1) I used skin on thighs, and cut each thigh in half. Don't know if you need to do that though, but it made each half almost bite size, once cooked.. I also got 2 breasts (each cut in thirds), but I thought the thighs were MUCH more moist. By the way, I got the butcher at Whole Foods to take the bones out.
2) I heavily seasoned both sides of the chicken with a mixture of about 1 tablespoons of the Bharat and powdered chicken broth mix (mixed these two together), and salt and pepper, and browned quickly, over high flame on both sides (longer on skin side, so it was crispy). I couldn't fit it all in a single layer in the pot, so probably left out 6 pieces. IN retrospect, I could/should have overlapped it and put all the chicken in.
3) I skipped do the whole step of cooking the chicken in water with the peppercorns and bay leaves. When the time came to add liquid, I simply used regular water, with all the seasonings mentioned in the recipe to add to the "broth".
4) I roasted the eggplant instead of frying it. I brush both sides very well with olive oil and sprinkling with salt/pepper at 450 degrees until browned. Note that I usually microwave olive oil with sliced garlic, so that the oil is nicely garlicky scented, and then used the garlicky oil I used 3 italian eggplant (don't know why) but I could/should have used more. I had enough to make a single layer on the dish, but not enough to overlap, as they suggested.
5) I also roasted the cauliflower same was as above, and added a tad of numeric for color.
NOTE that I did step 4 and 5 earlier in the week.
6) As to the tomatoes, again, I sliced them and salted them and left them in a colander to drain, but you don't have to do that. Again, I probably could have used more - I had enough for a single layer, but not overlapped.
7) I always rinse basmati rice well before using it (most basmati recipes recommend doing such, but this one didn't - I wonder if the starch (that was rinsed off) would have been useful in the dish? I used 2 cups instead of 1 2/3 and added about an extra 1/2 cup water.
8) When done, I tasted the rice and thought it needed to be softer, and added another 1/2 cup water for about 5-10 more minutes.
8) I used a high sided sauce pan (11 inches) instead of a dutch oven. Be careful with your choices, as you have to turn it all upside down onto a plate when you are done, and the heavier the pot, the harder it is. This step needs 2 sets of hands, for sure.
