I am very fortunate to work in an office where I am one of about 3 caucasians for around 100 people originating from Asia. Yesterday, we had a pot luck, and one of the dishes was a fantastic chicken biryani. I got to bring home some leftovers! However, there are some ingredients I am trying to identify. Here is a picture of the dish (sorry, it's been cooled and reheated by nature of being leftovers):
Now, as one would expect from real Indian food, it was fantastically spicy. Star anise, cardamom, and curry leaves. But there were other things that we can't quite identify.
There was something that seemed like a "glob," I don't know how else to describe it. It was small, about pea-sized. But it was bright pink in color, and had the awesome visual effect of giving sections of the rice a gorgeous magenta-pink color. It also had a light savory flavor.
Next, we have this ingredient:
It had a VERY strong, peppery anise flavor, very much like cardamom but significantly stronger. It was about an inch long, almost like a walnut, but a bit smaller. Inside, there were several small pellets. Here is a picture:
If anyone can let me know what the pink "glob" was that gave the brilliant color, and what the pod was that gave such a great taste, I'd really appreciate it!
Best Answer
That looks like "Black Cardamom". You can probably find it in an asian grocery. I'm not sure what the pink thing was.