Making pilaf at home. How to cook the right, very tasty pilaf

Irina Kamshilina

Cooking for someone is much more pleasant than cooking for yourself))

Content

Housewives often wonder, look for recipes on how to cook pilaf at home, experiment, practice so that it is tasty, crumbly, and takes little time to cook. In our age of diversity and availability of food products and household appliances, you can prepare pilaf from the cuisine of any nationality or invent your own signature recipe for this dish.

How to cook pilaf correctly

To prepare delicious pilaf, you need to choose the right type of rice, meat, and dishes. For example, Asian chefs claim that the best pilaf is the one made from lamb, with fat tail fat, over an open fire, in a cast iron cauldron, and should be cooked exclusively by a man. However, this does not mean that you cannot make delicious pilaf from other ingredients at home. Today there are many recipes that prove this.

What is needed for pilaf

Classic real pilaf is made from lamb. Brisket, ribs, shoulder, or back of lamb are often used. However, other types of meat can also be used as a meat component: pork, beef and even poultry, as is done in the East and Central Asia. This is a food with high nutritional value, so the type of meat directly affects the overall calorie content.

Uzbek pilaf, according to the classic recipe, is prepared with animal fat, for example, melted lamb fat, and rarely with unrefined vegetable oils. The strong smell and taste of vegetable oil can drown out the taste of other ingredients. Often a mixture of animal and vegetable fat is used for frying, which increases the digestibility of products.

The key to the recipe is the spices. This is a kind of creative process, the combination of spices and herbs completely determines the flavor. However, there is a basic set, which consists of barberry, hot pepper in a pod or ground. To make the dish aromatic, cumin, suneli hops, garlic, thyme, and coriander are often added. Saffron is sometimes added to these spices, which gives it a characteristic golden color.

In addition to meat and cereals, the composition includes vegetables and sometimes dried fruits. Traditionally, coarsely chopped carrots are added to the dish. In the Caucasus and India, this vegetable is not used at all. They also add onions and a whole head of garlic, previously peeled. The addition of dried fruits enhances the taste; in some recipes you can find dried apricots, prunes, raisins, and figs. They are added after frying meat and vegetables. Cereals should be mentioned separately.

How to cook crumbly pilaf

To make the pilaf tasty and crumbly, it is better to use long-grain varieties of cereal with a low starch content. Tajik and Uzbek varieties are ideal - alanga, oshpar, devzira, kenja. You can also use Arabic, Italian and Mexican rice to make paella. All these varieties are hard and practically do not lose their shape during prolonged heat treatment.

Other varieties are softer and may stick together when cooked. If you decide to use one of the soft varieties of rice cereal, then you need to remove as much starch from it as possible, this will make the pilaf crumbly. To do this, you need to rinse it, soak it in cold water, periodically changing the water. To diversify the taste, instead of rice you can use pearl barley, wheat, corn and even peas.

Utensils for preparing pilaf

It is impossible to make the right pilaf in the “wrong” container. Traditionally it is prepared in a cast iron pan or aluminum cauldron with a thick bottom. How to cook the right pilaf without the right utensils? In extreme cases, the cauldron can be replaced with a duckling or a pan with a thick bottom. Such dishes do not allow the grain to burn; it simmers slowly and cooks evenly, unlike enamel products, French fryers, and woks.

Pilaf recipes

The ideal pilaf recipe will depend on the taste preferences of each person or family in general. At first, you can safely experiment with types of meat, vegetables, dried fruits, spices, herbs, and cooking utensils. Cookbooks with detailed descriptions of recipes and photographs, as well as corresponding websites, which also often provide an extensive catalog of photos and cooking options, can help with this. Over time, through trial and error, you will find the best recipe in your opinion or create your own culinary masterpiece.

Uzbek pilaf

Cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes.
Number of servings: 10 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 210 kcal per 100 g.
Cuisine: Uzbek.

Pilaf is considered a traditional dish of Uzbek cuisine. To create Uzbek or Samarkand pilaf, lamb is used. Eastern people are famous for their hospitality, and table decoration is key. This dish is perfect for a feast. The composition includes a large amount of vegetable oil, so it has great nutritional value. You can decorate the dish with spices (barberry, garlic), then your pilaf will not differ from the photos on the Internet.

Ingredients:

rice – 1 kg;
lamb – 1 kg;
carrots – 1 kg;
sunflower oil – 300 ml;
onions – 4 pcs.;
dry hot pepper – 2 pcs.;
garlic – 2 pcs.;
dried barberry - 1 tbsp. l.;
zira – 1 tbsp. l.;
coriander (seeds) – 1 tsp;
salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

Rinse the rice in several waters and wash the lamb thoroughly.
Peel the onions and carrots. Cut one onion into thin half rings, and carrots into finger-thick slices. Peel the garlic from the top husk without dividing it into cloves.
Heat the cauldron, then pour in the oil. When the oil is hot, place the peeled whole onion in the cauldron and fry it until it turns black, then take it out - you won’t need it anymore.
Then prepare the zirvak (base). To do this, fry the onion, then add meat to it, fry until a characteristic crust appears.
Add the carrots, fry without stirring for three minutes, then stir everything, cook for another 10 minutes.
Grind the cumin and coriander using your fingers or a mortar and pestle, add to the zirvak, then season with barberry, add salt to taste.
Reduce heat and cook until carrots are soft.
Pour in a 2 cm layer of boiling water, add hot pepper, reduce the heat and simmer the zirvak for an hour.
Drain the water from the cereal, place it in an even layer on the zirvak, then pour in boiling water through a slotted spoon so that it covers the rice.
After the water is absorbed, plant garlic heads in the rice and cook until the rice is completely cooked.
Turn off the stove, cover with a flat plate and a lid on top, let it sit for about 30 minutes.

Azerbaijani pilaf

Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes + 2 hours.
Number of servings: 6 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 280 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, for dinner.
Cuisine: Azerbaijani.
Difficulty of preparation: difficult.

The recipe and technology are significantly different from preparing Uzbek pilaf. Cereals for this dish are prepared separately from vegetables and spices, in a separate bowl. The base can be very diverse, for example, lamb, poultry, game, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits and even milk. Dried fruits, fruits, and fresh herbs are often added to the recipe: mint, thyme, tarragon.

Ingredients:

lamb – 700 g;
long grain rice – 700 g;
butter – 200 g;
dried apricots – 150 g;
raisins (seedless) – 100 g;
dried prunes – 100 g;
chestnuts – 100 g;
onions – 2 pcs.;
chicken egg – 1 pc.;
turmeric – 1 tsp;
salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

Soak the rice in cool water, add a little salt, and leave for about 2 hours.
Cut the lamb into pieces weighing approximately 50 g. Boil in salted water, skim off the resulting foam during cooking.
Rinse the dried fruits under running water, then pour boiling water for about 10 minutes. Make a cross-shaped cut on each chestnut. Blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and remove the skin under running cool water. Place the peeled chestnuts in fresh water and cook for 7 minutes. over low heat.
Peel the onions and cut into strips.
Heat a frying pan and melt half of the available butter. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown. Drain the dried fruits, add them to the pan, then add the meat. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the liquid evaporates quickly, add boiling water if necessary.
Drain the water from the container with rice, boil in fresh, lightly salted water, do not overcook. Drain in a colander.
In a separate container, mix 5 tbsp. l. boiled long rice with a chicken egg, add a little turmeric.
Melt the butter (leave a small piece of about 5 g), salt and turmeric in a separate bowl using a microwave or water bath.
Grease a cauldron or thick-bottomed pan with the remaining butter and place the egg-rice mixture on the bottom. Then lay out a layer of rice cereal, soak each layer with melted butter and spices.
Create a small press using a plate, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat.

Tajik

Cooking time: 2 hours.
Number of servings: 6 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 230 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, for dinner.
Cuisine: Tajik.

The difference between Tajik pilaf lies in its special variety - devzira. This is one of the simple recipes for preparing a spicy dish. Of the spices, only cumin (cumin) is used. Pilav of Tajik cuisine is traditionally prepared from lamb, mainly from the loin of lamb. This simple but very satisfying dish will provide a good boost of energy throughout the day.

Ingredients:

devzira rice – 600 g;
lamb (fillet) – 600 g;
carrots – 600 g;
onions – 2 pcs.;
garlic – 2 pcs.;
zira – 1 tsp;
vegetable oil, salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

Peel the vegetables, cut the onion into rings, carrots into large strips.
Soak the cereal in cold water for half an hour. Wash the lamb and cut into arbitrary pieces.
Crack the cooking container, pour in the vegetable oil and fry the onion, then add the meat to the onion. When the meat is golden on all sides, add the carrots and fry until done.
Pour half a liter of boiled water into the roast, season well with salt, stick in the garlic and bring to a boil.
Remove the garlic and pour in the pre-strained rice. Spread evenly and make sure the liquid lightly covers it. Simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
After 10-15 minutes, stick the garlic in again and season with cumin. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for another 20 minutes. over low heat.

From lamb

Cooking time: 2 hours.
Number of servings: 20 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 145 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, for dinner.
Cuisine: Caucasian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Simple lamb pilaf without the addition of specific spices, vegetables and dried fruits is quick to prepare, without losing its taste and high nutritional value. Lamb is a fatty meat, so when preparing a dish you need to control the amount of other sources of fat, otherwise one serving can exceed the daily requirement of this nutrient for the average person.

Ingredients:

stewed lamb – 1 kg;
rice – 400 g;
water – 2 l;
carrots – 3 pcs.;
garlic – 2 pcs.;
onions – 3 pcs.;
sunflower oil – 100 ml;
ground red pepper, salt to taste.

Cooking method:

Heat a cauldron, pour in sunflower oil, fry the lamb over high heat.
Peel the vegetables, cut the onion into half rings, carrots into strips or cubes.
Add the onion to the meat, fry for 10 minutes, then add the carrots and simmer for 25 minutes. over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Salt the contents of the cauldron, add ground red pepper and push the peeled heads of garlic into the center.
Rinse the grain and distribute evenly on top of the roast.
Fill the dish with hot water until the level is about 1 cm above the grounds.
Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Chicken

Number of servings: 12 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 165 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, for dinner.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

In the wake of proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, chicken fillet has become one of the most popular dietary products. You can reduce the calorie content and even out the balance of BZHU with the help of the “correct” cereal and chicken meat. An easy chicken pilaf recipe will provide you and your family with a healthy and nutritious dish that can be safely eaten for both lunch and dinner.

Ingredients:

chicken (fillet) – 700 g;
steamed rice – 450 g;
carrots – 200 g;
sunflower oil – 150 ml;
water – 1 l;
onion – 1 pc.;
garlic – 2 pcs.;
ground red pepper, salt to taste.

Cooking method:

Crack the cauldron, pour in all the sunflower oil and heat well.
Throw the chicken pieces into the cauldron in portions, fry evenly on all sides, then remove the cooked pieces and add the raw ones.
Fry the onion in the meat oil, then add carrots and chicken to it, fry over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Fill the mixture with hot water so that the level is about 1 cm higher than the grounds, add peeled garlic cloves and ground pepper, boil for 10 minutes.
Add a spoonful of salt and add the washed cereal.
Pour boiling water over the entire mixture and mix thoroughly, cover the cauldron with a lid and cook until the cereal is ready (about half an hour).

How to cook fruit pilaf

Number of servings: 4 persons.
Purpose: for breakfast, for lunch.
Cuisine: Tatar.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

The recipe for fruit pilaf comes from Tatar cuisine. In the classic version, in addition to dried fruits, white sugar (sweet spices) and wheat flour are added, but the taste of the dish will not lose at all without these components. Sweet fruit pilaf is suitable for children who do not really like cereals as a healthy dessert. Adults are not recommended to eat this dish for dinner - sweet foods are best consumed in the first half of the day. The dish is prepared in a slow cooker or a saucepan with a thick bottom.

Ingredients:

rice – 200 g;
water – 200 ml;
raisins – 100 g;
prunes – 70 g;
dried apricots – 70 g;
figs – 70 g;
carrots – 1 pc.;
vegetable oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
turmeric – 0.5 tsp.

Cooking method:

Peel the vegetable. Cut the carrots into cubes or any other convenient way.
Pour vegetable oil into the bottom of the bowl, add chopped carrots and raisins.
Chop prunes, dried apricots and figs, place on top of raisins and sprinkle with turmeric.
Fill with water with a small amount of dissolved salt.
Turn on the multicooker in the “Pilaf” mode for 30-60 minutes. The speed of cooking the dish will depend on the type of cereal.

From pork

Cooking time: 1.5-2 hours.
Number of servings: 4 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 205 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, for dinner.
Cuisine: Uzbek.
Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Pork is often used in Uzbek cuisine. This is a type of fatty meat, so the nutritional value of a dish with the addition of pork is higher than other varieties. The recipe includes a standard set of vegetables and spices, but their combination with pork gives a completely different taste to the dish. It is better to eat pilaf with pork at lunchtime, and for dinner, limit yourself to a light salad.

Ingredients:

rice – 200 g;
pork – 200 g;
onion – 200 g;
carrots – 200 g;
vegetable oil – 40 ml;
garlic – 1 clove;
salt, ground black pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

Pour vegetable oil into a cooking container and chop well.
Cut the meat into portions and fry evenly on all sides until cooked.
Cut the onion into half rings and place on top of the meat.
You can cut the carrots in any convenient way or grate them on a coarse grater.
Add carrots to the roast and simmer until done.
Pour in the washed grain, fill the mixture with warm water. The level is two fingers above the thicket.
Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
In 10-15 minutes. Before the rice is ready, stick in a clove of garlic for flavor.
When the water has evaporated, turn off the pilaf, cover the pan with a lid and let the dish cook.

How to cook pilaf without meat

Cooking time: 30-60 minutes.
Number of servings: 10 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 63 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, for dinner.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Many people wonder how you can cook pilaf without meat? Such recipes can be classified as vegetarian dishes; they are prepared during the period of fasting and by people who adhere to a low-calorie diet. Low-fat pilaf can be given to children. Vegetables that are not typical for pilaf are added to the rice grain, for example, tomatoes, sweet peppers, etc., so the prefix “without meat” hides simple rice with vegetables. The time it takes to prepare the pilaf depends on the utensils and the type of rice.

Ingredients:

rice – 400 g;
carrots – 1 pc.;
onion – 1 pc.;
garlic – 3 cloves;
vegetable oil – 20 ml;
water – 2 l;
salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

Peel the vegetables, finely chop the onion, chop or grate the carrots.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and sauté the vegetables.
When the vegetables have significantly reduced in volume, add the cereal and lightly fry.
Fill the mixture with water, add salt, garlic, and a mixture of peppers to taste.
Simmer covered until the cereal is ready.

How to cook pilaf with long grain rice

Cooking time: 60 minutes.
Number of servings: 4 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 150 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, for dinner.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

During cooking, the cereal should not lose its shape. There are special varieties for this, for example, long-grain parboiled rice. The grain is distinguished by its oblong shape and transparency. You can cook pilaf with poultry, pork or lamb. This variety goes well with a variety of vegetables and spices. Long grain rice does not require any special preparatory processes.

Ingredients:

long grain rice – 200 g;
chicken (fillet) – 200 g;
water (broth) – 1 l;
vegetable oil – 40 ml;
carrots – 1 pc.;
onion – 1 pc.;
garlic – 1 clove;
spices for pilaf, salt to taste.

Cooking method:

Peel the vegetables, rinse the cereal, and drain in a colander.
Heat a cauldron and pour vegetable oil into it.
Next, you need to cut the vegetables and chicken into portions.
First fry the meat, remove it, then sauté the vegetables.

Uzbek pilaf. Cook at home.

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How to cook pilaf at home: recipes

Plov is a unique dish of Uzbek cuisine, which consists of meat and rice, and at the same time has many secrets. And various additives and spices only make it tastier.

We will not only tell you how to cook pilaf, but also share the secrets of preparing pilaf with chicken and pork. You will also learn little tricks of the best chefs for preparing pilaf.

How to cook delicious pilaf?

To prepare pilaf, you will need the following ingredients:
- oblong rice - 2-2.5 cups
- meat - 300 – 400 grams
- medium-sized carrots - 3 - 4 pcs.,
- onions - 1 pc.
- ground cumin (oriental spice) - 1 teaspoon. You can find it in a supermarket or oriental store
- turmeric - 2/3 teaspoon
- pepper (red hot or sweet) - 1/4 teaspoon
- barberry berries - to taste
- salt – about 2 teaspoons

It should also be noted that classic pilaf is made from lamb. It is sheep meat that is most valued in the East. In addition, it has been proven that lamb is the most beneficial for the human body. This option is best suited for those who monitor their weight and health. This type of meat contains the least fat, so lamb is a dietary product.

Rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear. Peel and chop the vegetables, you can use a grater or finely chop them with a knife. Rinse the meat (if you are preparing meat pilaf) and cut into cubes or strips.

Heat vegetable oil in a container for pilaf (cauldron, “duckling”). Then put the meat cut into pieces there and fry it for 10 minutes. Fry until the meat is browned and the oil becomes clear.

Then add the carrots and onions cut into small strips. Fry everything together for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent vegetables and meat from burning and sticking to the bottom of the container.

Remove the cauldron from the heat and add the necessary spices and one teaspoon of salt, mix everything well. It is not at all necessary to put exactly the spices indicated in the recipe. You can invent your own original version of preparing pilaf.

Then place the pre-washed rice into the cauldron. Pour boiling water over it so that the water covers the rice by about two fingers. Add another teaspoon of salt and stir the water over the rice.

Place the cauldron with all its contents on medium heat. There is no need to close the lid, this will make it easier to monitor. After the water disappears from the surface of the rice, you need to reduce the heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes.

Fergana style pilaf recipe

After this, turn off the fire, mix the pilaf thoroughly and let it brew for 5-10 minutes.

Chicken pilaf recipe

To prepare pilaf with chicken, you first need to prepare zirvak. It is a gravy consisting of all ingredients except rice.

First, fry the chicken meat. To get a crust, you need to fry it over high heat. If you want the pilaf to be more tender, you should cook the chicken and all other ingredients over medium heat. All components need to be fried separately and then placed in layers in a cauldron.

Fry the carrots last. It needs to be cooked until a light orange hue appears. Classic recipes for preparing pilaf say that carrots should be chopped by hand. However, we will not find fault and will simply grate the carrots on a coarse grater.

After placing the zirvak in the cauldron, place rice on the top level. Then also pour boiling water over it. Next - everything is the same as in the previous recipe.

Recipe for pilaf with pork

Cooking pilaf with pork is practically no different from pilaf with chicken. The only difficulty is that pork often has a considerable amount of different films and fat. The meat must be cleaned of all this. Otherwise, instead of aromatic pilaf with soft and juicy meat, you risk getting a suspicious rice porridge with almost rubbery pieces of pork. The order is also slightly different.

You must first put the meat in the oil heated in the cauldron. It should roast for about 20 minutes. Then sprinkle finely chopped onions on top of the meat. Mix it thoroughly with the meat and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

At this time, you need to thoroughly rinse the rice and fill it with cold water. After 15 minutes have passed, add the chopped carrots. Let it simmer for 7 minutes. During this time, the carrots will become softer, and it will be easier to mix them with meat and onions.

Drain the water from the rice, add the necessary spices to the cauldron with the meat and add 1 centimeter of boiling water. Simmer everything together for another five minutes.

Then put the rice in the cauldron, but carefully, so as not to mix it with other layers. If, after laying out the rice, it ends up above the water, add more boiling water, also by 1 centimeter. Let everything simmer together so that the rice completely absorbs all the water.

Then you need to make a small mound of rice, and put an unpeeled head of garlic in the middle. Then pour boiling water over everything again so that it covers the top of the rice hill, close the lid. Without lifting the lid, set aside 40 minutes, during which the pilaf is brought to a boil.

Secrets of the best chefs for preparing pilaf

Carrots need to be cut into long strips. Ideally, you should not grate it. Therefore, it is better to first cut it diagonally into plates 4-5 mm thick, and then cut them crosswise into bars of the same thickness.

The onion should be cut into half rings.

The meat needs to be chopped very finely; it is better to determine the size by eye. If you are preparing chicken pilaf, use drumstick or leg. Then the pilaf will not turn out dry.

Regarding the ratio of ingredients. Meat, onions and carrots should be in a 1:1:1 ratio.

Zirvak should be cooked on the highest heat for 20-30 minutes.

The editors of the site hope that our recipes and tips will help you prepare such a dish as pilaf.
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Pilaf is considered a colorful dish of oriental cuisine. It is loved for its exquisite spicy taste and satiety. Many housewives prefer to cook pilaf from pork, but it is acceptable to use lamb, chicken, veal and even fish. Mushrooms are often added to the dish, which ultimately makes it richer. There are many secrets that help make rice fluffy. The result is a delicious grain-to-grain pilaf. Let's look at the basic recipes in order, highlighting the main thing.

Classic pork pilaf

garlic - 1.5-2 heads
rice (preferably steamed) - 670 gr.
carrots - 700 gr.
pork pulp - 0.9-1 kg.
sunflower oil - 180 ml.
onions - 450 gr.
chili pepper (capsicum) - 0.5 pcs.
seasoning “4 peppers” - 7 gr.
salt - 40 gr.
turmeric (ground), cumin - 3-5 g each.
barberry berries - 5 gr.
drinking water - about 1.7-1.8 liters.

Pour the rice into a bowl, fill with running water so that the liquid covers the grains. To obtain crumbly pilaf, washing must be done 5-6 times. This move will remove the rice flour, which glues the grains together.
During the rinsing process, crush the rice with your hands and drain the liquid. When the water becomes completely clear, leave the cereal on the sieve for a quarter of an hour.
Chop the carrots into long pieces (straws), peel the onion, and chop it in a convenient way. Pour oil into a cauldron, heat it, add the onion inside.
Remove the barberry berries from the branches, place in a colander, and rinse. Fill with water and leave to soak. At this time, rinse and dry the pork, chop into 4*4 cm pieces.
Add the meat to the fried onions, place the carrots on top, and smooth the contents with a spatula (do not stir!). Peel the garlic from the base and husk, and place the whole cloves into the cauldron.
Salt the ingredients, add chopped chili, soaked barberries and a mixture of peppers. Add ground turmeric and whole cumin. Boil drinking water and fill it with contents.
Simmer the contents under the lid for at least a quarter of an hour. After this period, place the washed rice grains in a wok (cauldron), smooth them over the meat and fry. Do not stir the mixture, otherwise the rice will not be completely steamed.
During the cooking process, press the grains against the main mixture with a spatula so that they are saturated with oily liquid and spices. If necessary, add more hot water, covering the pilaf by 1-2 cm.
After the water has been absorbed into the rice, make holes in the contents. This move will allow excess moisture to evaporate, leaving the dish crumbly. When the water is almost completely gone, make a mound of pilaf.
Set the heat to minimum, cover the cauldron with a lid and a warm towel. Simmer for 20-35 minutes until completely cooked. Sample the rice periodically. When serving, first lay out the grains, then the meat with garlic and stewed vegetables.

onions - 250 gr.
ground turmeric - 10 gr.
lamb pulp - 450-500 gr.
pork tenderloin -450 gr.
carrots - 240 gr.
vegetable oil - 75 gr.
long rice - 650 gr.
garlic - 10 cloves
laurel - 4 pcs.
ground pepper - 5 gr.
salt - 25-30 gr.
filtered water - in fact

To make the pilaf crumbly, the ratio of meat, rice and vegetables should be relatively equal. A thick-bottomed saucepan, cast-iron frying pan or wok (Kazan) is used as cooking utensils.
First of all, start washing the rice. Rinse it under the tap 3 times, then fill it with cold water and leave for 45 minutes. During this period, the starch will come out and the rice flour will be washed out.
Start preparing the vegetables. Chop the carrots into cubes and chop the onion into cubes or half rings. Rinse lamb and pork tenderloins and dry with paper towels. Cut the meat into 3-5 cm pieces.
Pour the oil into a regular frying pan and heat it until white smoke appears. Scald the meat on all sides until crusty; this move will retain the juice inside the pork and lamb.
After frying, transfer the oil and meat into a cauldron, and add the onions and carrots to the previous pan. Once golden brown, transfer the vegetables to the meat. If you wish, you can not fry the carrots, but stew them immediately in a cauldron.
Add spices, salt and chopped chili pepper. Mix the contents and compact. Drain the liquid from the rice and place it on top of the first mixture. Smooth the surface with a spoon.
Boil purified water and begin pouring it into the cauldron along the wall of the dish. Make sure that the liquid covers the contents by only 1-1.5 cm. Bring the pilaf to the first bubbles at maximum power.
After boiling, reduce the temperature to between medium and minimum. Make holes in the pilaf with Chinese chopsticks so that the contents simmer evenly.
Cover the dishes and cook the dish for half an hour, periodically assessing the taste of the rice. When the specified period comes to an end, peel the garlic cloves and stick them into the composition at a certain distance from each other.
Wrap the cast iron cookware in a warm blanket or sweatshirt and leave it to “simmer” for 1-1.5 hours. During this period, the rice will be saturated with juice and seasonings, and the pilaf will become rich.

spices for pilaf - 20 gr.
dill and parsley (fresh) - 0.5 bunch each
olive oil - 60 ml.
chicken (preferably thighs) - 600 gr.
long steamed rice - 575 gr.
carrots - 230 gr.
onion - 280 gr.
drinking water - in fact

Rinse the carrots and chop them in a convenient way (slices, half rings, straws). Chop the onion, add to the carrots, add pepper and salt.
Fry the vegetables until golden brown in hot olive oil. Start cutting up the chicken. If possible, choose thighs, they are fattier. Chop the meat into pieces, removing the skin. You don't have to remove the bones.
Send the meat for frying, cook until golden brown (heat treatment lasts 5-7 minutes). Then add 170 ml. water, cover the dish with a lid, simmer the meat for another 5 minutes.
Place the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, wait 20 minutes. Rinse the grains, removing the white coating (the water should become completely transparent).
Place the onion, chicken, and carrots into the cauldron. Press down with a spoon and place rice on top. Squeeze the contents with a spatula, add chopped dill and parsley.
Pour boiling water over the mixture, covering the grains by 1 cm. Cook the pilaf without a lid for 10 minutes, then make several holes in the dish for better evaporation of moisture.
After another 10 minutes of simmering, cover the cauldron with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook the crumbly pilaf for a third of an hour. When the water has evaporated, turn off the stove and wrap the dishes in a warm cloth. Infuse the dish for 1.5 hours.
If you wish, you can prepare chicken and mushroom pilaf. In this case, choose champignons, oyster mushrooms or chanterelles. Pre-wash, peel and fry the mushrooms. Then add them to the chicken.

beef pulp - 450 gr.
onions - 330 gr.
round rice - 200 gr.
vegetable oil - 60-80 ml.
laurel leaf - 4 pcs.
salt - 15 gr.
carrots - 250 gr.
black pepper (ground) - 5 gr.

Rinse the beef, pat the meat dry with napkins, or dry it in another convenient way. Chop into slices of the same shape (3-5 cm), boil in 1 liter. salted water. The duration of heat treatment is 25-30 minutes.
After 10 minutes of cooking, add bay and pepper. When the meat is cooked, pour the broth into a separate bowl; you will need it later. Remove the meat and place it in a cauldron.
Chop the carrots and onions, sauté the mixture in hot oil until golden brown, then transfer the vegetables along with the liquid into the cauldron. Wash the rice, scald the grains with boiling water, and drain. Add to meat and vegetables.
Fry the contents for 3 minutes, then pour in 270 ml. broth left over from cooking beef. Do not stir the contents, cover the cauldron with a lid, place on low heat, and cook until the broth evaporates.
Try not to open the lid for the first quarter of an hour after the start of simmering. After this period, make holes in the pilaf so that the liquid leaves evenly.
When you see grains appearing in the kernels, turn off the burner. Leave the cauldron on a warm stove, covering the dishes with a warm blanket or sweatshirt. Pilaf can be consumed after 1 hour of infusion.

steamed rice (preferably long) - 420 gr.
veal tenderloin - 480-500 gr.
seasonings for pilaf - 15-20 gr.
oil for frying - 130 gr.
salt - 15 gr.
onions - 300 gr.
garlic - 8 cloves
carrots - 250 gr.
filtered water - in fact

Wash the rice, place the grains in a bowl, pour ice water over it, and leave to soak for 1.5 hours. Rinse the veal and dry thoroughly, chop into cubes (about 3 cm in size).
Prepare the vegetables (washing, peeling), chop them. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the veal meat for 15-20 minutes. Stir constantly to avoid burning.
After the allotted time, add carrots and onions, sauté the contents for another 7-8 minutes. After this, add spices, salt, and stir. Turn off the stove and let the ingredients sit for 10 minutes.
Now carefully transfer the contents from the frying pan to the cauldron. Drain the rice and place it on top of the meat and vegetables. Press down with a spatula, do not stir. If desired, you can add salt by placing it on the grains in the same way.
Boil the water. Pour it in a thin stream along the edge of the dish. Make sure that the water covers the rice by 1.5-2 cm. Place the cauldron on the stove and wait for bubbles to appear. Next, reduce the burner to low.
Cover the dish with a lid and wait a third of an hour. During this period, the liquid will be absorbed into the grains, you will get a delicious crumbly pilaf. After the specified period, turn off the stove.
Make 5 holes in the contents with a spoon, wrap the dishes in a sweatshirt or thick blanket. Leave until the final infusion, then place on serving plates. Serve with garlic sauce and cabbage-carrot salad.
Some housewives prefer to cook veal pilaf with ripe tomatoes or tomato paste. In this case, the tomatoes are turned into puree and sautéed along with vegetables in a hot frying pan.

Pilaf is perfect for lunch or dinner. Consider the classic technology of the dish, serve it with vegetable salad and spicy sauce. Make pilaf from lamb or veal, add chicken, mushrooms, barberry berries, tomato puree. Experiment with spices, vary the amount of salt and water. Choose long steamed rice as a base (you can also use round rice).

Video: how to cook crumbly pilaf in a slow cooker

The other day I looked at different resources pilaf recipes. As someone who has cooked this dish probably hundreds of times, I can only shrug and suggest cooking “natural pilaf.” More precisely, Uzbek pilaf. And even more precisely - the Fergana version of Uzbek pilaf, which simply does not exist in nature as “more natural” (I will refrain from extensive ethnographic and culinary information).

Of course, as soon as I present a set of products that are actually accessible to the average city dweller, there will immediately be “apologists for the classics”: they say, cottonseed oil is not used, red carrots are used instead of yellow ones, pilaf is made not on a fire, but on a stove, and so on. However, for those who really want to cook real pilaf, I will say: do not listen to the “apologists”. Pilaf is a dish that forgives liberties in unimportant details. But he does not forgive fundamental miscalculations. One of the fundamental components of pilaf is the fact that pilaf is a living organism, and not male, but female, which therefore requires an appropriate attitude towards itself.

Armed with a serious understanding of this circumstance (I will explain its essence clearly below), we can safely get down to business.

To begin with, I suggest preparing pilaf based on small proportions of ingredients. With such pilaf it will be possible to feed 5-6 people to the full and not make almost a single fundamental mistake when preparing it. Later, if desired, the proportions can be increased and, with the experience gained, you can prepare pilaf for at least 20 people, at least for 100.

So, for a “small” pilaf we will need:

1. A kilogram of rice, preferably durum varieties. For example, devzira rice, which is now available in almost any market for 200-250 rubles per kilo (photo will be placed below), or its varieties, like chungara. Or - other rice varieties that have proven themselves well in Central Asian pilafs - laser, alanga, basmati, etc. I would like to remind you once again of what I have said more than once: the choice of rice for pilaf must be approached very carefully, not only taking into account that this is the main component of the dish, but also the fact that the dish itself is relatively labor-intensive in terms of time and technological costs. You need it - after putting in a lot of effort, only to be disappointed at the finish line because you bought any kind of rice in any station store? I think no.

2. About a kilogram of medium-fat lamb, of which a third are bones, two thirds are meat. By the way, I’ll add that talk about how pilaf is prepared exclusively from lamb is nothing more than talk. And idle time. Especially considering the undeniable primacy of rice in this dish. However, lamb is the most preferred meat in it.

3. 100 grams of lamb fat, preferably tail fat, although (in the absence of it) it can be replaced with fat cut from other parts of the carcass. You should definitely avoid using lard - because of its pronounced “foreign” quality and, to put it mildly, not the best taste.

4. A kilogram of red juicy carrots. If you find a yellow one (which I doubt) - very good.

5. Three medium onions.

6. Two heads of garlic.

7. 150 grams of vegetable oil (refined).

8. MANDATORY: one and a half to two teaspoons of cumin (cumin). Without it, don’t even try pilaf.

9. 1-2 whole pods of hot pepper (optional).

10. Salt to taste.

11. As an option, you can use several grains of dry barberry, but it has absolutely no effect on the taste of the future pilaf.
Since I have a gas stove, I will cook pilaf in a cast iron cauldron traditional for preparing this dish, although the use of other utensils is not prohibited. It depends on the conditions you have - be it a fire, gas or electric stove. The “tool” you will need is a slotted spoon. A spatula or, especially, a spoon is not only inconvenient, but at certain stages is harmful.

So, first of all, we make 100% preparation of products for pilaf - during frying there will be no time to do cutting.

1. Separate the meat from the bones and cut into small pieces, as for goulash. We don't throw away the bones.

2. Cut the lard into small cubes - about a centimeter by centimeter.

3.Cut the onion into thin rings.

4. Cut the carrots (we do not scrape the skin, but cut it off) into thin strips, by hand, without resorting to the help of any kitchen devices. Sometimes, to decorate pilaf, one or two whole carrots are added to the chopped carrots, which are fried according to a slightly different algorithm than the main one. Since sometimes misunderstandings arise with “average” carrots, that is, those mostly sold on our shelves (during heat treatment they crumble and no longer hold their shape), I began to practice this trick. I sprinkle the chopped carrots with lemon juice, add a few pinches of granulated sugar, mix and leave to “sit” for 15-20 minutes. Thus, it acquires much greater resistance to temperatures and does not fall apart. However, as observations have shown, this only applies to some varieties of imported carrots.

5. Remove the rhizome from the garlic and remove the skin, exposing the teeth.

We try to place all products (except rice and spices) on one wide plate, without mixing, so that they are at hand.

Cooking rice. This is what devzira rice looks like while it is still covered in pollen.

And this is what it looks like after washing in several waters. The rice should be washed and sorted to remove stones at least two hours before preparing the pilaf in order to keep it in lightly salted water. This significantly improves the properties of rice.

So, everything is prepared, we begin to warm up the dishes thoroughly.

Pour 150-200 grams of vegetable oil into the cauldron and heat the oil to such an extent that a circle of onion thrown into it turns brown in a few seconds. As soon as the oil has warmed up, drop the lamb fat into it. But you can do the opposite - first melt the lard and, after removing it, pour oil into the melted fat. The second method is convenient because fats can be dosed more accurately. Provided, of course, that you managed to “fit in” well enough with both the dishes and the rice used, since different varieties of rice have different abilities to absorb fats.

There is no need to render lard into smoke, keeping in mind its main purpose, which, of course, is not to add a bit of fat, but to flavor the vegetable oil.

As soon as the lard turns golden, catch it and transfer it to a separate plate - it will no longer be needed for pilaf. Place the seeds into the hot oil, stirring vigorously. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of cumin. ATTENTION! Let us remember one important thing: the color of the future pilaf largely determines the degree of roasting of the seeds. The correct degree of roasting is a persistent brown color of the meat remaining on the bones.

Now it's time for the onions. It should also fry with vigorous stirring. Its readiness is also determined by color: the onion should turn golden.

As soon as the onion turns golden, add the chopped lamb pulp to the cauldron and mix.

Fry the meat carefully. We don't want it to get crusty. It is quite enough for it to burn with oil (in time - no more than 7-10 minutes).

As soon as the meat has reached the specified condition, add the carrots cut into strips into the cauldron, immediately thoroughly mixing it with the other ingredients.

As a rule, with intensive stirring, the carrots reach the desired state in 10 minutes. Well limp, it signals the beginning of a new stage - pouring warm water into the cauldron and becoming an important component of the pilaf - sauce, which is scientifically called zirvak.

It is very important not to make mistakes with water - it is better not to add it than to overfill it. I usually pour water by eye, but this time I used a measuring cup, pouring 1.2 liters of food onto the indicated volume of food. What happened next showed that I was exactly in the required volume. I recommend that you pour no more than a liter, since the rest can be added when adding rice. The water level from the frying along the top edge should be about a centimeter and a half.

Now we wait for the zirvak to boil and, as soon as this happens, we put garlic and capsicum into it (ATTENTION! The pepper must be ABSOLUTELY whole so that there are no leaks. Otherwise, you will have to eat the pilaf accompanied by the fire brigade). Reduce the heat, achieve a slight, even boil, watching as the zirvak gains color right before your eyes.

After 30 minutes of low boiling of the zirvak, we taste it for salt and adjust it so that it tastes a little too salty. Then, using a slotted spoon, remove the seeds, garlic, and pepper onto a separate plate so that they do not interfere with us. We increase the temperature under the cauldron and carefully transfer the rice into it with a slotted spoon, from which the water has previously been drained.

First, we level the rice, ensuring uniform boiling of the zirvak along the entire circumference of the cauldron, if necessary (if the pilaf is cooked on the stove), turning the cauldron around the circumference.

That crucial moment comes when the pilaf slowly turns into a living organism. It is not advisable to mix rice with the other contents of the pilaf, but at the same time, in order to ensure the subsequent friability and running of the rice characteristic of pilaf, it should be very gently stroked with a slotted spoon, as if transferring its own electricity into the rice through it. It is better to start stroking from the edges.

Gradually, with concentric movements, we reach the middle and slowly follow back, while the rice intensively absorbs the protruding sauce. Often, to cook it more evenly, it is a good idea to collect the rice from the edges of the cauldron to the middle and back.

You can even make a kind of number one girl’s breasts out of rice and gently caress each “breast” with a slotted spoon as if the “breast” is real and the slotted spoon is your hand. It won't hurt the rice.

Attention, this is very important! As the zirvak decreases (absorbs by rice), it is necessary to consistently reduce the temperature under the cauldron to avoid burning of vegetables and meat. This should be done carefully so that, on the one hand, it does not completely “muffle” the process of absorption of zirvak by rice, and on the other, to prevent burning. In a word, it will be necessary to choose some golden temperature “middle ground”.

Picking up the rice from the edges to the middle, we make a characteristic bulge and continue stroking it with a slotted spoon for at least a minute, without making sudden movements.

Another important moment comes - tasting the readiness of the rice. To test, take a few grains of rice, going a couple of centimeters deep into the rice layer. Ready rice, when you bite into it, should be elastic, but not hard inside. If you detect the slightest hardness, pour no more than a glass of hot water onto the surface of the rice, level the mound and reassemble the rice from the edge to the middle, giving the water the opportunity to fall inside. After this, dig a “hole” in the middle of the rice layer, carefully return the seeds, garlic and capsicum that were cooked in the zirvak, there, add one and a half to two teaspoons of cumin...

... and just as carefully we cover the whole thing with rice, returning the pilaf to its original spherical shape, not forgetting to stroke this shape thoroughly.

If pilaf is cooked on an electric stove, leave the temperature under the cauldron at its minimum. If on a gas stove, turn off the minimum heat 10 minutes after closing the lid. If it’s on a fire, we remove everything, even the smoldering coals, so that the pilaf comes exclusively from the internal heat of the hearth. And for at least 25 minutes we don’t touch anything and let the pilaf completely ripen. In the meantime, finely chop a couple of tomatoes, cut the onion into rings and wash the onion several times in cold water. Then add it to the tomatoes, lightly salt and pepper (red pepper only) and mix thoroughly (you can watch the video procedure for preparing this salad, which goes very well with pilaf).

Once the pilaf has reached readiness, open it, take out the pepper, garlic and seeds, putting them on a separate plate, and mix the pilaf itself thoroughly using a slotted spoon. Then we put it on a large plate in a heap, put the seeds, heads of garlic and pepper on top, and decorate the perimeter with a prepared salad of onions and tomatoes, as shown in the picture. That's all.

Nuances that you may not know

1. The container in which you are going to cook pilaf must be heated very well before pouring oil into it. Good heating protects against such unpleasant things as burning of meat or vegetables after the rice is put on hold. Of course, when cooking rice, you must adhere to the temperature specified in the recipe. To be honest, the relationship between well-heated dishes and the fact that vegetables do not burn in the future is not entirely clear to me. But it exists and, of course, it was not invented by me.

2. When pilaf is cooked on an electric or gas stove, it happens that the rice cooks unevenly. This is also a very unpleasant thing for a ready-made dish. To prevent this from happening, the rice must be stirred from time to time (at the stage when the zirvak boils away), but stir very carefully, trying not to “raise” the meat and vegetables to the surface. The mixing algorithm is approximately this: first, the surface of the rice needs to be leveled, then, using a slotted spoon as a spatula, as if scooping the rice from the edges of the dish to the middle (in a circle), leveled again and after a while repeat the operation. And so - at least three or four times. If bones are involved in the preparation of pilaf, it is better to remove them before adding rice and return them to the pilaf before placing the rice on the stand.

3. Before you put the rice on hold (that is, cover it tightly with a lid or suitable container), you need to make sure that the moisture has completely evaporated. This check is best done before the rice is mounded. To do this, maintaining a temperature under the dish that can create a boil, but excludes burning, you need to make several holes in the layer of rice with a stick or the handle of a wooden spoon, all the way to the bottom of the dish, so that liquid collects in the holes. If it is transparent, it means that it is fat without any remaining moisture and the rice can be collected in a mound and placed on the stand. If the liquid is cloudy, it means there is still moisture in the fat and it needs to be evaporated. Excess and even the presence of moisture in rice, which has practically cooked and become elastic, during the process of soaking the rice, let’s say, “digest” it and disrupt the overall consistency of the future pilaf. I repeat, excess moisture should be removed only if the rice is almost cooked.

4. Often, errors in the proportions of oil (fats) in relation to other products when preparing pilaf lead to the fact that the pilaf is either “dry” or extremely fatty. It is very difficult to “calculate” the exact amount of fat with insufficient experience, especially when you consider that different varieties of rice have different coefficients of moisture and fat absorption. Therefore, I advise, especially if durum rice varieties are used, to add fat a little more than the basic values, since excess fat can always be removed during the cooking process, but its deficiency is almost impossible to compensate. A more or less clear “picture” of the optimal ratio of fat to other products is given by the final stage of preparing pilaf - the stage of preparing rice for cooking. To do this, you need to level the surface of the rice and make sure that the surface is dry and free of fat. Then, in the very middle of the surface, use a tablespoon to make a hole - about a centimeter to one and a half centimeters deep. If the bottom of the hole is slightly filled with fat, the optimal amount of oil has been chosen; if there is no fat, the pilaf will turn out “dry” and this error will need to be taken into account for the future. If there is clearly too much fat and it comes to the surface of the rice layer, you should arm yourself with a ladle and, pushing the rice layer in the middle, try to grab the excess fat with the ladle and remove it.

BY THE WAY

“Yesterday’s” pilaf can be made “today’s”

Well-cooked pilaf in itself is not bad even the next day - after heating. And yet he is a little “not the same” as the day before. Recently I was able to spot a method that seems to return yesterday’s pilaf to its original taste and aroma. I liked this method and already applied it to my “yesterday’s pilaf”. Try it if you have a chance.

They do it this way (per serving). First, half the middle onion head is finely crumbled.

The part of the pilaf that needs to be heated is transferred to a frying pan, the onion is mixed with the pilaf and the dish is heated over high heat for several minutes (with gentle stirring). Then the temperature is reduced to a minimum, the dishes are tightly covered with a lid and left for 15 minutes.

The second half of the onion can be used for a small salad with tomatoes. That's the whole method.

MORE BY THE WAY
About pilaf mythology, or about harmful and funny stereotypes that have arisen around the preparation of pilaf

In the early eighties, my student newspaper practice took place mainly where I grew up - in the Fergana Valley. This was convenient for me for a number of reasons. Firstly, at the very least, I came home from Moscow. Secondly, the then editor of Andijanskaya Pravda, where I was “seconded,” was a good friend of my father, and in a sense, I had a free man. Thirdly, (why freeman was important to me) I specialized in ethnology, ethnopolitical science and interethnic relations, and, therefore, I was allowed to work on my chosen topic, practically without involvement in the editorial turnover, with trips to regions that went beyond the influence regional party newspaper, and so on and so forth.

Why am I talking about this? And besides, in those years (maybe it still exists, I don’t know) competitions of pilaf cooks (oshpoz) were very common, in which, due to my specialization at that time, I simply could not help but participate. This action usually took place either in recreation areas or in large teahouses - where special hearths were equipped with 8-10 boilers, located in a circle under one roof with a central chimney. Each of the 8-10 oshpoz, of course, created a Fergana version of pilaf (devzira-palov, kavurma-palov, etc. - there are a lot of local names), the prepared dishes were brought to the guests, and they appreciated them - accompanied by jokes, jokes and vodka, of course , – quality of prepared pilaf.

And again - why am I talking about this? And besides, I know about pilaf not from books or from someone’s words, and not even from observing the real masters of this craft directly in the Fergana Valley, participating in oshpoz competitions and even once taking one of the prize places. I know about pilaf, knowing the realities of the historical homeland of pilaf. And, knowing the realities, I can well talk about the many myths bordering on shamanism that have arisen around the preparation of this dish. Shamanism and myths are not as harmless as they might seem at first glance. Not only do they produce mediocre recipes for very mediocre pilaf, which are perceived by the inexperienced public as basic. Mythology simply hits the hands of many and instead of pilaf, pathetic parodies of pilaf appear on their holiday tables, after which they simply don’t want to take on the task of preparing this dish.
Let's look at these myths, and, having sorted them out, let's forget about their existence.

The first myth is that proper pilaf can only be prepared in a cauldron, and only a cast iron one, for which you need to play tricks with this very cauldron accordingly. Otherwise, as they say, there will be no luck.

It would be foolish to expect from the authors of books dedicated to pilaf in particular and Uzbek cuisine in general that they will offer to cook pilaf in any utensil that comes to hand. Yes, a cauldron, especially a cast iron one, is the most optimal and most convenient “container” for preparing pilaf, especially if the pilaf is cooked over a fire and the cauldron is installed correctly. Optimal, but by no means resolving the issue of the “correctness” of pilaf, much less resolving the issue of choosing dishes. For anyone who cooks pilaf regularly (once or twice a month, because pilaf from being healthy can easily turn into a dish that is the opposite of healthy), and at a fire, there is a reason to get a cauldron - either cast iron or duralumin (there is a difference between them, but not so mythologically monstrous). But what should someone do who does this much less often, on major holidays, and not on a fire, but, say, on an electric stove and does not want to have a heavy 8-liter container on the kitchen shelf? Or goes to someone to “make pilaf”, but there is no cauldron there? Dry the oars? After all, proper pilaf can only be cooked in a cauldron?

As an argument, I could give my own example of cooking more than proper pilaf in an ordinary (admittedly steel) pan, and my homemade aluminum cauldron with a wide flat bottom and almost vertical walls (I have an electric stove) is more of a pan than a cauldron. But this argument, of course, will not work. Therefore, let's see: what, in fact, can prevent the preparation of good pilaf not in a cauldron.

The main technological stages of preparing pilaf are, of course, known to everyone. This is a) frying seeds, meat, onions and carrots, b) forming a zirvak (sauce) and then stewing the roast in it, and c) boiling rice in a zirvak and finally cooking it under dam (steam), which is also called boiling the rice and which is described in quite detail by the classics of cooking. All these stages can be easily combined either in one vessel (a steel pan, thin- or thick-walled, in a wok and in another suitable container) or separated by frying in a large frying pan and continuing all other steps in a steel pan.

Of course, using non-traditional utensils for pilaf will require more careful control of the temperature (we are not talking about the fire method of cooking pilaf in a saucepan) and other manipulations with both the equipment and the stove. But we assume that the “gasket” between the slotted spoon (kapgir) and the dishes is a fully accomplished cook. Because, I’m afraid, even a five-star cast iron cauldron won’t help a poor cook. Thus, the statement that good pilaf can only be prepared in a cast iron cauldron is a myth.

The second myth, which says that real and correct pilaf is made exclusively with fat tail fat.

This myth most likely “grew” from ignorance of the true Uzbek realities, which, alas, developed during the years of Soviet power (as a Marxist I sprinkle ashes on my head) - there is no need to go deeper into earlier periods. Paradoxical as it may seem, in Uzbekistan it was sometimes easier (and cheaper) to buy fat tail fat than cottonseed oil, which, by the way, is of lousy quality. For the kishlak people, vegetable oil (cotton oil, there were no others) was sometimes considered a luxury, especially since not every general store had it. But lard - fresh or melted - was much more accessible.

I’m not saying that this was a universal phenomenon, although once upon a time people went to Moscow to buy sausage – for some reason it was not available in the periphery. But the fact took place. And pilaf cooked in pure fat tail fat was very common. But it was widespread not because fat-tailed pilaf is correct and the best, but because sometimes there was no choice (I won’t go into the exoticism associated with zigirög (specially prepared linseed oil) for now).

From personal feelings from pilaf cooked in pure fat tail fat. It freezes almost before our eyes, although there is more than forty degrees of heat around and no degrees inside (well, maybe two or three bowls). It's hard on the stomach. It (sorry) guarantees a not-so-pleasant burp the entire next day. “Fat tail is worse than fatty meat; it is poorly digested” - This is Abu Ali Ibn Sina (“Canon of Medical Science”, book two, p. 379.)

And I’ll end with a quote from a modern classic of piping - Karim Makhmudov (“Pilaf for every taste” according to the 1987 edition, p. 25): “An excess amount of fat can greatly hinder the development of the wonderful bouquet of aroma of these products (meaning cumin, barberry and others, including seasonal components of pilaf - my note). In fatty pilaf you cannot properly feel the heat of capsicum and its unique aroma; the feeling of normal saltiness is also lost in it.”

Can you make pilaf with pure fat tail fat low-fat? Then I will come to you, if you allow me :) But seriously: the statement that proper pilaf is cooked only with pure fat tail fat is a myth.

Myth three, which says that before preparing pilaf, vegetable oil must be heated to a bluish haze and that for proper pilaf you need to use only cottonseed oil.

I have already mentioned cottonseed oil above. Anyone who has ever dealt with this oil will not let you lie: the worst vegetable oil in existence should have yet been invented. Even in a well-cleaned, refined and deodorized version, this oil feels like cotton – with a characteristic rancid taste, a bouquet of sour tones and undertones that only intensify after heating. Why in the historical homeland of pilaf almost all existing frying was carried out only on it, I think, is understandable: cotton is a local crop, so the oil from its seeds was and remains (even now) the most accessible, including in terms of availability and price. Largely “thanks to” the disgusting quality of this product, before preparing the pilaf it was heated up strongly - until the aforementioned bluish haze, in order to somehow soften the taste of the oil and make it less pronounced. Moreover, again, in order to remove unpleasant odors and tastes, the oil was flavored with animal fats or by frying onions in it.

These techniques, often associated exclusively with the correction of the taste of a particular oil, later migrated to the pilaf literature in the form of a mandatory technique when preparing pilaf, regardless of the oils and fats used. Well, the literature surrounding the pilaf has already given rise to further myth-making regarding the “blue haze” and cottonseed oil, without which the pilaf is “not real.”

I will not dwell on what happens to oils and fats after extreme heating, how their chemical composition changes and how dangerous this is to health - those interested in this question, I think, will find where to look for the answer. A sense of proportion is necessary in everything, and the oil should be heated only to values that ensure the initial intensive frying of the products, but not to a “blue haze.” And secondly: if there is something to choose from existing refined and suitable for frying oils - be it sunflower, corn or olive - you should not fall into a falsely understood authenticity and rush in search of the worst option (and for such, cottonseed oil is already imported, and by no means non-cotton regions).

Thus, the statement that proper pilaf can be prepared only with cottonseed oil and that any oil for pilaf should be overheated is a myth, and a harmful myth.

Myth four: rice, after placing it in a zirvak and during subsequent cooking, should under no circumstances be mixed until the pilaf is fully cooked, especially with meat and vegetables. Otherwise, the rice will cook unevenly.

Not only the myth-makers, but also the classics of cooking speak about the undesirability of “pulling” rice after putting it in a zirvak, although, to be precise, the classics do not insist on this undesirability, while the myth-makers fiercely advocate the inviolability of rice (of course, they do not mean pilafs that are cooked separately or if the point of serving pilaf is to make it look like a layer cake).

One can understand the classics: in Uzbek cuisine there are dishes that are prepared similarly to pilaf (some types of mashkichiri, for example, or shavli), where mixing rice with other ingredients is not only desirable, but also mandatory. And nothing out of the ordinary happens with a dish in which rice is the main component. The rice cooks quite evenly and does not stick together (if this is provided for by the technology, as, for example, in crumbly mashkichiri). At what point, excuse me, could unwanted metamorphoses with rice occur in pilaf?

Any reasonable explanation for this can hardly be found among the myth-makers, who are blinded by the inviolability of the myth they themselves invented. It's a pity! Mainly, the technique that excludes mixing rice with zirvak is a tribute to tradition or, let’s say, culinary culture, which, of course, did not arise out of nowhere, but was largely dictated by the conditions for preparing pilaf. One of the main conditions in the context of the mentioned tradition is a special temperature regime, special because the pilaf is cooked over a fire and in a properly installed cauldron. Given these conditions, especially if they are created correctly, the rice really does not need any stirring.

The situation, however, changes dramatically if the pilaf is cooked on a gas or electric stove, and the cauldron is not only not adapted to this, but also experiences heat loss (we don’t even need to talk about the size of the cauldron and the large amount of pilaf). If the rice, at least partially stirring it, is not “helped” to reach the desired temperature and the uniformity of its cooking is not ensured, it will be partially cooked a priori, but partially it will remain half-raw. And no amount of reproach can bring him to condition. And if it does, then that part of the rice that has managed to cook may turn out to be overcooked.
Therefore, unconditional adherence to the myth-makers’ statements that in “proper pilaf” the rice is not stirred, can lead to the fact that the pilaf itself turns out to be conditionally edible, and the mood of your guests will be spoiled.

(Not everyone can be called classic)

You can try real pilaf and appreciate its taste only in the East. This dish requires real skill and even creativity. But having the necessary set of products on hand, it’s quite possible to prepare pilaf at home. It is worth considering some special nuances.

Selection and quantity of products for pilaf

For pilaf you will need the following products:

1 kg of meat. It is advisable to take young lamb, but pork, chicken or turkey are quite suitable.
1 kg rice. Rice needs to be long and with the least amount of starch. When stewed, such rice will be crumbly and will not turn into porridge.
1 kg of onions, but not salad varieties.
1 kg of brightly colored carrots.
500 ml vegetable oil. The best option is cottonseed or rapeseed oil. If you don't have it, sunflower will do, but it's odorless.
Additives to taste (barberry, cumin, garlic, lemon, quince, dried apricots).
Salt and ground pepper.

Dishes for pilaf

For pilaf, buy a special copper or aluminum round pan with a heavy lid and thick walls. Additionally, prepare a clean kitchen towel, which you will have to place under the lid so that it absorbs excess moisture. Take a towel of such size that its hanging ends can be tied in the area of the lid handle.

Stages of preparing real pilaf

Prepare pilaf this way:

Wash the rice in six to seven waters and place it in a sieve one last time to drain all the water.
Cut the meat into medium-sized pieces. Before doing this, be sure to rinse it with water and dry it with paper or linen napkins.
Peel the onion and cut it into half rings.
Remove the skin from the carrots and chop it into long, rather wide strips. Do not grate carrots under any circumstances, because when simmering they will turn into mush.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and while it is heating up, fry one small onion without the husk. Add it whole and as soon as the onion turns dark in color, remove it and throw it away. The onion will add a pleasant aroma to the oil and will indicate when the oil is well heated.
Place the meat in very hot oil and let it brown. If necessary, stir it a couple of times.
Add the onion to the fried meat and wait until it turns golden.
Add carrots to the meat and onions and let them brown too.
Pour enough boiling water into the cauldron so that there is 2 fingers above the contents.
Add salt, pepper and additives to the pan: barberry or cumin. Use the latter dry and grind a little in a mortar before doing this. Taste the broth for salt – it should be sufficiently salted.
Cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat to medium. Simmer the so-called “zirvak” (meat with vegetables, spices and hot water) for 40 minutes to 1.5 hours. The time depends on the quality of the meat: simmer softer meat less, larger tough meat longer.
Place all the rice on top of the meat and vegetables and smooth it out with a spatula. Form a very small mound in the middle, into which stick a head of garlic, a few cloves of quince, dried apricots or a small whole lemon.
Pour the rice with so much hot water that it covers the very top of the future pilaf by 2 cm. Pour the water along the wall of the pan - this way the liquid will not damage the integrity of the formed mound.
Bring the pilaf to a boil and only then cover it with a lid. Place a towel under the lid and tie the hanging ends at the top.
Simmer the pilaf over very low heat for 40 minutes. When cooking, do not stir the dish under any circumstances.

How to serve pilaf

Serve the pilaf hot, 15-20 minutes after you turn off the stove. During this time, it will finally reach, and the rice will become very crumbly. Place the pilaf on a wide flat dish. First, use a spatula to remove all the rice and place it in a mound. Place pieces of meat on top of the rice. Also don’t forget about garlic, quince, dried apricots and lemon - they can be placed next to the rice. Fresh vegetables, cut into large pieces, will be an excellent addition to pilaf. You can also offer your guests onions pickled in vinegar. It needs to be cut into thin rings and kept in the marinade for 1 hour (0.5 cups of boiled water, 0.5 cups of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt).

In the East, you will definitely be offered hot, strong tea with pilaf. Try this option too - you and your guests will surely love this combination. Tea neutralizes the fatty, rich taste of pilaf and you can eat a huge amount of it.