• Two chicken thighs, skin on and bone in, salted
• 200g-ish rice, well washed
• Two onions or five shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• Four cardamom pods, smashed – make sure you get all the seeds in
• Two tsp cumin
• Two tsp ground coriander
• Two tsp sumac
• Two tsp chilli flakes
• One tsp turmeric
• Two cloves
• Three cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• A handful of fresh coriander, thinly slice the stalks and separate the leaves
• Two tbsp barberries
• Two eggs, medium boiled
• Natural yoghurt
• Three tsp garam masala
• Vine leaves
• Salt
• Pepper

Preheat the oven to 140. In the lidded pot that you’re going to cook the finished dish (I like the formerly white pot), place the chicken skin-side down and put over a medium heat. Allow to cook until crispy and it’s left chicken fat and fond on the bottom of the pan. Remove and put to one side. It won’t be cooked through.

Meanwhile, parcook the rice, boiling in lots of salted water for about 8 minutes, until slightly softened but with more bite than you’d wish in the middle. Drain and layout in a single layer on a big plate or baking tray to steam off.

Turn the chicken pot down to medium-low and add the onions to cook slowly in the chicken fat. Give them plenty of time, 40 minutes at least, until golden brown and sweet and soft. Add the spices, the coriander stalks and the garlic and cook out until fragrant, another few minutes, while being sure not to burn the garlic. Remove from the pot.

Make a paste with the yoghurt, fresh coriander and garam masala. Line the pot with vine leaves on the bottom, smear a dollop of the yoghurt over the bottom of the dish. Put a quarter of the rice into the pot, followed by a layer of caramelised onions and barberries, and a chicken thigh. Put more yoghurt on top, then add another layer of rice, then onions and barberries and the thigh. Repeat, then close the vine leaves over the top of the rice to make a sealed package.

Cover with a lid and put in the oven for 40 minutes or so. Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Finish with more fresh coriander and the medium boiled eggs.