PREPARATION

• Soak the rice in water for half an hour.
• Heat olive oil (3 tbsp) or can use normal oil as well in a wok/ non stick vessel.
• Saute the sliced onions until soft. Adding salt at this stage will helps the onion done quickly.
• Then add chopped tomato ,green chili, ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell goes and tomato become mushy.
• When done, add the tomato sauce or pureed cherry tomato and mix well.
• Now mix in  the raw spices cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, pepper corns, cumin seed, dried lemon along with the arabic spice and chicken cube. Saute well for few minutes .
• Add the chicken pieces with skin and turn it over few times.
• Let it mixed up well with the spice gravy. 
• Now add 3.5 cups of water. The amount of water depends on the amount of rice only. I took 2 cups of rice , so actually double the cup of water is required. But the rice i took needs only less amount of water to cook. So add water according to the rice you used.
• Cover and cook for a couple of minutes or until the water boils.
• Now check for salt if required and take out the half cooked chicken with skin to a baking bowl over a silver foil.
• Drizzle lemon juice and olive oil(2 tbsp) over  it and bake until the chicken becomes golden. It will take around 15 minutes at 170 degree C. 
• Now add the soaked and drained rice to boiled water and let it cook for 5 minutes in a medium flame.
• Then reduce the flame to low and cook until the water dries out. It took around 15 -20 minutes.
• When done open the lid and mix the rice gently. Meanwhile chicken will be ready . If the baked chicken leaves plenty of water in the baking tray, u can just dry out it by heating the chicken and water simply in a pan.
• Serve the rice into a serving bowl and top it with chicken pieces.
• Flavorful, tasty, rich chicken machboos ready.