Pilaf

This timeless Basmati rice recipe goes with practically everything and only calls for a handful of herbs and some onion.

The essence of this pulao is the yakhni, which means meat stock or broth. Homemade chicken stock, bone-in chicken thighs, and an abundance of spices make this a flavorful and comforting one-pot meal.

This dish of tender spiced goat layered with saffron rice, cashews, and golden raisins is a celebratory meal ideal for birthdays and holidays of all kinds.

Packed full of a rainbow of colors, flavors, and textures, from spiced paneer, chickpeas, and tomatoes to roasted beets, sweet potatoes, and a citrusy coconut and cilantro sauce this is a vegetable dish for special occasions.

Pelau, rice cooked with meat and vegetables, really exemplifies Trinidadian cuisine because it is an admixture of various cooking styles. 

Steaming the apricots over the rice while it rests softens them just enough.

This rice dish is based on one of the most famous Persian polos (pilaf), known as sabzi polo.

When you peel the kabocha squash for this recipe, use a vegetable peeler—not a knife. (Better to dull a $4 tool than your best kitchen blade.)

The glorious thing about delicata squash opposed to other autumn squash is that the skin is absolutely edible once roasted. The maple and spice here play off it's naturally sweet flavor.

Between the rich chestnuts and the buttery rice, this dish has the chops to be a main.