Yes Ive tried the other way !!! ;D
When you wash the Rice to cool it several times you rinse away all the taste so it becomes rather superfluous putting the Spices in at the begining.
Believe me & the others that have used my method.

You have my word as a Dark lord, that i would not post a recipe unless Ive tried it several times, as there are a small percentage of individuals on this forum who disregard my work here purely because of our personality clashes,
So John go for it my good man, & soon you will be making Excellent "Curries & Rice from the darkside !"
Also i don't just sit waiting for other members to post their efforts i really do experiment a lot with all my dishes with a large margin of success .
And now for some silliness.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? " Badger..Badger...Mushroom,Mushroom ...Snaaaaake.... ;D ;D?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? DARTH "? ;D " PHALL