Marinate

1. Blitz the onion with the ginger, garlic, green chillies, salt and ground spices – black pepper, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala with half the yoghurt. Pour the marinade over the chicken pieces and stir. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge to marinate, preferably overnight or for2-3 hours.

Part boil rice

2. Wash the rice in cold running water until the water runs clear and add 700ml of cold water. Soak for 30 minutes. Place the rice and water in a saucepan along with one cinnamon stick, two bay leaves and two cloves. Bring to the boil and cook for 7 minutes until the grains are just tender but not cooked all the way through. Drain and set aside. Remove the whole spices.

Fry the onions

3. Heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large deep pan. When hot add the remaining onions and fry for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and caramelised. Remove and leave to one side. Set aside 4 tablespoons for garnishing.

Meat curry

4. Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add the remaining cinnamon stick, bay leaves and cloves.
5. Add the marinated chicken and all the marinade juices and fry for 10 minutes until the mixture is quite dry and browned.
6. Take off the heat and stir in the remaining yoghurt and half the fried onions.

Oven cook/finish

7. Mix together the rice and the remaining half of the fried onions. Layer half the rice in an ovenproof dish, add the chicken mixture, and finish off with another layer of rice. Mix together the saffron threads in milk and pour over the rice mixture. Dot with butter all over. Seal firmly with plenty of foil and cook in a preheated oven at 170 °C/ gas mark 3 for 35-40 minutes until the rice and meat are tender.
8. Fluff up the rice before serving (remove the cloves). Garnish with the remaining fried onions.