Maqbous

Food trip is in Oman and this is our last stop in Africa. Next time we already in Asia.
In this recipe is used 8 different spices and garlic, onion and ginger. It will take a little more time to make this dish, but it is full of flavors.

Recipe I got here and I have also made some changes in recipes according to availability in our food stores:
https://blog.arousingappetites.com/maqbous-omani-chicken-saffron-chana-dal-spiced-rice/

Ingredients

For chicken marinade: 
8 chicken thighs
1 tsp grounded allspice
1 tsp grounded nutmeg
1 tsp grounded black pepper
1 lime juice
1 tsp salt

For rice and braising stock:
350 g Basmati rice
800 ml chicken stock
6 pcs gloves
2 pcs cinnamon sticks
2 pcs bay leafs
6 pcs green cardamom pods
1 big onion
6 garlic gloves
2 cm piece of ginger
3 sl olive oil

For topping:
40 g raisins
20 g almond slices
100 g Chana Dal or skinned and halved chickpeas - I used canned chickpeas. I skinned and halved these myself.   
a little saffron

Marinating the chicken:
Start by combining all the spices for the marinade in a bowl. 
Place your chicken thighs in the bowl and coat them evenly in the spice mix. Once they're coated, cover the bowl and let it marinate for overnight in the refrigerator.

Cooking the chicken:
Combine onion, garlic, ginger, and olive oil in a food processor, and pulse it into a smooth, non-clumpy paste.
Roast this paste in a braising pan over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Add your cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, and cardamom pods into the pan and roast a little, still stirring constantly. Add in your marinated chicken thighs and sear for about a minute on each side.
Pour in  chicken stock to cover the chicken.Raise heat to bring the stock to a boil, and then cover the pot with a lid and braise on a simmering heat for 20 minutes. 
When the chicken is done, pull them out of the stock (which you'll save for the rice) and set them on a  cooling rack to air-dry for at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle some salt on the chicken skins to draw out any excess moisture.

Cooking the rice:
Put the Basmati rice in a large bowl and rinse it under a cold water until the water runs clear. Next, soak the rice in water for 15 minutes and let it sit.
Drain rice and allow the rice to air-dry for 10 minutes.
Place  braising pot back on the heat  and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir in the rice, coating the grains evenly with oil.Add all chicken stock.
Bring the stock to a boil, put the lid on, and then cook for 18 minutes over the lowest possible heat setting.
After 18 minutes, turn off the heat and keep the lid on for another 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, take off the lid and mix the rice gently. 

Assembling the dish:
Preheat oven to 220 C.Arrange the chicken pieces on a baking sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Soak the raisins in warm water for some minutes, then drain.Next, soak a pinch of saffron threads in boiling water.
Take a pan and heat it over medium-high heat then add a tablespoon of olive oil.
Fry raisins and almonds for some minutes. 
In the same pan, fry  chick peas, adding a tablespoon of the saffron-infused water, then set aside.
Tint the cooked Basmati rice with the rest of your saffron-infused water.
Finally, top the Basmati rice with chick peas, raisins, almonds, and the chicken pieces, and enjoy!