Pilaf is a traditional dish of oriental cuisine, the most famous and delicious dish, the real king of kings (shah-an-shah) of the Central Asian table (dastarkhan).
The variety of recipes for making this dish is striking, in Uzbekistan alone there is a great variety of it.
In every corner of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as in the capital itself, pilaf is prepared in different ways.
Real docks and elders in their work, namely in the preparation of pilaf, are based on the recipes of their ancestors, which are passed down from generation to generation.
How to cook Uzbek pilaf at home? Many people ask this question, they are afraid of the complexity of the process of preparing this fragrant and nutritious dish.
But in vain, it’s worth a little practice on your own - and it starts to turn out to cook pilaf!
Each type of pilaf is tasty in its own way but, like any other osh (pilaf) dish, it has its own general principles and cooking features, which are an integral part of this dish.
How to cook pilaf at home - general principles and important points for making this oriental dish
• It is customary to cook pilaf on a live and open fire, in a cast-iron cauldron. But in the absence of the latter, it is possible to use for cooking - ducklings, gooseberries, in general, the main thing is that the walls of the existing dishes are thick and keep heat for further uniform heating of rice.
• The traditional Oriental pilaf is prepared only from lamb with the addition of fat tail fat, which, when frying, turns into very delicious cracklings (recommended to eat hot with an Uzbek tortilla). But you can cook pilaf (its taste does not deteriorate from this at all) to cook from pork, beef or poultry.
• In order to make the pilaf crumbly, you should pay great attention to the choice of rice, since the preparation of the future pilaf depends on this main component of the future pilaf. For pilaf, you need to select varieties of long-grain rice with a small starch content in it. Solid varietal rice with transparent grains is dense, does not boil and absorbs water perfectly.
• Oil also plays a leading role in the manufacture of pilaf, as it absorbs odors and gives flavor to the future dish. Oil in the classic pilaf is used - cotton, sunflower, sesame. In olive oil, it is not recommended to cook a dish due to its low heating temperature.
• Without which pilaf just can not do, so it is without spices. The main spices of this fragrant dish are - zira, turmeric, barberry, sweet red pepper, saffron, hot pepper (can be pod). For lack of these spices separately in the store you can buy a special set for pilaf. Pilaf likes spices; you do not need to regret adding them to the zirvak when cooking it.
• If the zirvak is prepared correctly, then pilaf will succeed - they say so. Zirvak is a combination of all the ingredients of pilaf: meat, vegetables, dried fruits, along with seasonings and broth. It’s true to cook, zirvak for pilaf is a real art, since aromatic data, taste and appearance of a future dish depend on it.
How to cook Uzbek pilaf at home - yes it’s very simple, there are many recipes, you just need to follow the rules and sequence of making this dish.
Recipe 1. "Uzbek pilaf at home: in a cauldron"
Ingredients:
• Lamb - 1 kg.
• Kurdyuk - 200 gr.
• Carrots (yellow or orange) - 1 kg.
• Rice - 1 kg.
• Onions - 500 gr.
• Oil (cotton or sunflower).
• Garlic - 2 heads.
• Chickpeas (pre-soaked) - 250 gr.
• Kishmish - 150 gr.
• Hot pepper (pod) - 2 pcs.
• Spices - zira, turmeric, barberry, saffron, red pepper (sweet).
Cooking method:
Rice should be washed 6-7 times and set aside with water aside. Cut the meat into large pieces. If there are bones, then you need to cut them (but not to grind). Peel and chop the carrots with a medium sized straw. Onions must be chopped with rings or half rings.
Then you need to warm the cauldron and pour oil into it. Next, make a strong fire and wait for the moment when the smoke comes out of the cauldron - this will mean that the oil has been calcined. Next, you need to throw a little onion in the oil so that it absorbs all the harmful substances of the oil. When the onion gets dark take it out and discard.
Next, you need to fry the chicken, cut into cubes until golden brown. Then take out the chicken made in this way, sprinkle it with onions, pepper, salt, and eat with a flat cake or bread.
After that, it is necessary to throw meat with bones into the cauldron and fry it on the same high heat until a crust forms. If there is a lot of meat, then it needs to be fried portionwise. The meat with bones was covered with a golden brown crust, remove it from the cauldron and toss the next portion. After all the meat is overcooked, it must be put back into the cauldron and add onions to it.
After the onion is slightly browned, you need to add the carrot to the cauldron, wait a few minutes and mix all the ingredients.
When frying meat with vegetables, one must not forget and periodically stir them with a slotted spoon. When excess moisture leaves the carrots, try to put the bones with meat to the bottom of the cauldron.
Next, the fried components must be poured with water (per 1 kg of rice - a liter, 1,200 water, depending on the type of rice). Put spices, pepper, pod, garlic and cook zirvak for 30-40 minutes over medium heat.
15 minutes after the start of cooking, the zirvak should be salted so that it seems to be saltier than usual. Since in the future, rice will absorb salt and normalize the salt balance of pilaf. You also need to put in a pilaf chickpeas, which in 20-25 minutes will reach readiness.
Now we need to move on to throwing rice. Rice is put into the cauldron in small portions and evened out on the surface. Water should slightly cover the rice (somewhere on the finger). Better not add water to the rice than then eat boiled porridge.
Important! Layers of meat, onions and carrots do not interfere. Each component must be prepared separately..
Now, over a large fire, the water should completely evaporate.
After the water has evaporated, the rice using a slotted spoon must be collected with a slide (carefully pushing the slotted spoon between the wall of the cauldron and rice to the bottom, without destroying the layers).
Then, on top of the rice, spread the garlic, garlic, and make holes in the pilaf with the stick to the bottom (if the rice is dry, water can be added to these holes due to lack of water).
Now you need to close the pilaf tightly with a lid and reduce the fire to a minimum. To cook, thus, pilaf for another half hour.
When the pilaf is ready, it needs to be laid out in a creeper, put the garlic in the middle and sprinkle the whole surface with meat.
Recipe 2. "Pilaf at home in a slow cooker"
Ingredients:
• Pork - 0.5 kg (pulp).
• Rice - 500 gr.
• Onion - 3 pcs. (small size).
• Carrot -3 pcs. (small size).
• Vegetable oil - 150 ml.
• Water - 700 ml.
• Salt.
• Spices.
Cooking method:
Rice must be washed several times under running water. In the bowl from the multicooker, pour oil and set the "Baking" mode.
Peeled and chopped onions must be laid in a slow cooker and fry it a little. Then to the onion you need to add the carrots cut into strips and the meat, cut into small pieces. The meat and vegetables must be fried for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
At the end of the specified program time, add rice to the multicooker. Then you need to fill all the components with water, add salt, spices and set the slow cooker in the pilaf cooking mode.
After the pilaf is cooked, you need to mix it and serve with a tomato and onion salad.
Recipe 3. "Pilaf at home in a multicooker of seafood"
Ingredients:
• Rice - 300 gr.
• Oil (olive) - 60 ml.
• Onion.
• Bouillon - 0.5 l.
• Lemon.
• Seafood: shrimp, mussels, fish fillet - 300 gr.
• Corn (canned) - 1oo gr.
• Mint.
• Salt.
• Pepper.
• Spices - turmeric, paprika, caraway seeds, coriander, saffron.
Cooking method:
Olive oil must be poured into a multicooker cup.
Then chop the seafood, chop the peeled onion into small cubes, peel the seeds and chop them in half rings.
Next, put seafood on the bottom of the bowl, send onion, pepper and corn on top of them.
Then you will need to turn on the slow cooker in the "Baking" for a few minutes.
Then it is necessary to put rice, spices in a bowl, salt, pepper and pour all the components with broth.
Set the slow cooker in the "Pilaf" mode and cook for one hour. After the pilaf is ready, he needs to let it brew for 15-20 minutes.
Garnish pilaf with mint and half a lemon.
Recipe 4. "Pilaf at home in a pan of chicken"
Ingredients:
• Chicken fillet - 1 kg.
• Sunflower oil).
• Rice - 500 gr.
• Carrot - 3 pcs.
• Onion - 3 pcs.
• Garlic.
• Salt.
• Spices - zira, barberry, turmeric.
Cooking method:
Rice should be thoroughly washed and set aside for swelling. Next, the chicken flesh must be washed and cut into small pieces, chop the onion in half rings, chop the carrot into strips.
Then, at the bottom of the pan, it is recommended to pour oil in one centimeter and heat it. Then put onion in it and lightly fry until golden brown.
Now, put the chicken in the pan and continue the frying process for several minutes, stirring it alternately. Next, add carrot to the onion and meat and fry it until half-cooked.
Then all the ingredients must be poured with water, season with spices for pilaf and mix. And then, covering the future pilaf with a lid, cook it for another 20 minutes.
Next, put the meat on the rice, level it and pour all the components with boiling water (one finger above the rice). The pan must be tightly closed with a lid and reduce the heat. Thus, you need to cook pilaf within 20 minutes. Then you need to open the lid, make holes in the pilaf for evaporation of water and cook it for another 10 minutes.
After cooking, pilaf should be infused. Serve this dish with a salad made from radish with onions and mayonnaise.
Recipe 5. Uzbek pilaf at home: in the coop
Ingredients:
• Rice - 400 gr.
• Vegetable oil.
• Chickpea (soaked in advance) - 0.5 cups.
• Beef (pulp) - 600 gr.
• Carrot - 2 pcs.
• Onion - 2 pcs.
• Quince - 2 pcs.
• Garlic - 2 pcs.
• Raisins - 60 gr.
• Spices.
Cooking method:
Cut the beef into small pieces, chop the onion, cut the carrots into strips, quince slices, and peel the garlic from the upper layers of the husk.
In the ducklings, first meat, then fry the onions and carrots until golden brown. Add quince, chickpeas, pour all the ingredients with water and simmer for 20 minutes.
After this time, it is necessary to salt the zirvak, pepper and add spices to it.
Put the rice in the duckbill evenly, add more water so that it covers the rice, and cook with the lid open on low heat for another 20 minutes.
Then pour the raisins, barberry, garlic cloves on top of the rice and cook the pilaf on low heat for another 15 minutes.
Then in the heated oven you need to put the ducklings with pilaf and darken the dish for another half hour.
Then mix the pilaf - and you can start the meal.
Recipe 6. "Pilaf at home in a pot with beans"
Ingredients:
• Rice - 400 gr.
• Beans - 100 gr.
• Carrot.
• Bow.
• Oil - 90 ml.
• Salt, pepper.
• Spices.
Cooking method:
Beans can be soaked in advance, or opened until fully prepared.
Carrots and onions must be finely chopped. When the beans are cooked, you need to add vegetables and vegetable oil to it. Cook the above components for 10 minutes.
Then you need to add rice to the vegetables, add water to it, pepper, salt and season with spices.
The pan must be closed tightly with a lid, reduce heat and cook pilaf until rice is cooked completely and water is evaporated.
Then you need to mix the pilaf, remove from heat, wrap the pan in a towel for 15 minutes. Pilaf is ready - you can serve it to the table.
How to cook Uzbek pilaf at home - tricks and tips
• In order for the meat in the pilaf to cook and turn out juicy, it must be cut into large pieces.
• In order to make pilaf, not porridge, rice should be washed at least 7 times and left in water for 2 hours. Excess starch will go into the water and the rice in the pilaf will turn out friable.
• In order for the pilaf to stomp well at the end of its preparation, gauze or a towel in the form of a tow should be wound around the edges of the lid in diameter - this will be a kind of sealant.
• You can add almost all dried fruits to the pilaf, then it can be called sweet, and it tastes with some pleasant sourness.
• If you cook roast in pilaf for a long time, as a result, the rice in the dish will turn out to be dark in color, and if you don’t fry the ingredients, the food will come out light and elegant.
• After absorbing such a tasty, aromatic and nutritious dish, you must definitely taste and quench your thirst with hot green or black tea.
