Ingredients:
1 whole, oven-ready, duck
6 garlic cloves
pinch of ground aniseed
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
4 large onions, thinly sliced
225g carrots, grated
60g seedless raisins or sultanas
50g brown sugar
juice of 2 oranges
150g rice
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
12 cloves
600ml milk
600ml natural yoghurt
20 whole black peppercorns
juice of 2 limes
3cm length of cinnamon, crushed
salt, to taste
115g blanched almonds
2 dessertspoons butter
seeds from 12 cardamom pods, ground in a mortar
salt, to taste
butter, for frying
Method:
Wash the duck in salt water then wash in fresh water and prick the skin all over with a fork. Mix together the cloves, aniseed ground coriander seeds and a little salt to a paste in a mortar then set aside.
Melt a little butter in a pan, add the onion and fry for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown then add the carrots, raisins, sugar and orange juice. Bring to simmer and cook for a few minutes, or until thoroughly amalgamated. Take off the heat, turn into a bowl and mix with the garlic paste. Now use this mixture to stuff the duck.
Mash the almonds in a mortar and mix to a paste with the milk, lemon juice and 1 dessertspoon butter. Pour into a pan and cook slowly until you have a thick sauce.
Arrange the duck in a roasting tin and transfer to an oven pre-heated to 190°C. Cook, basting frequently with the yoghurt mix until the duck is nicely browned all over (about 20 minutes). Remove the duck from the oven and transfer to a deep casserole dish. Wash the rice and sprinkle around the duck. Smear the duck with the remainder of the butter mixture then sprinkle over the cloves, cinnamon and cardamom seeds.
Pour in 1l water then add the remaining yoghurt, turmeric and black peppercorns. Secure the lid on the casserole and cook for 5 minutes over high heat. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 40 minutes, or until the rice is tender the duck is cooked through and the pilau is almost dry.
To serve, remove the duck from the pot, turn the rice onto a serving dish, sit the duck on top and serve.
