How to cook awesome pilaf. How to cook pilaf at home

Pilaf from time immemorial one of the most popular dishes of the peoples of the East. Mention of him can be found in folk tales and in ancient chronicles. It was served as an honorable dish at large festivals, weddings and commemoration.

In the XVI century, French chefs tried to cook pilaf according to the description of travelers who returned from Arab countries. However, the experiments ended unsuccessfully, because instead of crumbly pilaf, ordinary rice porridge with meat was obtained. European chefs only in the 19th century received the exact recipe for this dish and learned how to cook pilaf deliciously. In each country, the preparation of pilaf differs in its features and nuances, and over the centuries hundreds and thousands of recipes for this delicious and healthy dish have accumulated. It is interesting that each cook gets his own unique pilaf, even if the same recipe is taken as the basis, however, there are general cooking rules that it is advisable to follow if you want to get a dish close to the original.

We select products and dishes for pilaf

Asian chefs are sure that the best pilaf can only be cooked over an open fire in a cast-iron cauldron and without fail from lamb with fat tail fat. At the same time, a man must cook. But this does not mean that it is impossible to cook a real Uzbek pilaf, tasty, fragrant, fatty and crumbly, at home. Modern recipes are so diverse and universal that every housewife can show unlimited imagination and create a unique culinary masterpiece. Let's talk about what we need for a real pilaf.

Meat. Classic pilaf is cooked only with lamb - it is recommended to take the brisket, ribs, shoulder blade or meat from the back of the lamb. However, in the East and Central Asia, beef, pork, and poultry are also used to make pilaf. The most delicious and aromatic pilaf is obtained from fresh meat with fatty layers, which were not frozen and kept in the refrigerator for several days. The meat in the pilaf should be juicy, so it is better to cut it large - into pieces no smaller than walnuts.

Fig. If you strictly follow the tips on how to cook crumbly pilaf correctly, then it is better to use exclusively long-grain varieties with a low starch content. This is Tajik and Uzbek rice for pilaf - devzira, oshpar, alanga, kenja, as well as Mexican, Arabic and Italian rice, intended for paella. Rice of hard varieties is distinguished by long transparent grains and extraordinary density - it does not boil during prolonged heat treatment, absorbs water well and remains friable even after cooling. Indian, Thai and Vietnamese rice varieties (jasmine and basmati) are not very suitable for pilaf, as they are too soft and can stick together during cooking. If there is no other option, then rinse them well with cold water and soak for two to three hours, periodically changing the water to remove excess starch. In some recipes, instead of rice, wheat, barley, peas, corn or a mixture of different cereals is used.

Oil. By tradition, a real Uzbek pilaf is cooked in animal fat (ghee, lamb) or vegetable oils. In this case, it is better to use odorless refined oils so as not to “interrupt” the aroma of the dish. Often, fat tail fat is mixed with vegetable oil to increase digestibility and mitigate a specific smell.

Spice. Pilaf flavoring is a creative process in which you can show your imagination and inspiration. However, there is a basic composition of spices, without which the dish will not be considered real pilaf - it is cumin (zira), barberry and hot pepper.

Cumin gives pilaf an exquisite oriental taste, dried barberry berries fill the dish with nutty notes of light bitterness, and hot peppers in pods or ground make pilaf spicy and spicy. As additional spices, you can use thyme, coriander, hops-suneli, garlic and saffron, thanks to which rice acquires a rich golden color.

Vegetables and dried fruits. In India and the Caucasus, pilaf is cooked without carrots, and in Central Asia this vegetable is an important ingredient in the dish, and it is recommended to cut it coarsely - with cubes, straws, cubes or plates. Onions are usually cut into rings, and garlic is added with a whole head, previously peeled. In some recipes for cooking pilaf, you can find dried fruits, since prunes, raisins, figs, apricots and dried apricots emphasize the taste of the dish and add a pleasant sourness to it. It is better to lay them after frying meat and vegetables - along with the addition of water.

Tableware. How to cook the right pilaf in the “wrong” dish? Alas, this is impossible. According to tradition, pilaf is cooked in a cast iron or aluminum cauldron with a thick bottom. In a modern kitchen, a cauldron can be replaced with a duckweed or gooseberry. In such dishes, the rice warms up evenly and simmers over low heat, so it does not burn and turns out friable. Enameled thin-walled dishes, French frypots and wok pans are not recommended, because due to the lack of uniform heating, the pilaf burns in them and becomes viscous.

Zirvak. Zirvak is a mixture of fried meat and vegetables in oil in combination with dried fruits, spices and broth. In the East, the preparation of zirvak is considered a real art and a priesthood, since the taste, aroma and appearance of pilaf depend on its quality. Oriental cooks say: if you get a good zirvak, then you know how to cook pilaf correctly, and step-by-step recipes with photos posted on our website will clearly demonstrate all the stages of cooking.

Consistently add meat, onions and carrots to the cauldron, fry them until they are rosy in color, and ten minutes before being ready, add dried fruits and spices to them. After that, fill the contents of the cauldron with boiling water so that the water covers the layer of meat and vegetables for two centimeters, and put everything to simmer over low heat for 40-90 minutes. Ten minutes before cooking, salt the zirvak (it is recommended to slightly salt it), add the head of garlic and rice to the cauldron without mixing it with the meat. Add more boiling water so that the water covers the surface with two fingers, and cook the pilaf until the water evaporates, adding it to the cauldron if necessary. It is advisable that the cooked pilaf be slightly darkened, and tasting the dish immediately or letting it brew is a matter of taste and personal preference.

With pilaf, salads of fresh vegetables are usually served, which give it freshness and contribute to better absorption of fatty meat. However, the classic appetizer for pilaf is Achik-Chuchuk salad, which includes thinly sliced \u200b\u200btomatoes, onion rings, hot or sweet pepper, basil and herbs, not seasoned with oil, but with grape or apple vinegar. Based on the classic recipe for pilaf, you can make adjustments to it and create a unique signature dish that will decorate not only the festive table, but also become part of your family’s daily diet.

Proper preparation of pilaf at home is rather difficult. Not everyone has a cauldron, and not everyone can afford to cook in the fresh air. But still…

Cooking pilaf - theory and practice

(This long introduction can be omitted by immediately starting to review and prepare the pilaf recipe, in which IT IS SO understandable. However, the introduction describes important details about the real pilaf, which will probably come in handy ...)

When it comes to pilaf, almost everyone has in mind the Uzbek version of this dish. Despite the fact that there are quite a few options for pilaf, Uzbek is still considered the most-most, real, correct, authentic. This is the same pilaf that is laid out on a large dish with a slide, large pieces of meat are laid around, and in the center there is a head of garlic stewed right in the husk. This pilaf is so friable, fragrant, bright sunny color. And the most amazing thing is that he does not need a large set of products, but some knowledge is needed ...

Rice for pilaf

The most important part of the preparation of Uzbek, or rather Ferghana pilaf, is considered the choice of rice. So, an ideal rice called dev ziragrowing in the Ferghana Valley. This rice is hard, there is little starch in it, and it is able to absorb a lot of water and oil, while remaining crumbly. Rice varieties like chungara, dastar-saryk, kora-koltak, bugdai-gurunch, arpa-sholi, koniligi. But it is highly likely that such rice cannot be found, then choose Spanish varieties of rice “for paella”. If there are none, the Basmati remains - this is wrong, but still better than the “Krasnodar” or “for the risotto”. Basmati is a relatively non-starchy rice. The only nuance is that it cooks much faster than “pilaf” varieties - only 10 minutes. They are categorically not suitable for cooking pilaf rice varieties that contain a lot of starch - with them pilaf will never turn out friable. Before cooking pilaf, rice is necessarily soaked in slightly warm water for an hour and a half, after which it is washed in several waters.

Zirvak - not large part of pilaf

As for meat, the traditional pilaf is made from lamb, but it also turns out to be very tasty from other meat. At home, lamb is more popular than chicken - from it we will cook. The proportion of dry rice and meat for pilaf is one to one.

To cook pilaf take quite a lot of carrots. Carrots are needed such that during stewing it retains its shape and does not break up, it must be cut into strips. Even onion is often added to pilaf - it gives the dish a flavor.

The most important spice for pilaf is zira.. In addition to zira, not many spices are added - usually hot pepper, garlic head, barberry. Bay leaves are not put in pilaf.

The right dishes for pilaf

Important is the choice of dishes for cooking pilaf. Ideally, this should be cauldron. But, you must admit, not everyone at home has such dishes. And therefore, you can cook pilaf in a wok, deep frying pan or pan with thick walls.

A few words about pilaf technology

Rice cooking technology may seem confusing to a beginner. But if you cook pilaf a couple of times, and you will already do it without too much fuss. So, all the ingredients must be prepared in advance. Then oil is heated, in which vegetables and meat will be fried.

When the zirvak is ready, spices are introduced and rice is added. But this is not the end: as soon as the rice is cooked, the pilaf cooking process will continue: the pilaf is covered with a lid and allowed to ripen for half an hour, or even better - an hour. Only after that you will receive that magical and unique dish, which can be called "the right pilaf."

Cooking time: about 2 hours

Ingredients

400 grams of rice (basmati)
400-500 grams of chicken
300 grams of carrots
1 large onion
1 whole head of garlic
75 ml refined vegetable oil
a set of spices for pilaf, which includes zira, red hot pepper and barberry
salt, black pepper - to taste

How to cook pilaf

First, soak the rice in slightly warm water (45-50 degrees).

Now chop all other ingredients. Cut the onion into half rings.

Cut the meat into large pieces.

Peel and chop the carrots.

Now you can start cooking. First, pour the vegetable oil into the dishes and over a rather high fire, transfer the oil - a white smoke should start to go from it.

Gently send the onion into the hot oil. It is necessary to constantly stir the onion so that it is fried evenly. In just a couple of minutes, it should become rosy.

At this point, send meat to the dishes.

It should also start to crust.

Once this happens, send the carrots to the dishes. Stir the contents, but do it very delicately and gently.

Fry all 5 minutes, then pour 500 ml of water and add a whole head of garlic. This is the beginning of the final stage of preparation of zirvak. Let it boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer zirvak for 30 minutes.

After this time, remove the garlic and add salt and spices to the zirvak.

And then send the washed rice. Rice should not float in a large amount of liquid, otherwise pilaf will not turn out friable.
As soon as you add rice, the fire should be reduced to a minimum, but so that the liquid still boils a little.

Another trick: so that the rice does not burn during cooking, stir it as if from above, without touching the meat and vegetables at the bottom, with light stroking movements.
After 10 minutes, when the rice is almost ready, form a hill out of it, lay the head of garlic in the center, which was stewed in a zirvak earlier.

Then cover the dishes with a tight lid, turn off the heat and leave to ripen for at least half an hour.
And so, when the pilaf is finally ready, get the garlic and all the pieces of meat, and the rice itself is as if fluffed with a slotted spoon or spatula, so that it becomes airy, light.

Place rice on a large dish with a slide, garnish its top with garlic, and lay the meat around nicely. You can supplement it only with a vegetable salad and a cup of green tea - that’s the whole feast. Bon Appetit!

Recently, pilaf was cooked again. They were waiting for the guests, and I wanted to cook something delicious for them! And since this delicious Uzbek dish is always welcome at any table, without thinking for a long time, I decided to cook it.

To my surprise, two of the guests present said that they themselves now often cook it at home. And to my pleasant surprise, they said that they cook it according to my recipes from the blog. They said that they finally learned how to cook it, and now they always get it without surprises.

Moreover, one of the guests expressed the wish that it would be nice to have several recipes in one article at once, so as not to waste time searching. Yes, time is valuable to everyone now.

Well, fulfilling the request of my friend, and being in high spirits myself, after all, pilaf is not only good to eat - tasty, but talking about it is great, I proceed to today's story.

And we will start, perhaps, with the most popular today. Also, I propose to take it as a basis for all subsequent recipes. In it, I will describe in the most detailed way directly the preparation for the cooking process, and of course the process itself.

Therefore, if you cook according to the second or subsequent recipes, be sure to read the first. Everything is described in great detail in it.

It cooks quickly, it always turns out delicious. And importantly, it is a rather economical dish. And although the classic options are prepared mainly from lamb and beef, this option is very popular among the people. I already have it on my blog, so choose for yourself which one you like best.

We will need:

chicken - 800 gr
onions - 400 gr
carrots - 600 gr
rice - 600 gr
garlic - 2 heads
vegetable oil - 0, 5 cups
spices - zira, coriander, rosemary
salt - an incomplete tablespoon
ground red and black pepper - to taste

We also need a cauldron and a slotted spoon, as well as a wooden stick, you can cook Chinese. If not, then prepare a spoon with a long handle, later I will tell you why we need it.

Training:

Cooking any of the dishes of oriental cuisine requires a special approach, and of course pilaf is no exception to this. For its preparation should be taken without haste and fuss, always with a good mood, having enough free time.

It is also required to comply with all cooking rules, withstand the necessary time at each stage of cooking. In general, the matter must be taken quite seriously and responsibly. Only this can guarantee the preparation of a real Uzbek dish in exactly the same way as it is cooked in his homeland.

But I will say right away that the task is completely solvable. There is nothing impossible in this. And when they say "that a real Uzbek pilaf can be cooked only by an Uzbek", do not believe this, this is not true. Everyone can cook, and especially one who really wants it.

1. To begin with, we’ll deal with chicken, because it is with her that we will cook today. For cooking, it is better to purchase fresh or chilled chicken. Do not use only breasts, or only thighs, or wings. It’s best for the chicken to be whole. Different meat will give a richer and more saturated taste.

And it should be remembered that any pilaf will turn out tasty only when there are seeds on the meat. This applies to absolutely any meat from which you intend to cook.

Usually in Uzbekistan, 500 g of rice is taken for it - 500 g of carrots and the same amount of meat. But I always put more meat so that no one looked at each other and was enough for everyone. Why, and meat is usually eaten first.

But if you wish, take less meat.

2. Wash the chicken, dry it with a paper towel and cut pretty coarsely. If you cut it finely, then all the meat will fall apart, as it cooks fast enough. It will be better if the pieces are preserved in their entirety.

3. Onion cut into thin half rings. To do this, you need to have a fairly sharp knife, otherwise it will not work thinly. And it is important for us to cut it so that the onions during cooking have time to evaporate, giving all the juice to the cooking dish.

4. First, cut the carrots diagonally, cutting it into long, thin plates with a thickness of not more than 0.5 cm. And then stacking several plates in a stack and cut into strips. Try to cut carrots carefully so as not to cut yourself. When the pile is large enough, the knife can easily slip. Therefore, to begin with, cut at the same time no more than 2 - 3 plates.

So be patient and cut as it should.

The role of carrots is very important, it gives sweetness, juiciness, color and appearance. And if you rub the carrots, then we will not get the desired effect. Just like if you cut it into cubes or thick cubes.

Yes, the whole science! But we must try to master it, if you want to eat delicious food!

5. Rice is also a special topic. Any rice bought at the store will not work. Choose elongated rice varieties; round-grain varieties for cooking pilaf are not suitable. Good steamed varieties, they do not boil during cooking, and the rice turns out to be friable, as it should be.

Often at the bazaar in Central Asia you can see such a picture, when buying rice they try it on the tooth. So, if the grain is easy to bite, then such rice is not suitable for pilaf, only porridge can be cooked from it. The grain must be hard, it just will not break apart and stick together.

Rice must be washed by placing it in a bowl until the water is clear. So excess starch will come out, and the rice will turn out friable. Steamed rice varieties are washed quickly enough. But some other varieties will need to be washed for 10 minutes or more.

In addition, such varieties are also left for a short time in the water, allowed to lie down so that the rice is swollen and cooked faster.

6. Spices are also needed, without zira he will not get the right flavor. It gives a real smell and taste, without it the dish will not work out truly Uzbek. Often, ground coriander is also added. Barberry will also never be redundant. Therefore, purchase them in advance.

7. Garlic is also added for flavor. It is not necessary to completely peel it from the skin and cut it into pieces. It is only necessary to clean the place where the roots were located, there may be leftover earth, and remove the upper layers of the shirt. Also, garlic must be thoroughly washed.

8. It is desirable to cook pilaf in a cauldron, so it turns out to be the most delicious. This is due to the thick walls and uniform heating. If there is no cauldron, then you can cook it in a thick-walled pan with high sides. You can’t get a big campaign there, but you can feed your family completely.

That seems to have prepared everything. You can start cooking.

Cooking:

1. Pour oil into a cauldron and warm it to a gray haze. Do not look that there is a lot of oil, do not reduce its quantity. There are also many ingredients, and it is necessary that each particle be slightly oiled.

2. Carefully, so as not to get burned, place the chicken parts in the cauldron. To prevent oil from spraying, the chicken must be dried. Neither salt nor pepper it in advance is necessary. We need to achieve a quick golden crust so that the flesh inside remains juicy. For this we need maximum fire.

Fry the chicken until golden brown. Periodically mixing the contents with a slotted spoon.

3. Add onion, mix immediately. If it starts to burn, then you can reduce the heat to medium and bring the onion to softness or golden color.

4. Pour a glass of hot water and allow the onion to sweat for 10 minutes until all the water has boiled away. During that time, the onion will become almost transparent.

5. Now is the time for carrots. As we recall, it gives taste and color. And to get a golden color, the carrots must be slightly fried, so that it starts up the juice. Strong fire is not necessary. Carrots should languish more than fry.

Having swept the carrots for about ten minutes, without forgetting to mix the contents of the cauldron, we proceed to the next step.

6. Now is the time to add spices, salt and pepper. Stir, and then directly into the middle stick two heads of garlic. Stick harder so that it does not float when we add water.

After that, we will not interfere with anything until the very end of cooking.

7. Spread washed rice evenly. Properly smooth it over the entire surface.

8. Then a very important point, you need to properly fill it with water. Hot water is needed, so boil the kettle in advance.

Pour water into the cauldron must be through the holes in the slotted spoon. This simple action will allow the rice to stay in place. It is necessary that carrots do not pop up. And if we pour water from the teapot directly onto rice, a funnel forms and carrots pop up immediately.

9. Water needs to be poured so much that it covers the rice by 1.5 - 2 cm. Usually the index finger is the measure. If you put it in the water (although it will be hot), then the first phalanx should be completely covered.

Allow the contents to boil over high heat, then reduce it to medium.

10. After waiting for the water to boil, let it boil for 5 minutes, and then try the broth. As long as there is broth, it can be salted if there is not enough salt. When the broth boils, it will be too late to salt, the salt will not have time to disperse.

11. Cook rice until cooked, boiling should occur evenly over the entire surface. Otherwise, rice will be cooked on one side, and on the other, it may remain damp.

During this time, no liquid should remain on the surface at all. But she still remained inside. We need her to boil too, otherwise we will get the usual porridge.

To do this, carefully collect the rice pot. To do this correctly, you need to take a slotted spoon and collect the rice from the edge to the center. At the edges, the rice is already completely ready, but in the middle it was harder for him to get ready. Therefore, we will help him in this.

Moving the rice from the edge to the center, we kind of cover the raw middle already ready. When the pea is ready, we take a Chinese stick, or a spoon with a long handle, and with rotary movements we make holes over the entire surface of the slide. They need to be done to the bottom, which is why a simple spoon will not work, just the length of its handle will not be enough.

All the water that remains below us now has an outlet. And leaving, she along the way will help still raw rice to reach the desired state. And so that this happens, and besides, the lower layer does not burn, the fire must be reduced to a minimum and cover the cauldron with a lid.

12. To darken it in this form for 15 minutes. Then turn off the fire and without opening the lid, cover it with a towel so that the steam does not escape through the openings. It will steam what is not yet steamed.

Leave the dish in this state for about 15 minutes. After that, open the lid, at the same time so that the condensate that has formed on the lid does not get back into the cauldron.

13. Pilaf can be gently mixed in a cauldron, and then put on a large dish. However, there are special types of cooking, and today we’ll talk about them, where they don’t mix it, but spread it in layers. First, rice, then carrots and the last layer of meat is laid out. Garlic crowns everything.

He retained his appearance, but his taste radically changed. Having given his aroma to rice, he in turn absorbed all the aromas of the dish and its taste. Try it for sure! He has both his fans and his opponents. Someone like this garlic very much, and I am among them. And someone does not understand such a taste.

In any case, he has already done his work, and therefore, if you do not eat it, just throw it away.

Chicken slices can be left whole at will, or can be cut into smaller portions, while someone removes all the bones. Here is a matter of taste!

14. Serve pilaf on a large flat dish, sprinkled with fresh herbs.

It is also usually served with a salad of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes with onions, seasoned with vegetable oil.

And no mayonnaise and ketchup! This pilaf does not need any additives.

And then I met such people who ask him this or that. Do not give! A delicious pilaf is so delicious that you can quietly eat "even a spoon."

That's basically it! It is written a lot, I agree. But this is only to make everything clear to everyone! It's getting faster!

Well, how do you like the recipe? Already probably felt how delicious it will turn out? And rightly felt, otherwise it can not be. Well, if you are not tired, then go to the next recipe.

Classic recipe for beef pilaf - Ferghana

This classic recipe comes from Ferghana, and therefore has the name "Ferghana"

I’ll explain right away why this recipe is classic. Well, firstly, this is the most prepared recipe in Uzbekistan. It is cooked everywhere. Secondly, it is the foundation of all others. Already on this basis, all other options are being prepared, with the addition of many other ingredients. Some of them we will consider today.

This recipe is described in great detail in one of my articles. And therefore, today I will only briefly recall all the main points. Who wants to cook according to this recipe, for a detailed description of it.

We will need:

lamb - 700-800 gr
fat tail fat - 100 gr
onions - 400 gr
carrots - 600 gr
rice - 600 gr
zira - 1 teaspoon
spices - for pilaf (optional)
garlic - 2 heads (optional)
salt - 1 tbsp. a spoon
pepper to taste
greens - for sprinkling

Cooking:

This recipe also has a preparation stage, it is the same as in the first recipe. Here I will only briefly outline all the steps, and see details above.

1. There is one feature that should be discussed in more detail. In the recipe, boneless meat and pulp should be used. It is advisable to use lamb for this. But if you could not find a good piece of such meat, then buy beef. It is very good if the meat is fresh or chilled.

Meat on the bones and dry. And cut the flesh into small pieces, 2-3 cm in size, no more.

We will also need fat tail fat. With it, any pilaf becomes much tastier, more aromatic and healthier. It must be cut into cubes measuring 2 by 2 cm. But if you did not find it, then use only vegetable oil. But in this case, you will need to take 200 ml.

2. Now we need to cut the onion into half rings. Carrots thin straws. Rinse rice until water is clear. And you can start cooking.

3. Put the cauldron on the fire and warm it well. Then reduce the heat to medium and put chopped fat tail fat, evaporate it to the cracklings.

Then add vegetable oil.

4. Or, pour oil right away, warm it thoroughly to a gray haze and carefully, so as not to get burned, put meat bones in a cauldron. Fry them until golden brown over high heat. On, it is necessary that the juice is “sealed” in the meat, and it does not become dry. For this, a big fire is needed.

5. Add chopped onion, fry it until slightly golden or soft.

6. Add chopped pulp. It must be laid out evenly on top of the seeds and onions, but do not mix, otherwise the oil temperature will drop sharply. You can stir when the meat is warm, that is, after about 4 to 5 minutes.

7. We also fry this meat. Our oil is hot and it will fry rather quickly. It should also lightly brown.

8. And as soon as this happens, add the carrots. We also give her a couple of minutes to keep warm and only after that we mix all the contents with a slotted spoon.

Fry the carrots on medium heat for 5 minutes, during which time it will slightly soften and brown.

In Uzbekistan, yellow carrots are specially grown; with its use, the dish has a less sweet taste. Such carrots are very common there for cooking pilaf. Unfortunately, we do not have such carrots, and we use our usual varieties.

9. Pour half of the zira into the contents and fill it with cold water. It should completely cover the carrots, but nothing more. Simmer for 30 minutes. During this time, the carrots will start up juice, and the broth will acquire a pleasant sunny color. In the future, this will give a pleasant color to the whole dish as a whole.

What we have now succeeded is called “zirvak” in Uzbekistan, that is, it is a certain basis for pilaf. It gives color, aroma and taste to the whole dish as a whole. Therefore, the “zirvak” should be tasty.

10. If you use garlic, then insert it between the bones. By the way, there is one point. It happens that at this stage, the bones can already be easily obtained from meat. They get it and put the flesh back.

But you can leave it to clean later. I do so. Let them give more broth to the broth.

Also at this stage you need to salt, pepper and add spices. Only spices can be added from spices (we have already added it) and ground coriander. Barberry is also good. If you have one, then feel free to add a whole tablespoon. It will be very tasty. The rice will have a light, pleasant sourness.

11. On the entire surface of the zirvak, place the washed rice in an even layer. If rice is not steamed, then soak it in lukewarm water for 20 minutes.

12. Add water through the holes in the slotted spoon so that it covers the rice to the height of the phalanx of the index finger, or by about 1.5 - 2 cm. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a state so that the water does not boil, but only gurgle slightly. Try salt

13. After about 15 minutes, almost all the water should evaporate, by then rice should be 90% ready. If for some reason it is still raw, then you can add some more hot water.

14. If the rice is almost ready, form a slide and make holes in it to the very bottom. Add the remaining zira, rubbing it in the palms of your hands for aroma.

15. We set up a very small fire and languish, covering the lid with a towel so that steam does not escape into the holes. He will well steam the rice that has not yet reached the desired state. Tomim 15 - 20 minutes.

16. Then turn off the gas, do not open the lid. Allow to stand for another 10 - 15 minutes, so that the dish rests.

17. After which, open the lid, and gently mix the contents directly in the cauldron. Use a slotted spoon for this. In this case, get meat on the bones, remove the bones, and cut the meat.

18. Put the pilaf in a large flat dish. Arrange the pieces of meat and garlic on top. Sprinkle with herbs.

19. Eat with pleasure!

Otherwise, it will not work. We got a very tasty dish today. You can’t take it anymore, but still eat, your hand reaches for a spoon involuntarily.

Eat, do not be afraid. This dish is so healthy and completely balanced that there will be no harm from it. Only one good.

If you are not tired yet, then I will proceed to the next recipe.

Video on how to cook beef and devzira rice pilaf

Rice of Devzira variety grows in only one place on our planet - this is the Ferghana Valley in the upper Syr Darya of sunny hospitable Uzbekistan. It has a brownish pink color. This is the powder from the shell of ground grain. When you wash the rice, the powder is washed off, but the brown grooves on the grain remain.

Thanks to this, you can distinguish the real devzira, or not.

This variety perfectly absorbs water, all vegetable juices and fats. And so it turns out very tasty.

You can buy it on the market from knowledgeable people, or in expensive supermarkets. The last time I bought it to order on the market at 350 rubles per kilogram.

If you don’t have such rice, then it’s okay. You can cook it from the usual long-grain, better steamed. It will not fall apart and pilaf will turn out to be 100% crumbly.

How to cook pork pilaf so that the rice is crumbly

Pork pilaf? Excuse me, dear Uzbeks. I know that you do not cook pork dishes. But here in Russia they are being prepared everywhere. Therefore, I will give a recipe so that if someone wants to cook pork, then let him do it right.

This summer I prepared for myself for the first time. It turned out very tasty! I cooked it at the request of a friend, one might say, in the field. It was a wonderful experience for me.

Today, in order not to repeat myself, I want to offer a completely different recipe, and cook it with mushrooms. Of course, it can be prepared not only from pork, but also traditionally for Uzbekistan - from lamb, or beef. As it is, however, and cook. After all, I still want to give you the Uzbek recipe. They cook it there in early spring, when the very first mushrooms, morels, begin.

When we lived in Samarkand, we drove specially to the mountains behind them. Once in the local mountains called Amankutan, I found two huge morels per kilogram, or even more, each. Pilaf was cooked from one, right in the mountains at an overnight stay. Cooked without any meat. It was delicious incredible!

We also have morels, and whoever collects them in May, cook pilaf from them, it is very tasty!

Although you can cook absolutely with all the mushrooms, both fresh and frozen, and even with mushrooms. And as you already understood, you can cook with meat as well as without it. I cook today with meat. If you decide to cook without meat, then simply remove it from the recipe, as if it didn’t exist, and leave the rest unchanged.

For vegetarians and in fasting - it will be a wonderful hearty meal!

We will need:

pork meat (or other) - 400 gr
mushrooms - 400 gr
carrots - 600 gr
onion - 250 gr
rice - 600 gr
ghee - 100 gr
vegetable oil - 100 gr
garlic - 1 head
zira, coriander - 1 tbsp. spoon
salt, pepper - to taste

Cooking:

1. Rinse the meat, dry it and cut it into slices with a side of 3-4 cm. You can use both the pulp and the meat on the bones, for example, ribs.

2. Rinse the fresh mushrooms thoroughly and place them in a colander so that all the water is glass. If the mushrooms are frozen, then thaw them and dry them with a paper towel.

3. Onion cut into thin half rings. Carrots - straws. How to do this, see 1 recipe. Rinse the garlic, remove the top husk and thoroughly clean the place where the roots were. We leave the whole head and in the “shirt”.

4. Rinse the rice until water is clear. If it is not steamed, but rather solid, then soak it in warm water for 20 minutes.

5. Warm the cauldron and pour vegetable oil into it, warm it also to a light haze. Carefully, in order not to get burned, put the meat in oil. You can use a slotted spoon for this.

6. Quickly fry the meat until golden brown. It should be fried quickly enough, since the oil is hot. Quick roasting gives a crust, thanks to which the juice will remain inside, and the meat will not work out overdried.

7. Immediately add melted butter and onions. Fry it also until golden brown and soft.

8. Then add the mushrooms. They should be cut into large enough pieces so that after cooking they do not have to be looked for. In addition, it should be noted that during frying, mushrooms will decrease in volume at least twice. Fry everything together for 5 - 7 minutes.

9. Then add carrots, spices, salt and pepper. Stir and fry it for 10 minutes until lightly browned and soft. We have got a beautiful and fragrant zirvak. Add garlic to it, which we try to drown deeper into the thickness of meat, mushrooms and carrots.

If necessary, turn down the fire, nothing should burn.

10. We fall asleep rice, laying it out with a thin even layer. We try to cover them with all the carrots so that it does not come up when we add water.

11. Pour hot water through the holes in the slotted spoon so that it covers the rice by 1.5 -2 cm, or on the phalanx of the index finger. Allow to boil over high heat, then reduce the heat. After 5 minutes, try the broth, if it seems to you that there is not enough salt, then salt the broth evenly.

12. Evaporate all the water, rice should be almost ready by then. If it turned out to be damp, then you can add a little water.

If its readiness is 90%, then we make a pot, collecting rice from the edges to the center, make holes with a wooden stick to the bottom. Then you need to reduce the heat to a minimum, cover and put a towel on it so that steam does not escape from the cauldron. He must do his job and bring rice to readiness.

13. After 15 minutes, turn off the fire and leave the pilaf to languish for another 15 minutes under the lid.

14. Stir the prepared pilaf directly in the cauldron, do it carefully so as not to smash the rice and not damage the mushrooms. Then put it on a large flat dish. Sprinkle with herbs and eat with pleasure!

Delicious and fragrant pilaf is ready! I hope you enjoy it. I also hope that you understand how to cook it without meat? If you do not understand, then ask in the comments, I will be happy to answer you!

Uzbek beef pilaf with quince

In order not to repeat with recipes, I want to cook this version of pilaf with quince, or it can be replaced with a pumpkin.

This is a purely autumn cooking option. It is prepared when quince or pumpkin absorb all the sunlight, and become tasty and fragrant.

I cook today with quince - a beauty. But you can safely change the word quince to the word pumpkin, since the dish is prepared the same with both.

I must tell you that it turns out to be incredibly tasty. Honestly, we in our family are so spoiled by the various options for this dish that for us it has long been just an everyday dish. But when I cook it with quince, it is always an event! Therefore, when the husband brought a large and tasty fruit from the market, he immediately designated "This is for pilaf." And it was not discussed.

We will need:

lamb (beef) - 600 gr
fat tail fat - 100 gr
quince - 350 -400 gr
vegetable oil - 0.5 cups
onions - 300 gr
carrots - 600 gr
rice - 600 gr
zira - 1 teaspoon
ground coriander - 1 tsp
barberry - 1 tbsp. a spoon
salt, ground black pepper - to taste

Cooking:

For the preparation of ingredients and slices, read in detail in the first recipe. And here we focus on the recipe itself.

1. We use meat, at least lamb, at least beef. You can also cook from pork. In Central Asia, this meat is not cooked, but we can. Therefore, take the meat from which you want to cook.

Again, pulp is needed and meat bones are needed. I use lamb again, and I have the fat tail fat in reserve. If you do not have it, then cook in oil. But in this case, it will need a little more than half a glass, and specifically 200 ml.

2. Cut the meat into large pieces the size of meat bones. Cut fat into small pieces.

3. We will cook in a cauldron. We heat it, then spread the fat and lightly fry it. You can fry them to cracklings and then remove them. I want to keep them for taste, and therefore I fry them only slightly, and then I take them out in a separate plate.

Pour oil into a cauldron, warm it well and put meat bones. Fry them until golden over high heat. Well-fried meat retains all the juice inside and cooks faster.

4. As soon as the bones are fried, add the pieces of meat and fat that you got. Wait 3 minutes until they are heated with steam, then mix and fry all together, also until golden. It is important not to overcook the meat, otherwise the broth will then turn dark, and from this the pilaf will be brown. And not only color, taste will suffer too.

5. Put the onions in the cauldron. Wait 3 minutes again until it warms up and then mix it with meat. Fry until it turns golden. Then pour hot boiled water and cook the contents until the meat begins to move away from the bone.

It may take from 30 minutes to an hour. If the meat is young, then it will cook faster. Time also depends on which bony parts of meat you use. Some boil faster, for others it may take a little longer.

During cooking, the onion will also lose its shape, will become similar to mashed potatoes. This is good, he nourishes the broth, in which rice will be cooked according to his taste. The fat tail fat also evaporates and becomes completely invisible.

6. While the meat is being cooked, we will do quince. It is good to have a delicious ripe quince, it is desirable that it does not have an astringent taste.

Rinse it thoroughly, then cut into 4 parts and remove the core. Then cut it into small slices in the form of a crescent, 0.5 cm thick. If the fruit is large, as it turned out for me, then cut each slice into two more halves.

7. Fry the slices on a minimum amount of vegetable oil until golden brown. Then put on a paper towel.

It should be remembered that quince darkens very quickly in a cut form, so before frying it can be held for a bit in cold water. Then put on paper towels and dry. So the slices do not darken and remain a beautiful sunny color.

8. When the meat has reached readiness, remove the meat on the bones, and remove the bones. Send the meat back.

This must be done if you are preparing a meal for guests. If you cook for yourself, then you can leave the bones. For example, we are very fond of it when the meat is laid out on the bones. And the husband always asks not to clean them ahead of time. But I do not mind. After all, pilaf will be cooked for another 40 minutes, so the bacon from them during this time will increase even more.

9. No matter what you do, it is time for carrots. We spread it on top of the meat and, without disturbing, we hold it for 2 to 3 minutes so that it warms up. Then we mix and simmer everything together for about 10 minutes. We make sure that the carrots do not burn. If for this there is not enough own juice and broth, then you can add a little hot water.

10. Add zira, ground coriander, salt and pepper to taste. Also add barberry. So our zirvak is ready.

Barberry is used in all cooking options, it gives an excellent light sourness to the whole dish. It can be added, both large black and smaller red, there is no difference.

11. By the time the carrots are slightly limp, rice should be prepared. The first recipe details how to prepare it, so I'm not repeating myself.

We spread it in a uniform layer over the entire surface of the meat and carrots. And pour boiled water, pour water through the holes in the slotted spoon so that the rice does not rise from the stream of water and does not expose the carrots, it should remain covered.

Water should be 1.5 - 2 cm higher than carrots.

12. On a large fire, bring to a boil, then reduce it, let it boil for 5 minutes and try the broth for salinity. If necessary, add it. While there is water, it will spread it evenly over the entire surface of the cooking dish.

13. We bring the rice to readiness by 85 -90%, by then water should not remain on the surface. We lay out the quince slices, and collect the slide so that the quince remains inside.

If water is also not visible along the edges near the walls, then carefully make holes with the stick in the slide to the very bottom. We try not to pierce the quince. When the stick rests on a piece, go around it. In this case, the stick needs to be rotated, it will push the whole quince to the side.

We close the lid and cover it with a towel so that the steam does not go out into the slots.

14. Reduce the gas to a minimum and simmer for 10 -15 minutes. Then we turn off the gas, do not open the lid and hold for another 10 - 15 minutes.

15. Then carefully mix the contents and spread on a large dish. Pieces of meat spread on top of the finished dish.

16. Now you need to sprinkle pilaf with fresh herbs, and serve to the delight of all those present. Eat with pleasure!

And pleasure and admiration will be required! Loose rice, stewed carrots and quince, with a scent of zira, an additional sour taste of barberry, a light taste of fat tail fat, which carefully envelops literally every rice! This is just what magic! Full enjoyment of taste and aroma. I don’t even know what could be tastier!

Well, there are only 3 recipes, and the article is no longer quite small. This is pilaf! About him or not to write, or write from the heart, and that means a lot! No other way! A special dish requires a special attitude!

If you are ready to get more recipes, then I am ready to share them further!

Delicious Samarkand pilaf

I can’t leave today's selection without this delicious recipe. This is my favorite. Maybe because I lived in Samarkand for a long time, or maybe because I learned to cook the dish according to this recipe, or maybe because it is simply the most amazing and beautiful pilaf I have ever known.

I have already described in great detail in one of the articles how it is being prepared. And therefore, you will find it and be able to cook it.

A distinctive feature of this option is that after cooking, rice is not mixed with all other ingredients. It is laid out in layers on a dish, just as it was prepared. First, rice is laid out, then carrots and the last is laid out meat and garlic.

Carrots are not fried, but steamed. Due to this, the color of the dish remains light, carrots have a saturated bright color and the same rich stewed taste.

The meat is cut in large pieces, beef meat is always used. Before laying in the dish, the bones are removed and the meat is cut into small pieces.

Served with coarsely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, fresh herbs and green onions.

If you like to cook pilaf, and you have never cooked it in this version, then be sure to cook it! Believe me, it's worth it! You will like it, I'm sure!

Uzbek wedding pilaf with peas and raisins

Well, what is a wedding without pilaf? The whole wedding in Uzbekistan is judged by what pilaf was. Therefore, in order to cook it correctly and tasty, they invite special masters who have vast experience in cooking. And this despite the fact that all the men present at the wedding, and women know how to cook it.

To make life young and happy rich in pilaf, add pomegranate seeds, Uzbek peas, raisins. Each ingredient is symbolic and means, for example, that there are many children in the family, that wealth and abundance live in the house, that love is a constant and faithful companion. Barberry is also placed, which means good health and longevity.

Dried apricots and chopped boiled egg can also be added.

Due to the large number of components, it is important that everything in the pilaf is balanced, so that none of the ingredients gets out of the general taste.

I propose today to cook pilaf with all the ingredients, but you can cook it according to this recipe, using only pea chickpeas, or only raisins, or pomegranates.

We will need:

lamb or beef meat - 700 gr
fat tail fat or vegetable oil - 200 gr
hard-grain rice, Devzira variety - 600 gr
onion - 250 gr
garlic - 2 heads
carrots - 600 gr
raisins - 100 gr
chickpeas - 100 gr
barberry - 50 gr
pomegranate - 1 pc (200 gr)
zira - 1 tbsp. a spoon
salt to taste

Cooking:

1. Pea chickpeas should be soaked in advance, preferably even a day before the start of cooking. During this time, you can change the water a couple of times. During this time, peas should double in size. When biting it, it will no longer be hard and should chew.

2. Cooking meat. It should be washed, dried and cut into large pieces of 150-200 g. Cut fat tail fat into small cubes, 2 by 2 cm in size. If there is no fat, prepare vegetable oil. You can also use 100 grams of oil and 100 grams of fat.

3. For the wedding pilaf, a special kind of rice called devzira is used. This variety is specially grown for its preparation. It is quite rare and expensive. It grows only in one place in the Ferghana Valley of sunny Uzbekistan. This is a large, elongated rice, which is covered with a layer of pink powder. Therefore, it is called the pink pearl of the East.

This rice is not polished, thanks to this it retains all its nutritional properties, has a lot of vitamins and minerals. And it is also quite hard, and therefore in the cooking process it will not stick together and will remain friable.

If you have such rice, then this is good luck. Delicious pilaf is provided to you. Unfortunately, even in the markets of Central Asia, one can easily run into a fake. Therefore, one must have special knowledge and the ability to choose it.

Since it is very hard, it must first be soaked for several hours in slightly salted water.

If there is no such rice, then you can use steamed, which is sold in each store, in which case you only need to rinse it thoroughly until the water is clear. Soaking it is not necessary.

4. Onion cut into thin half rings, carrots with thin strips of size - 3 cm thick and 5 - 6 cm long.

5. Sort out raisins and barberries, removing their sticks. And we begin to cook.

6. Put the cauldron on the fire and warm it well. Put fat tail fat and evaporate it to the cracklings, then get them with a slotted spoon.

If using oil, pour it and warm it up well.

7. Fry the meat in oil; after frying, a brown crust should be obtained. Add half of the zira and 1/3 of the onion and continue to fry, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon. Fry meat and onions over high heat until the onions are also browned.

8. Put carrots on top of the onion, smooth it over the entire surface, but do not mix. Then peas, from which all water was previously drained and rinsed in clean water. We also don’t mix it.

9. Then turn the raisin layer, which is evenly sprinkled with barberry, in turn. Put the garlic.

10. Pour the contents with cold water, pouring it through the holes in the slotted spoon so that the layers do not mix. Water is needed so that it only half covers the pea layer. Salt to taste.

We give the opportunity to boil water. Then reduce the fire to a minimum. Leave to languish for 40 - 50 minutes. During this time, the meat and peas will be almost ready, and all the components will be steamed well and will give all their taste advantages to zirvak.

11. Add a little hot water, let it boil for 5 minutes and carefully remove the meat. We try not to break layers too much.

12. Add fire to the maximum and lay out rice with an even layer. To salt.

Sprinkle some zira. Add water as needed, it should cover the rice by 1 cm. Remember that you need to add it through the holes in the slotted spoon.

13. Bring to a boil. Make sure that it is uniform over the entire surface. If the boil is uneven, then the rice will boil too. Boil until all the water has evaporated. By this time, rice should already be ready at 85 - 90%.

If this is the case, then put the meat back into the cauldron, while gently pushing it into the rice.

14. The remaining part of the onion to mix with the remaining zira and put on top. Then cover tightly with a lid, on top you can cover with a towel for fidelity so that steam does not escape, and leave to simmer for a very slow fire for 20 -25 minutes.

15. Open the cover. Gently pull the top layer of onions into a separate bowl. Put the meat on a cutting board and cut it into slices, even plates, as you like.

16. Put the pilaf in the form of a little pot on a large dish. Previously, it can be gently mixed in a cauldron, or you can put rice first, and only then peas with raisins and carrots on top.

Gently lay the pieces of meat on top. Sprinkle generously with pomegranate seeds.

17. Onion served in a separate bowl as a snack. Also serve fresh vegetables, herbs and spring onions.

18. Eat with pleasure!

Here is such an interesting and delicious recipe!

And here is another recipe for a festive pilaf, which is prepared in a completely different way.

In addition to the recipes offered today, there are many more recipes that offer everything in one article is simply impossible! So, for example, pilaf can be cooked with cabbage rolls from grape leaves.

To do this, they are first prepared, then put on a thick culinary thread in the form of a necklace.

Pilaf is prepared according to the same scheme as, for example, Ferghana, classic. Only after preparing the zirvak, first lay out the necklace of grape leaves and cook them until cooked for about 40 minutes. Then we take out and put the rice. When it is 80% ready, put the cabbage rolls again and simmer with the lid closed for another 10 -15 minutes. After which we turn off the fire and let it sweat for another 10 - 15 minutes.

In the same way, you can cook a dish with a small size of bell pepper. It also turns out pretty tasty.

There are still options and variations in accordance with the area where it is prepared. For example, Bukhara pilaf, which is cooked with raisins, or Kokand, or Khorezm, which takes a whole day to cook. Well, or already the above Samarkand and Ferghana options.

In general, understanding what is being done in the cooking process, you can cook any pilaf. And now I will try to give the basic provisions for all species and varieties.

you should always approach this dish only with a good and positive attitude.
cooking does not endure fuss and haste
all ingredients should be prepared in advance - cut vegetables, rinse and prepare rice, put spices on hand, boil water. During cooking, it is not advisable to be distracted by these things. Maximum focus on the cooking process is required.
for cooking, it is desirable to have a cauldron, or thick-walled dishes with high walls. Only in such dishes will the heat be distributed evenly and the dish will turn out as it should. In ordinary dishes, for example, rice cooks faster at the walls, and remains moist inside. It will be difficult to move and add it, by then the rice will collapse at the walls.
meat is used mainly lamb or beef. Prepared also from chicken. Well, and we still cook from pork.
if there is an opportunity to stock up with fat tail fat, then do it, you will not regret it. With it, any pilaf is doubly tastier. It’s also more useful.

for meat to be tasty, it must be fried over high heat, so that it is quickly "sealed" and covered with a golden brown. For this reason, the meat is not pre-salted, it will not allow you to get a quick crust, the juice will flow out and the meat will not be tasty.
onions must be cut in half rings very thinly. Onions give juice and taste, during cooking it becomes mashed and completely invisible in pilaf. Dice onions for cooking do not cut.
carrots can not be grated, cut into cubes, thick cubes. Although the word “impossible” is probably not quite correct, it is possible, but for pilaf they don’t cut it like that. Cut carrots should be straws 5 to 7 cm long and not more than 0.5 cm thick.
to prepare a delicious and real Uzbek dish, you must have zira, or it is also called cumin. Without it, pilaf is not cooked.
coriander can also be used as a spice, these are ground cilantro grains. A very delicious dish is obtained with the addition of barberry.

rice for pilaf should be long-grain, it’s good if the package says steamed. Such rice does not stick together and turns friable. Grains should not be chopped; when bitten, they should not break easily.

round grain varieties are best avoided. They have a lot of gluten and it is good for boiling porridge, but not for pilaf.
during cooking, rice should not be mixed, otherwise porridge will turn out.
the best rice variety for boiling pilaf is devzira. It is not for sale in the store; it can only be bought in markets in Uzbekistan. And then, you can easily be deceived. Before buying it, read on the Internet how to choose it correctly.
each rice variety requires a certain amount of water when boiled. This can only be determined empirically.

What to do if all the water has boiled away and the rice is not ready yet?

- add some hot water, and if holes have already been made in the pot, you can add water directly to them so that the rice is steamed evenly.

What if rice is already ready and there is still a lot of water left?

- open the lid and add heat. Using a slotted spoon, you can slightly push the rice away from the wall so that the hot walls help the water evaporate faster.

In this case, you need to be careful that nothing burns out at the bottom.

boiling during rice cooking should be uniform over the entire surface of the cauldron, otherwise it will boil unevenly
after the pilaf is completely ready, open the lid so that the condensate accumulated on it does not fall back into the cauldron. Excess water in rice is useless.
do not serve with mayonnaise and ketchup. Also do not serve salads with mayonnaise.

Cooking pilaf is akin to art. Therefore, in order to create a real culinary masterpiece, one must learn. And you can learn only by preparing it, each time gradually honing your skills. Then you will begin to notice all the nuances, and comprehend all the subtleties.

That seems to be all. The article has turned out big and I hope, useful to you. Write in the comments, did you find it useful for yourself? Have you learned anything new for yourself in the preparation of this delicious Uzbek dish? And also write whether everything worked out if you prepared according to one of the recipes. If something did not work out, do not despair, write, describe what did not work out and I will help you. Next time it’s sure to happen!

Also share with friends. I will be grateful to the likes put by you.

Well, I’m ending here. All the best, and bon appetit to those who cooked pilaf today!

Despite the fact that pilaf is considered a pan-Asian dish, according to historians, it appeared and for several centuries improved in the Ferghana Valley (modern Uzbekistan), one of the oldest centers of agriculture in Asia. Pilaf was not invented on purpose, it appeared as the best dish from those products that are rich in the area. And the Ferghana Valley has long been rich in flocks of sheep, root crops and rice. The only possible cookware with a lack of fuel for a fire is a cauldron. We can say that pilaf appeared as a result of local meat-harvesting technology: nomads roasted meat until the water was completely evaporated and stored it in fat. From such a semi-finished product in field conditions it was difficult to cook something other than pilaf.

Gradually, a simple recipe for shepherds overgrown with new elements. In other regions, the original components were replaced by available ones: lamb - beef, pork, and even chicken meat; Dev-zira rice is long-grain Indian rice, and yellow carrots are red. All existing recipes, of course, have a right to exist, they enrich the dish with options, make it universal, easy to prepare and truly folk. Pilaf is a very stable dish, in order to cook it tasteless while observing the basic technology, you still need to try. There are adapted recipes for pilaf, where solid pasta is used instead of rice. It is almost impossible for modern city residents to cook the correct pilaf according to the “reference” recipe. We have to be content with simplified recipes, which also give a good result, but have nothing to do with real pilaf. The analogy is Italian pizza. The Italians would be surprised to try the “cheesecakes” sold in Russian eateries with slices of sausage, sprinkled with mayonnaise or ketchup.

Consider all the elements of how to cook a real right pilaf. He needs a special rice - Devzira. This variety, presumably, it was introduced by immigrants from China and cultivated since ancient times in the Ferghana Valley. Uzgen is still considered the best place to grow it. Now in the Ferghana Valley, the climate has changed significantly, the rivers have become poorer, and the lack of water has hurt the production of classic “rice” rice. It is difficult for a deviser to grow: during the summer, sprouts must be constantly thinned and transplanted to a new place three times, and by collecting rice manually at the end of October, exfoliate the scales and get unpolished grains, which are packaged in ventilated linen bags and stored until spring. In early spring, the girl is dried by tossing and dried in the sun, covering with straw for the night. Such processing of rice is devoted at least a year, and for special varieties - several years. For winter, the rice is put in bags, in the spring the procedure is continued. The grain becomes hard, strong, with a rich amber color. In the autumn, rice hardened in this way is brought down, that is, the upper flakes are peeled off. After peeling, the grains of rice are stored until use in rice powder remaining from the processing process - so Devzira better preserves its taste and aromatic properties. Devisa is now grown in southern India and Sri Lanka, in the south of France, in Thailand, Australia and some countries of Southeast Asia. In any case, for pilaf even Indian devzira is much better than white long-grain rice.

Real rice for pilaf is now increasingly difficult to detect. Uzbek rice is almost never exported, and rice exporting countries label their rice as Red Raw Rice. The confusion in the notation complicates the task - there is also red yeast rice. This is the so-called Chinese red rice, whose reddish hue is obtained with the help of mold, formed by the fungi of Monascus purpureus, which give the raw rice a purple color.

The second component of pilaf is zira or cumin, cumin, kammun, Roman or Indian cumin, azhgon, zra, zar, zatr. Without zira, pilaf simply will not work. This spice has a very strong, bitter with a nutty shade odor, intensified by grinding and heating. Zira is the main aromatic element of pilaf, its soul. This is the only spice used in classic pilaf.

The third element is lamb. Why lamb? Apparently, because the real Borodino bread is made from rye flour. Lamb has a number of advantages over other meat, not to mention a very special taste. In the end, it was the sheep that grazed on the mountain slopes of Uzbekistan and the Ferghana Valley in particular. Lamb is the most common meat in all countries with a very hot climate. This meat contains a lot of fat and can tolerate heat for much longer. Prepared meat can be stored for up to one year, and in the hot season for several months. For pilaf, lamb of medium fat content, usually with a bone, is taken. A tenth of fat tail fat is added to the meat.

Last but not least, tools and utensils. The ideal dishes for pilaf - a thick-walled cauldron. Can use any sufficiently deep dishes, preferably with thick walls and always with a thick bottom and a tight fitting lid. As the main tool of the cook - slotted spoon. If the dishes are non-stick, a slotted spoon made of wood or hard plastic.

Cooking a classic pilaf.

Pilaf products are selected on the basis of the following proportions: 1 kg of meat (where one third is the bone), 1 kg of rice, 100 g of fat (fat tail, ribs, legs - it doesn’t matter), 1 kg of carrots, 3 onions, 2 heads of garlic, 1-2 pods of hot pepper, 150 ml of vegetable oil (refined), 1.5 teaspoons of zira, salt, 1 liter of water.

Before cooking, separate the washed meat from the seeds and cut it into small pieces (as for goulash). Cut the fat into cubes with a face of 1 cm. Cut the vegetables and put them in one large plate to visually see the proportions. Cut the carrots for pilaf into thin strips with a face of 2-3 mm and a length of 30-40 mm. Sprinkle sugar to make juice stand out. Cut the onion into thin rings. Wash the garlic, remove the roots, remove the husk. Important! Hot peppers should be whole, without cuts or damage, otherwise pilaf will be quite difficult to eat. Proper pilaf should not be sharp.
Rinse the rice in several waters, leave to dry.

We start to cook pilaf. Warm the dishes well and pour in the oil. The oil should heat the dishes well and be hot enough. An indicator of the oil’s readiness is an abandoned onion circle - the onion will turn red in a few seconds. Gently lower the lard in the heated oil with a slotted spoon.

Important! All cooking operations are done slowly, carefully. Pieces should be smooth, precise movements, there should be no “face-offs". All ingredients are lowered into the cooking container with a slotted spoon.

Once the lard has a golden hue, catch it with a slotted spoon and transfer it to a separate bowl. Put the bones in the hot oil. Stir them for even processing. At this point, add a pinch of zira. Watch the color of the broth and the leftover meat on the bones. The meat should turn brown and turn brown. Following onion, the onions are fried in oil. Here you need to stir a little more intensively. The onion should become golden. Then put the chopped meat in the dishes and fry it for no longer than 10 minutes. Add carrots and mix all the ingredients. Stir simultaneously with frying for 7-10 minutes. When the carrots soften, pour cold water into the cooking container. That broth, which in the end will turn out, the Uzbeks call zirvak, this is an important stage of pilaf. Properly prepared zirvak is half the success. It is important not to overdo it with water, it is better to fill it with water than pour it. In extreme cases, water can be added in the next step. The water layer should be 2-2.5 cm (or as they say “two fingers”) to cover the prepared fry. Wait for the zirvak to boil and put whole cloves of garlic and pepper pods in a boiling broth. Salt everything. Reduce the heat so that the broth boils evenly and slightly. Leave on for about 30 minutes.

For these 30 minutes, it is useful to carefully sort out the rice from pebbles and extra splashes. Stones, by the way, are also found in coarse salt. Pay enough attention to this.

After a 30-minute boil, carefully remove the pepper and garlic. Try the broth on salt and add salt, if necessary, so that it is slightly salted. Gently transfer rice into boiling broth. Do not mix the ingredients! Flatten the rice with a slotted spoon and do not leave the stove while absorbing the broth with rice. At this stage, as the rice “saturates” with water, the fire under the dishes should be reduced. Gather rice from the edges to the center and make a smooth, not loose hill. When all the liquid has been absorbed, level the surface of the rice and cover with powdered zira. Take a sample not from the surface, but from 2 cm depth. Rice should be resilient, but not hard inside. If it is still hard, add a glass of hot water and repeat the operation with leveling and mound again. Let the water soak deep. When everything is ready, make a hole in the knoll and dig in the garlic and pepper. Make the same neat mound above them and close with a tight-fitting lid. Wrap with a towel and leave on the smallest fire for another 5-10 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the pilaf ripen for another half hour.

After the indicated time, open the lid, remove the pepper and garlic, and mix all the contents thoroughly. Put your pilaf on a large dish, placing bones, garlic and pepper on top. Everything is ready, you can start the meal.

Of course, pilaf is not limited only to the classic recipe; variations of this dish can also be found among neighbors (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan). If you look at the map, it becomes clear that all these countries have the main inhabited areas located close to the borders of their neighbors and form a densely populated area, streaked with rivers and valleys formed around them. All the recipes of the neighbors are also based on red rice, dev-zira and lamb. Cooking technologies are similar in all cases, but of course there are specific differences. In Turkmenistan, there is a version of pilaf with paprika instead of meat, in Tajik pilaf there is more fat and barberry is added to zira. In the Kazakh pilaf, ordinary elements are added with radish, dried apricots, raisins, dried apples.

A logical question arises - where did the bags with a set of seasonings “for pilaf” come from, and why is the pilaf prepared in many cafes different from that described? There are several reasons for this. The Soviet deficit, with its absence in the markets and in stores of traditional products, made some share. Something added human ignorance and even more - human laziness. At the same time, I wanted to cook pilaf at all times, and some components were replaced with those that were available. Rice was replaced with devozira long-grain or even round rice, and turmeric was added to give a specific golden hue. Hot red and black peppers in a classic pilaf will be a hindrance, although there is a Bukhara variety of pilaf - bakhsh, where the practice of adding black pepper, parsley, dill, cilantro and green onions. It is difficult to understand where cloves, dill, bay leaf, marjoram, coriander, sesame, mustard and others appeared in the “for pilaf” mixtures. It is completely incomprehensible why sodium glutamate is placed in such seasonings. A flavor enhancer is absolutely unnecessary in a fragrant and divinely tasty dish.

Alexey Borodin