A wonderful dish that won rave reviews from our guests! I served it as a side with salmon in coconut milk and naan, but this superb dish offers rich and complex flavors, and deserves to be an entree on its own -- perhaps with saffron rice; or add vegetable broth to make a savory stew. Advice to cooks: If some exotic spices are hard to find, try hard to find at least the fennel seeds and especially the cardamom pods (or seeds -- but NOT ground cardamom). One of the best discoveries I've made on AllRecipes.com!

Reviewed On: Jul. 18, 2008

This recipe is a fairly simple but delicious and healthy one-dish complete meal. I've made biryani rice dishes before but never one with such rich, complex flavor and such a marvelous fragrance. After cooking, our home was filled with a subtle, exotic aroma that lingered for hours. NOTE: This and other biryani recipes are adaptable to simplifications and time savers, such as using thawed/steamed frozen peas;1/8 teasp crushed red pepper instead of seven whole peppercorns; crystallized ginger and dried garlic; and pre-diced onions, carrots, and potatoes. Of course, the dish is best and most authentic with the freshest ingredients -- but better a "quick" biryani, I think, than no biryani at all at the end of a long day! Depending on your preferences, you could eliminate some vegetables, but keep the onions, garlic, herbs & spices, broth, and rice. The turmeric imparts a lovely golden hue and sublime flavor. I've had great success adding mushrooms as well. I advise a great mango chutney as accompaniment, with yogurt or sour cream. It also keeps and reheats nicely for next-day dining!

Reviewed On: Jan. 26, 2008