Method

Put the rice in a large bowl, add 720 ml water and 2 tsp salt, set aside and soak for 2 hours. Rinse several times under running water and drain well. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Remove the chicken from the fridge about 30 mins before roasting to bring close to room temperature.

Pat the chicken dry. Remove fatty white flap from the chicken cavity and chop it finely. Set aside. Season the chicken inside and out with several generous twists of pepper and about 1.5 tsp of salt.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy ovenproof pot over a medium high heat. Add the chicken and brown until skin turns golden brown, 5-7 minutes on each side. Remove from the pot and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion and chopped chicken fat, and saute, stirring often, until the chicken fat melts and the onion is soft and golden, 7-8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and sugar and cook, stirring fro another minute or so. Remove from the heat and transfer the onion mixture to the bowl with rice. Season with the cardamon, paprika, cinnamon and 2 tbsp of the salt and mix well until combined. If you like, tue the chicken legs together at the end of the drumsticks with kitchen twine to help keep its shape.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Wipe out the pot and lightly slick it with oil. Add a layer of the rice mixture at the bottom of the pot just to cover it (about 1.5 cm thick). Place the chicken on the rice, breast side up, and spread the rest of the rice mixture around and over the chicken. The chicken should be mostly buried in rice, with its breast peeping out. Gently pour in the boiling water.

Bring the water back to the boil over a high heat. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and transfer to a hot oven. Bake for 2.5 hrs. By this time, the chicken will very tender and the rice will be soft and kind of mushy, which is part of it’s charm.