Royal Chicken Machboos with Saffron Rice, Daqoos and Crispy Onions

Method

1. Rinse the rice 4 or 5 times until the water runs almost clear, then cover with cold water and soak for 30 min. Crumble the saffron into a small cup, add 2 tablespoons of hot (not boiling) water and the rose water and leave it to bloom into a deep orange liquid. Pierce each loomi 2 or 3 times with a knife tip.

   Add in this stepSaffron threads 1 pinchRose water ½ tsp

2. Make the bezar: toast the coriander, cumin, fennel, peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and dried chillies in a dry 18 cm frying pan over medium-low heat for 2 min, shaking the pan, until fragrant and a shade darker; if they smoke, they have burnt, so start again. Cool on a plate, grind finely and mix with the turmeric.

   Add in this stepCoriander seeds 1 tspCumin seeds ¾ tspFennel seeds ½ tspBlack peppercorns ½ tspGreen cardamom pods 4Cinnamon stick (3 cm piece) 1Cloves 3Dried red chillies 1Ground turmeric ½ tsp

   medium-low heat

3. Fry the onion for the topping: pour the frying oil into a dry small pot (pot size × number of batches: 16 cm ×1; the oil must fill no more than a third of the pot) and heat over medium heat to 170 °C, when a slice of onion dropped in bubbles steadily straight away. Fry the onion for 9 min per batch, stirring gently, until evenly deep golden. It darkens fast at the end, so lift it out with a slotted spoon just before it looks done and spread it on kitchen paper, where it crisps up. Never leave hot oil unattended, keep water away from it, and let it cool completely before moving or discarding it.

   Add in this stepOnion for frying, very thinly sliced 1Vegetable oil for frying 250 ml

   medium heat

4. Pat the chicken dry and rub it with the salt for this step and a third of the bezar. Heat the ghee for this step in a 22 cm heavy pot over medium-high heat and sear the chicken skin-side down for 6 min, turning once, until golden brown; if the pieces don't fit in one layer, sear them in two rounds. Lift onto a plate.

   Add in this stepBone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin on 500 gSalt 0.4 tspGhee 1¼ tbsp

   medium-high heat

5. Lower to medium heat, add the rest of the ghee and the onion and cook for 9 min, scraping the bottom, until golden brown, adding the garlic and ginger for the last minute. Stir in the remaining bezar for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes, loomi, the salt for this step and the water. Return the chicken with its juices, bring to a boil, then lower to medium-low heat, cover and simmer for 32 min, until the chicken is tender and the juices run clear at the bone (75 °C).

   Add in this stepGhee ¾ tbspOnion, thinly sliced 1Garlic cloves, crushed 3Fresh ginger, grated 10 gRipe tomatoes, chopped 1½Loomi (dried black lime) 1Water 700 mlSalt ½ tsp

   medium heat→medium-low heat

6. Meanwhile, make the daqoos: put the grated tomatoes, garlic, green chilli and the remaining salt in a 16 cm small pan and cook over medium heat for 9 min, stirring, until thick and saucy with no watery liquid. Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Serve warm or at room temperature.

   Add in this stepRipe tomatoes, grated (for the daqoos) 1Garlic cloves, crushed (for the daqoos) 1Green chilli, finely chopped (for the daqoos) 1Lemon, juiced (for the daqoos) ½Salt 0.4 tsp

   medium heat

7. Lift the chicken onto a baking tray. Keep 280 ml of broth in the pot with the loomi (pour the rest into a bowl to serve on the side) and taste it: it should be slightly too salty. Bring to a boil over high heat, add the drained rice, and when it boils again drizzle the saffron liquid over the top in streaks without stirring. Lower to low heat, lay a clean tea towel under the lid to absorb the steam (fold the corners up over the lid, well away from the flame) and cook for 13 min. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 5 minutes.

   Add in this stepBasmati rice 150 g

   high heat→low heat

8. While the rice cooks, grill the chicken under the oven grill (broiler) at 230 °C for 6 min, until the skin is crisp and lacquered. Fluff the rice gently with a fork so the golden and white grains mingle, mound it on a platter, top with the chicken, crispy onion and coriander, and serve with the daqoos and broth alongside.

   Add in this stepFresh coriander, chopped 8 g

   oven