Blue Diamond Indian restaurant Singapore review: Dum good briyani

Walk out of Little India station, the smell of rose water lingering on the air, past crates of fresh produce and bright colour’s and you will reach Blue Diamond Indian restaurant. Considered makers of one of the better briyani’s on the island, as Rick Stein once said, “when you crave a curry, nothing else will do”.

Indian spread

We took our seat in the gaudy room and you will notice a lot of local Indian’s eat here, a good sign. The polite manager will take your order (Dum mutton briyani $7.50, butter chicken $7.50, naan $1.90 and plain prata $1.10) and you wait a little while before he returns with a covered pot on a banana leaf.

Biryani is a fragrant dish, not typically spicy that is made by layering, meat, rice and spices in a pot that is then sealed with dough to allow the cotents to steam slowly. In singapore the malay influence has led to a fusion of the dish hence "bri" not "bir" whilst the "dum" is now being used to distinguish the classic all cooked in a pot version rather than rice and meat cooked seperately.

The biryani here is cooked in large pots in an authentic way before being put in smaller pots to keep hot and fresh. We ordered the mutton curry as it is my particular favourite and when he turned the fluffy grains out, a huge portion of tender meat rolled out too. The rice was long, fragrant and tender but each grain could still be tasted. The meat was falling apart and the accompanying pot of curry added a little moisture if you needed it, whilst I personally found the hardboiled egg unnecessary. This was a very good biryani and definitely one of the better I have had. 

Dum mutton biryani

Butter chicken marsala

The butter chicken was surprisingly spicy compared to other versions and was better for it, although the marsala spices seemed a little muted and hence lacked flavour. The naan bread too was below standard and quite greasy but the prata was decent.

Overall we would return to Blue Diamond but only for the mutton biryani, which alone deserves a visit.

Rating: 9/10 for the dum mutton biryani

Expect to pay: ~$13 for the biryani, prata and mango lassi

Would we go back: Yes

Any freebies: No

24 Buffalo Rd,

Little India

Singapore 219791