Moroccan chicken (or briyani??!)

From ‘Best Ever Chicken Recipes’ by Bay books

Ingredients:

8 large chicken drumsticks
3 gloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp turmeric pwd
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cardomom
1 tsp lemon rind, finely grated
2 tbsp oil
1 onion sliced
2 cups chicken stock
6 pitted dates, chopped
1/3 cup shredded coconut (i used dessciated coconut, revived with water)

1. trim chicken of excess fat and sinew. Place chicken in a large bowl. Combine the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, cardamom and rind in a small bowl. Add to the chicken and completely coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours / overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Heat oil in a large heavy based frying pan. Cook the chicken quickly over medium heat until well browned. Drain on paper towels. Place the chicken in an ovenproof casserole dish.
3. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring for 5 mins, or until soft. Add the cooked onion, stock, dates and shredded coconut to the casserole dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender, stirring occasionally.

comments:
The chicken was really tender...everyone liked it (i think) and commented that it smells n tastes like curry briyani!! i think it's the coconut. ActUALLY!! If it was called 'briyani', I would have like it better!!! Hmmm....add a handful of roasted chopped cashews and lots of chopped coriander in that case then... :)
I had a free sample pack of moroccan spices lying around around so i just stirred it into the rice...imparted a lovely yellow colour. The bits of stuff on top are dates and onions from the sauce.