep spices in pan. Remove most of the remaining oil, leaving just a millimetre at the bottom. 
4. Add the rice, caramelised onion, currants, 1 tsp salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir well and return the seared chicken and push into the rice.
5. Pour the boiling water over the rice and chicken, cover the pan and cook on a very low heat for 30minutes. Take the pan off the heat, remove the lid and quickly place a clean tea towel over the pan and seal again with the lid. Leave the dish undisturbed for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the herbs and use a fork to the stir them in and fluff up the rice. Taste and serve more s+p if required.
6. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt. Enjoy!

Serves 4

**Recipe from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi**