Roast off a chicken, and when done, remove all the meat from the bones in large neatly-cut slices, and set these aside on a plate with the chicken bones, a bit of ham, thyme, shalot, two cloves, a glass of sherry, and a pint of stock or water, boiled gently for half an hour; make an essence, which after being strained must be further boiled down to the value of a gill, and kept in reserve.
While the fore part of the preparation is going on, wash and parboil for five minutes a pound of rice, drain it free from water, and put it into a stewpan with four ounces of butter, and stir this over a brisk fire until the rice acquires equally in every grain a light-fawn colour; then add a pint and a half of stock or water, cayenne pepper, and the juice extracted from three pennyworth of saffron, by boiling it with a little water; put the lid on the stewpan, and set the rice to boil, or rather simmer, very gently over a slow fire for about three-quarters of an hour; by the end of this time the rice being done, stir it lightly with a fork, to detach the grains from each other, adding a little curry powder; pile the rice up in a dish; place the pieces of fowl kept in reserve, and. which have been warmed in the essence—also reserved for that purpose; crown the whole with a group of stewed Sultana raisins, and serve hot.