Chicken Biryani

Ingredients

• 5 green cardamom pods
• 300g (11oz) basmati rice
• Salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 25g (1oz) butter
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp peeled and finely chopped root ginger
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 x 5cm (2in) cinnamon stick
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 75g (3oz) raisins
• 800ml (1 pint 9fl oz) chicken stock
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander
• 4 tbsp flaked almonds