Dirty Rice with Caramelized Onions

Earthly dirt in Hindi is mitty, but don’t worry—this rice doesn’t taste of dirt. It is, however, dirt-colored—and packed with intense flavors and aromas, thanks to the highly fragrant cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom. Slow-roasting the onion, fuelled by the sugar, creates the rice’s muddy-brown color and gives the grain an earthy sweetness that provides an embracing backdrop to many of the curries in this book.