• 2 cups Basmati Rice
• 4 cups water
• 1 lb chicken (bone in)
• 4 tblspn vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 tblspoon black pepper
• Salt to taste (approx 1 tblspoon)

1. Heat oil in pan over medium/high heat. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and cinnamon stick. When the seeds start sputtering, put raw chicken in pan to cook, bring heat down to medium. Once chicken begins to brown (a few minutes) add water & black pepperand cook until chicken is 3/4th of the way done. Add rice to pan and cook on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes , and then let it simmer until it is finished cooking. Plate & garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

Chicken palao is what you make when you want a tasty & hearty meal with chicken and spiced rice. Its similiar to another dish Pakistani & Indian families make on special occasions, called biryani. Except that biryani is way more complicated to make and has all sorts of fancy add ins like nuts and raisins. Basically Palao is the poor mans version of biryani. But it is delicious none the less!