I hope you’re all in the mood for a little excursion with your tastebuds! Hey, it’s the no-passport-required way to travel, don’t you love that? So this is me updating an old recipe from quite a few years ago. I remember the first time making this a friend of mine offered to share some of his awesome cooking with me and my family. He said he was going to bring over some Persian food (with extra saffron) for dinner to go with whatever sides I wanted to make. I’ve always been thrilled with those kinds of arrangements. I got to be in charge of the sides for that dinner. In fact, since I’m such a sucker for a theme I remember I got all into this Persian thing and went digging through different recipes on the internet to decide what to make. I made flatbread and hummus and then this basmati rice that I’m sharing. If it’s any indication of whether or not this was good, you should know that literally everyone in my family tried and liked it, even the pickiest of my younger siblings. Of course, this was when they were little so I had to embellish a little and name this dish “Aladdin Rice” to get them to try it. Lol Typically you’d add saffron along with the other spices but I didn’t have any on hand so I skipped it and the rice was still layered with flavor. I’ve listed it as optional. Also, pomegranates are another thing that a lot of recipes use but, wouldn’t you know it, the one time recently I’ve wanted to use them they didn’t have them at the store and I had just run out. That’s pretty lame considering how they’re in season here and I’ve had them on hand many times for the last few months except now, but anyway, pom arils are great to garnish the top and add that fun sparkly effect to the dish. And finally, one of the best parts about this rice is what happens in the last few minutes. See, you let the rice on the bottom of the pan get all golden brown and crispy, while watching carefully not to burn it, then you flip it onto the top right before serving and that toasted texture and flavor is so good. Of course, after that you have to top it all off with plenty of extra “jewels” to garnish which makes it look all vibrant and inviting when you plate it. Alright, so I’m going to continue humming Arabian Nights to myself and let you guys go make this! Spice up your rice tonight and try this flavor filled recipe with all kinds of textures and tastes going on.