Spiced Apricot Rice with Palm Nut

Prep Cut chicken into 3cm chunks. Season with 0.5 tsp salt and pepper. Dice half the onion for the plov, slice the other half for the moambe. Mince 3 garlic cloves for the moambe and 2 for the plov. Peel carrot and cut into matchsticks. Chop dried apricots into raisin-sized pieces. Toast cumin seed in a dry pan 60 seconds and crush coarsely. Slice bell pepper into thin strips. Slit scotch bonnet without breaking it. Dice tomato. Pick cilantro leaves. Cut lime into wedges.

Sear Heat 2 tbsp neutral oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high 90 seconds. Add chicken in a single layer and sear 4 minutes turning once, until both sides are deep mahogany. Lift to a plate.

Build 1 Reduce heat to medium. Add sliced onion and bell pepper to the same skillet and cook 4 minutes until softened. Stir in moambe garlic, white pepper, tomato, tomato paste, and remaining 0.5 tsp salt 90 seconds until tomato breaks down.

Simmer Stir in palm nut cream and 120ml of the chicken stock. Slip scotch bonnet into the sauce. Return chicken with any juices. Reduce to low, cover, and braise 20 minutes until chicken is tender and the sauce turns deep brick-red and glossy. Lift scotch bonnet out.

Build 2 While the moambe simmers, heat 1 tbsp neutral oil in a small lidded saucepan over medium 60 seconds. Add diced plov onion and cook 3 minutes until soft. Stir in plov garlic, carrot, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and bay leaf 90 seconds.

Build 3 Add rice, apricots, and raisins to the plov pan and stir 60 seconds to coat. Pour in remaining 180ml chicken stock with a pinch of salt. Reduce to lowest heat, cover, and simmer 16 minutes until liquid is absorbed and rice is just tender. Rest 5 minutes off the heat. Fluff with a fork.

Plate Mound plov rice in a wide bowl, spoon moambe chicken and palm nut sauce generously over the top so the sauce pools through the grains. Scatter cilantro and remaining 1 tbsp neutral oil for gloss, and serve with lime wedges.