Pulao With Fried Onions and Spiced Chicken

This recipe requires a few spices you may not already have on hand, but they would be great additions to your spice cabinet, so why not? Feel free to substitute ingredients if you need to (for instance,I forgot to purchase tomato paste and used ketchup instead)-there is already so much flavor,no one will notice. The definition of "spiced" in this recipe is flavor, not heat. Enjoy!

4 cups chicken stock
4 table spoons vegetable oil
6 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
3 cloves
8 black peppercorns, crushed
1 and 1/2 cups basmati rice
2 handfuls cilantro leaves
1 large onion, finely sliced or diced
2 teaspoon curry paste or powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
3 skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
toppings: plain yogurt and mango chutney, to serve

Heat the chicken stock in a small saucepan until it is simmering. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or saucepan. Add the cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and crushed peppercorns and fry for a minute. Reduce heat to low, add the rice, and stir constantly for one minute. Add the heated stock and a pinch of salt to the rice and bring everything to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat until rice is cooked (about 15 minutes). Let rice cool a bit, then stir in the cilantro.
Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion. Increase the heat when onion becomes soft, and fry until it becomes dark brown. Add onion to the rice, stir.
Mix the curry, tomato paste, and yogurt in a medium bowl. Add chicken strips and mix thoroughly with the paste.
Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Cook the chicken on high heat until almost black in patches.
Serve chicken over the rice, topped with plain yogurt and mango chutney.