Saudi Chicken Stew

3 cups cooked long grain rice (1 cup uncooked)
2 1/2 to 3 lb chicken, skinned and cut into pieces
1 quart water
1 tsp salt, or to taste
pepper to taste
3 Tbsp butter
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
6-8 carrots, thinly sliced
2-inch stick cinnamon, or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp whole cardamom pods or 3/4 tsp ground cardamom
6 whole cloves or 1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 cups tomato juice (or 1 cup tomato sauce mixed with 1 cup water)
2 cups chicken broth

1. Simmer chicken, water, salt, and pepper for 25 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from broth and set aside. Skim fat, strain broth (optional), and reserve.
3. Heat butter in a large saucepan with tight-fitting lid. Add and saute onions. Push onions to the side and saute carrots on medium heat about 10 minutes until browned.
4. Mix cooked rice, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves in a bowl.
5. Lay pieces of cooked chicken evenly over sauteed vegetables. Cover with rice-and-spice mixture. Pour tomato juice and chicken broth over rice. Cover and simmer slowly for one hour. If contents become too dry, add a little reserved chicken broth.

Note: Whole spices give a better flavor and color to this stew than ground spices, although stew is tasty both ways. Remove whole spices just before serving or while eating.

Source: Extending the Table

Try #1 - January 2011
This was interesting. A bit time-consuming, but worth it for the new combination of flavors with fairly common ingredients. As usual, I used boneless, skinless thighs, which made that step easier. Cardamom can be expensive, but it seems like there is no good substitute, so I wanted to use it. I found whole cardamom pods at PCC, and bought just enough for this recipe, so it costs me about 20 cents. So... not so bad afterall. :)