Tavuklu Pilav - chicken

Method

• Put the chicken whole in a large pot.
• Cover with water, season with salt and pepper, and add 2 bay leaves and the thyme or oregano.
• Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, until the chicken is very tender.
• Lift the chicken out, and when it is cool enough to handle, cut into 6 serving pieces.
• If you like, remove skin and bones.
• Keep warm in a little of the broth to prevent it from becoming dry.
• Then cut the rest of the meat into small pieces to be mixed in with the rice.
• Measure the remaining broth.
• If there is more than about 4 1/2 cups, reduce by vigorous boiling.
• If there is less, add water until you have 4 1/2 cups.
• Set aside 1 1/2 cups as sauce.
• Return the small chicken pieces to the 3 cups of stock in the pan.
• Throw in the rice, stir, and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently, covered and undisturbed, for 20 minutes, until the rice is tender.
• To serve, reheat the reserved chicken portions, heap the rice on a large, flat serving dish, and arrange the chicken portions on top.
• Pass around the 1 1/2 cups of broth for everyone to pour on as a sauce.
• For the Arab roz bi jaj (rice with chicken), the stock is perfumed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds.
• The rice is cooked in the broth with small pieces of chicken, as described above; 1/3 cup blanched almonds and about 23 tablespoons pine nuts are lightly fried in oil and arranged at the bottom of an oiled ring or pyramid-shaped mold.
• The cooked rice is pressed over them, then the mold is turned out onto a serving dish and surrounded by serving pieces of chicken.
• Another presentation is to line the mold first with a layer of nuts, then with the boned chicken, and to pack the rice in over the meat.
• Inverted, this looks beautiful too.