So originally it was a very expensive delicacy made using saffron but street food sellers realised that they could get the same effect for cheap using turmeric. :)
Rice, tumeric, other 'earthy' spices like cumin. No add-ins like pilaf, just "yellow rice." Sold under Cajun, Latin American, and Middle Eastern branding in the US.
I don't know yellow halal cart rice, but looking at a few recipes online, there are similarities to a UK curry house pilau, but a few differences. A pilau wouldn't include stock, and it would include sweet spices like cinnamon and cardamom, possibly onions and coconut, almond or even raisins
It actually varies dramatically from place to place, sometimes it's just basmati rice with turmeric (subbing for saffron), sometimes pilau is multicoloured, or just white with deep reds here and there, sometimes there's cloves, sometimes there's not.
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So now we eating the delicious diffusion brand :)