Wash chicken with the juice of a lime or lemon. Rinse, drain and set aside.
Wash rice and add enough water to cover. Soak for 30 minutes. Bring 10 cups of water to boil in a medium pot. Add washed rice, 1 black elaiche, 1 tbs peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tbs cardamom, 1 tbs whole cumin and 1 tbs salt. Cook until 70% done. Drain and set aside.
Place a large pot over medium heat and add oil. When hot, add sliced onions and cook until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove to a plate.
Add remainder of the black cardamom, green cardamom(1 tbs), peppercorns(1 tbs), cinnamon stick(1), whole grian geera (1 tbs), and turmeric. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring.
Raise heat to high, add chicken, salt (about 1 1/2 tbs) and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes until brown.
Add cilantro, minced garlic, pimento peppers if using, tomatoes, couple thin slices of lemon, cayenne peppers if using, green seasoning, ½ caramelized onion and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Add 1/2 container, about 1 1/2 to 2 cups, yogurt and stir to coat. Cook for 10 more minutes and add the remainder of the caramelized onions.
Drain rice once it is done cooking, and add it to chicken, stir to combine. Toss the remainder of the caramelized onion over the rice, along with chopped cilantro if you wish. Cover tightly(sometimes I wrap a kitchen cloth around the cover) and cook for 15-20 minutes, or longer if still not fluffy enough. Leave covered for an additional 20 minutes.
Video
Notes
Make Raita. To the remaining yogurt(1/2 container), mix in 1 small minced red onion, finely chopped hot pepper, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp minced garlic, salt, to taste and black pepper. Alternatively, you can place all ingredients in the food processor and pulse to chop and combine at the same time. In the corresponding video on YT, I used 4 cups of rice but decreased it here since 3 cups make a large quantity. Feel free to use up to 4 cups, depending on how many people you are cooking for.