Chicken tagine

Method

1. Melt the butter in a casserole dish. Add the onion and fry gently for 5-10 minutes, stirring often.

2. Add the chicken portions, cinnamon sticks and ground turmeric. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook the chicken, stirring now and then, for 10 minutes.

3. Pour in enough water to just cover the chicken. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked, for around 45 minutes.

4. Remove the chicken from the casserole dish and keep warm. Add the prunes to the casserole and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Add the ground cinnamon and honey, mixing well and simmer gently.

6. Meanwhile, rinse the basmati rice to wash out excess starch. Place the rice and saffron in a medium, heavy-based saucepan. Add 300ml water and season with salt. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook the rice over a very low heat until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.

7. Heat the oil in a small frying pan. Fry the almonds and sesame seed, stirring constantly, until golden.

8. Return the chicken to the casserole dish and re-heat.

9. To serve, place a portion of chicken on 6 serving plates, spoon over the sauce and sprinkle over the fried almonds and sesame seeds. Serve with the saffron rice topped with parsley.