Chicken Pilau - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 (750 g) whole chickens (cut into eight pieces)
3 cups basmati rice (8 oz cups)
2 black cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
3 -4 black peppercorns
3 cloves
2 green cardamoms
1 teaspoon cumin seed
salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 cup yoghurt
1/4 cup oil

Preparation

wash chicken properly and put aside.
soak rice in cold water.
finely slice the onion.
heat oil in a saucepan, add the onions and all the masalas(spices)keep a little water ready for onions when brown.
brown the onions, brown in the literal sense not golden and not burnt.
add ginger, garlic and the water which should be around half a cup,let it boil, you will notice the colour of this will be slightly brown, this is because of the water we add to very brown onions, this gives the pilau a s hint of cream colour when ready.
now add chicken, fry chicken in the onions and masalas,the half cup should have dried up by now(when you add chicken).
fry until chicken is tender add water if necessary, make sure the meat does not break, add the yoghurt about 2 tsp of salt or to taste and cook until yoghurt is dry.
now with the the same cup you measured the rice, measure water we will need 5 cups of water filled to the brim, add the water to the chicken, let it boil.
drain the water from the soaking rice and add rice to boiling water and chicken.
let rice boil, taste salt if need be add more according to your taste.
when water is almost dry, holes will form on the rice,reduce heat to very very low, use a simmerer if u have one, not necessary,.
before covering rice sprinkle the cummin over the rice.
cover with a lid that does not let steam escape from saucepan.
leave on simmer for about ten minutes.make sure rice does stick to bottom of pan, if it does it will burn easily and rice will taste and smell horrible.
when you lift lid to check the rice, the rice should let out a lot of steam and water should have dried, turn off heat mix the rice with a big fork like salad or serving fork,the aroma will be so good just scrumptious.
you chicken pilau is ready, enjoy.