Crumbly pilaf with lamb is an easy dish to prepare. To be honest, I don’t really like lamb and cook such pilaf quite rarely. Much more often I use beef. However, sometimes you really want to dilute your usual diet, and then lamb comes into play.

In my opinion, it tastes better if you use meat on the bone. I use standard spices for pilaf - I buy a ready-made set. It usually includes cumin, coriander, turmeric, barberry, ground black and allspice, and ground cloves.

Let's prepare all the necessary products for preparing crumbly pilaf in a slow cooker. You can peel and wash vegetables, measure out the right amount of rice, defrost and wash meat.

Cut the onion into small cubes. Also finely chop the carrots; if desired, the vegetable can be grated on a coarse grater.

Cut the lamb more finely, leaving the bones with a small amount of meat. All excess needs to be trimmed (excess fat, film).

Pour vegetable oil without a strong smell or taste into the bottom of the multicooker bowl. Add onions and carrots, as well as pieces of lamb there. If desired, you can fry vegetables and meat for 10 minutes on the “Fry” mode.

Pour the washed long rice into the multicooker bowl. You can also use medium grain rice, but it may be more sticky. You can also use a special variety of rice for pilaf.

Pour water (350 ml) into the multicooker bowl. Peel the head of garlic and cut it in half, place it in a bowl. Also add salt and spices for pilaf, saffron.

Close the multicooker lid and set the “Pilaf” mode for 1 hour. After the multicooker beeps, the crumbly pilaf with lamb is ready and can be served.

Before serving, garnish each serving with fresh herbs. You can also serve fresh vegetables, pickles, and sauces with the pilaf.

Bon appetit!

Pilaf is a dish loved by many. But due to the fact that it requires a long preparation, a lot of time and special cooking utensils (cauldron), it is considered a treat for a large company and is prepared on special occasions. But if you know how to cook in a slow cooker, then it will not become a luxury, but a frequent guest on your table.

It would seem that pilaf is rice porridge with meat and vegetables. But how much effort is required for it to come out crumbly, moderately fatty, golden, with a divine aroma that makes your mouth water. No matter how much you eat, it’s not enough! In the East they say that choosing the right cauldron is half the battle. But in the West they replaced the cauldron with a multicooker and they know no grief.

Many modern models of miracle stoves are equipped with a special “Pilaf” mode. But even without it, you can perfectly cope with the task and get amazing, grain-to-grain, crumbly, fragrant rice with meat.

Preparatory stage

Products for pilaf must be correctly selected and prepared.

• Ideally, lamb is used to prepare the dish. But in our conditions, it can be successfully replaced by chicken, pork, and beef - whatever suits your taste. For pilaf, it is best to use fresh meat that has not been frozen. Small layers of fat will add additional flavor. The meat should not be cut very finely: the pieces should be approximately the size of half a tangerine. Very tasty pilaf is made using brisket, shoulder, ribs or back. Immediately before cooking, place the meat in the refrigerator for several hours.
• Particular attention should be paid to the choice of rice. To prepare pilaf, professionals advise using long-grain cereal varieties. They contain less starch, which means that when cooking the grains will not stick together and will not boil over. If it is not possible to purchase suitable rice, then the selected variety is soaked for several hours in cold water. The water must be changed periodically (as soon as it turns white) - this will remove excess starch.

Pilaf in a slow cooker with chicken

If chicken is chosen as the meat, then it is best to take thighs. They need to be skinned and bones removed. Breast is a dietary meat, it has little fat, and the dish will be dry. How to cook pilaf in a slow cooker with chicken?

Ingredients:

• 0.6 kg chicken meat;
• 1 tbsp. rice;
• 2 large carrots;
• 1 onion;
• 1 head of garlic;
• 2 tbsp. l. seasonings for pilaf;
• 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil.

Preparation:

• Cut the onion into rings, chop the carrots into strips.
• Turn on the multicooker in the “Stew” mode and fry the vegetables in a bowl until golden brown in vegetable oil.
• Cut the meat into pieces and simmer for 5 minutes separately from the vegetables.
• Add vegetables in a second layer on top of the meat, add salt and seasoning.
• Place the rice, washed and dried in advance.
• Fill the pilaf with water 2-3 fingers above the level of the rice.
• Add garlic and leave to cook.

In 1.5 hours the pilaf will be ready.

Nutritious pilaf with pork

Hearty, healthy, nutritious and very tasty rice with such meat is easily digestible and does not threaten your figure. Having figured out how to cook pilaf in a slow cooker with pork, you can often pamper your family with this wonderful dish. Nothing complicated!

Ingredients:

• 0.6 kg of meat;
• 0.4 kg rice;
• 4 carrots;
• 2 onions;
• 1 head of garlic;
• 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
• seasoning.

Preparation:

Cooking in the Redmond multicooker

The significant difference between how to cook pilaf in a Redmond multicooker and in a machine from another company is the presence or absence of special programs for preparing the dish. In the Redmond slow cooker you can cook, for example, pilaf with pork ribs.

Ingredients:

• 0.7 kg pork ribs;
• 4 tbsp. rice;
• 2 onions;
• 2 carrots;
• 1 head of garlic;
• 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
• seasoning.

Preparation:

• Place the prepared ribs in a slow cooker with vegetable oil, turn on the “Baking” mode for 40 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, add onions and carrots, fry for the remaining 20 minutes.
• Add rice, seasoning, add water, add a head of garlic.
• Set the “Pilaf” mode and wait for the readiness signal.

Place the finished pilaf on plates - and accept the praise of your household!

Tricks of a good housewife

Even having chosen the “right” products, you need to follow the laws of preparing pilaf, otherwise both meat and rice will be irrevocably spoiled.

• The order in which the ingredients are loaded is very important. The first layer - to the very bottom - is meat, cut into pieces. Then - carrots and onions (cut into rings), spices, and rice at the very top.
• The products in the pilaf are not mixed during cooking. As they were originally loaded, they should remain until completion.
• Garlic for pilaf does not need to be peeled and disassembled into slices: the whole head, washed and dried, is immersed in rice in the center of the container. After the dish is ready, take out the garlic. It retains the aroma for a long time.
• If the multicooker does not have a special mode for pilaf, you can use the “Multicook”, “Stewing”, “Rice and Spaghetti” and others functions, depending on the model.

Following the rules is the key to how to cook crumbly pilaf in a slow cooker that will be the envy of everyone. There's nothing complicated about it. The most important thing is that thanks to the home miracle helper, it ceased to be a dish that was exclusively consumed by men. Even a child can cook pilaf in a multicooker: there is no need to ensure that the meat does not burn, the water does not evaporate due to the lid not being tightly closed - smart equipment will do everything. Everything is like in the song: “Robots work hard, happy people”!

Every third housewife to the question: “ How to quickly and tasty feed your family?”, will answer: of course, cook pilaf! This choice is not surprising, because pilaf is tasty, healthy, and does not lose its taste the next day. To create it, a minimum of products is required, and the time spent preparing a portion for three to five people takes about one hour, including preparing the products.

Pilaf can be an independent dish, but it also goes well with additions in the form of vegetable salads, sauces, and ketchups. Traditionally it is prepared by men. This usually happens in the fresh air, in large cauldrons that are placed on an open fire.

Of course, it is possible to prepare the dish at home, and not even in a cauldron, but in a slow cooker. At the same time, it turns out no less tasty than prepared in the usual way.

Brief historical background

You need to be a real detective - a master at unraveling various mysteries and secrets in order to find out not only who was the first to come up with such a combination of products, but even the country in which pilaf originated. There are many versions. For example, the creation of this dish is attributed to the famous commander Alexander the Great, who loved spicy food.

And also to the Arab physician Avicenna, who prescribed a mixture of rice and meat, seasoned with various herbs, and what he called “pilav”, as a medicine for one noble gentleman. Many attribute the origin of the dish to India, although vegetarian recipes have been prepared there for a long time, but what is already quite “hot” is if we consider the homeland of “pilaf” - Persia.

Be that as it may, almost every person who tried this dish became a fan, so it is not surprising that it is so popular today. Moreover, there are many recipes and modifications.

“Pilaf” is prepared with any meat - lamb, pork, chicken. You can make it without meat, with seafood, and even among dessert dishes there is a recipe for sweet “pilaf”.

Preparing products for preparing crumbly pilaf in a slow cooker

Real Uzbek “pilav” is prepared from lamb using the same fat, without adding oil. Cooking and eating pilaf is a kind of show. Bright, rich in aromas, with loud toasts, songs and a cheerful feast. It is also traditional to eat this dish with your hands, after which it is customary to lick your fingers.

Many housewives, having tried to cook pilaf once, are disappointed, since although it turns out to be tasty, rice with meat is still difficult to spoil, but it looks more like ordinary porridge.

For those who want to learn how to make pilaf crumbly rather than sticky, the following tips will be useful:

1. to remove gluten from rice, it must be thoroughly washed in eight, or better yet, ten waters;
2. after washing, it is dried in a colander or a clean towel;
3. Before throwing the rice into the slow cooker, fry it in oil.

As for the variety of rice, the best is considered to be devzira - the pink variety, which is unlikely to be affordable for the average citizen of our country, due to the high cost of its preparation. For our realities, the best variety would be large round-grain Krasnodar rice.

Unhusked rice is slightly worse, followed by basmati and parboiled rice. Well, long-grain rice from Asia is not suitable for our dish at all.

Now let’s check the ingredients to make sure that we haven’t forgotten anything and we won’t have to take off our apron and rush to the store to buy groceries.

Ingredients:

• 1 standard cup of rice, which is equal to two measures from a multicooker;
• Any meat (in our recipe it’s pork) – 300 g;
• Onions and carrots, one each;
• Salt, pepper and seasonings to taste;
• Head of garlic;
• Water – 700 ml or 4 measuring cups;
• Vegetable oil.

Pilaf has long been transformed from a traditionally oriental dish into our Russian dish, beloved by everyone, but unfortunately not prepared correctly by everyone. Even in the era of ordinary pots and pans, some cooks managed to turn crumbly, aromatic pilaf into ordinary rice porridge with meat. With the advent of multicookers in our kitchens, cooking pilaf has become easier, but ignorance of the most important rules for preparing pilaf still allows you to end up with the same rice porridge with meat...

Pilaf in a slow cooker is cooked according to the same rules as in a cauldron. The “Pilaf” mode in a multicooker only means additional frying of food after cooking, and that’s all. You still have to cut the carrots correctly, cook the zirvak correctly and add the rice correctly. Therefore, before we start preparing pilaf with you in a slow cooker according to the recipes below, we will highlight the main points that in no case should be ignored.

• You can use any rice for pilaf, as long as it is not brittle. Pay attention to the grains of rice in the bag when purchasing: there should not be a lot of dust and fragments of grains in the bag;
• Each variety of rice adds its own taste and aroma to pilaf. For example, “Health” rice gives a distinct nutty flavor, and steamed polished “Basmati”, which almost doubles in size when cooked, is almost neutral. Turkmens and Uzbeks generally do not accept long-grain varieties, being content with the most ordinary Krasnodar round rice, saying that only with it the pilaf turns out to be as similar as possible to the real thing;
• Some chefs are strongly against steamed rice, while others, on the contrary, strongly recommend it, since it does not stick together when cooked, and the pilaf turns out crumbly. You decide;
• About cutting vegetables. Onions can be cut as you please, but carrots should be cut strictly into cubes or strips and preferably lengthwise and not across (I know gourmets who generally throw away the core of carrots, and you know, there’s something in that! The taste of the dish changes quite noticeably) . Under no circumstances grate carrots, even the largest ones - when cooked, they very quickly release their juice, become limp and turn the pilaf into that same porridge with meat;
• You can use almost any spices for pilaf, but there is a minimum that simply must be present in any pilaf. This is cumin (cumin seeds, it is advisable to take black cumin), dried barberry, saffron or its cheaper analogue turmeric (be careful with these spices, it’s easy to overdo it), a mixture of peppers (black, white, pink, green, allspice), garlic (whole heads or cloves, do not peel). In addition to these spices, you can add ground paprika, sun-dried or dried tomatoes, a whole pod of hot pepper to the pilaf (the pepper must be intact, otherwise you will get a fire-breathing dish!), ground coriander seeds, and ground nutmeg. Greens are not put into pilaf; they are served separately;

• Zirvak is cooked in boiling oil. Each cook has his own order of adding products, but one thing is unchanged: each product should be added to the bowl only after the oil has boiled and clarified. That is, if you first put the onion in the bowl, wait until the oil boils, put the onion in and simmer it until the oil is transparent and boils, then lay out the carrots, simmer again until the oil is transparent and boils, then carefully, along the side, lay out the meat so as not to sharply reduce the boiling point of the oil. The meat is considered ready when it has acquired a grayish color and the oil has lightened and become transparent again. The reverse order of adding food follows the same principle: meat, wait for the oil to lighten and boil, onions, carrots. The main thing is not to throw everything in at once, it won’t be pilaf;
• When the meat and vegetables are ready, add spices, except garlic and capsicum, heat them so that they reveal their aroma and taste more fully, and add rice;
• Rice should be spread over the meat in an even layer, never mixing with zirvak. Pour boiling water over the rice, spoonful at a time, so that the water does not mix the food. And only after all the manipulations, stick a whole head of garlic, peeled from the top scales, and a pepper pod (if you like spicier dishes) into the center. All! Close the lid and press the treasured “Pilaf” button.

Our site offers you several recipes according to which you can cook pilaf in a slow cooker, however, you have the power to make your own changes to each recipe. Change the quantity of products, add your favorite spices - cook your own, the best pilaf!

Pilaf in a slow cooker with chicken fillet

Ingredients:
1 chicken fillet without skin and bones,
2 multi cups long grain rice (or any you like)
1-2 onions,
2-3 carrots,
1 small head of garlic,
½ multi-cup vegetable oil,
4 multi-cups of hot water,
salt, spices - to taste.

Preparation:
Set the “Baking” mode and pour vegetable oil into the bowl. When it is well heated, pour the chopped onion into the bowl, then, after the oil boils, add the carrots cut into cubes or strips, and then, when the oil lightens and boils vigorously, add the diced fillet. You can add half a peeled tomato, cut into pieces, to the zirvak. Stir and fry for 5-7 minutes. Add spices to taste. Level the vegetables and meat in the bowl, pour in the rice, washed in several waters, pour in hot water, pouring the water over a spoon or spatula so that the food in the bowl does not mix, and stick a head of garlic, peeled from the top scales, into the middle. Close the lid and set the mode to “Pilaf”, “Grains” or “Buckwheat”. After the signal about the end of the mode, do not open the lid, but let it stand for 15-20 minutes in the heating mode.

Pilaf with chicken hearts

Ingredients:
1 kg of chicken hearts (you can take duck, turkey),
2-3 onions,
2-3 carrots,
2 multi cups rice,
4 multi glasses of water,
100 g butter,
1 head of garlic,
salt, spices.

Preparation:
First, prepare the hearts. Clean them of any excess and cut them in half. In a multicooker bowl, melt and heat the butter in the “Baking”, “Frying” or “Cake” mode and prepare the zirvak, alternately frying the onions, carrots and hearts, each time waiting until the oil becomes transparent and begins to boil. Add spices to taste and salt. Rinse the rice in several waters, drain the water and place the rice on top of the zirvak and smooth it out. Insert a head of garlic into the center or, if the head seems too much, divide it into cloves and insert them into the rice in a circle. Pour in hot water, close the lid and set the mode to “Pilaf”, “Porridge”, “Buckwheat” or “Stew” (in this case, add a little less water so that the rice does not boil into porridge, but remains crumbly). After the end of the mode, you can stir the pilaf and let it stand in the “Warming” mode for 20 minutes to an hour.

Pilaf in a slow cooker with beef

Ingredients:
500 g beef or veal,
500 g rice,
500 g onions,
500 g carrots,
100 ml vegetable oil,
1 head of garlic,
1 pod hot pepper (optional)

Preparation:
Prepare the products: cut the meat into 2×2 cm cubes, chop the onion into large cubes, cut the carrots lengthwise into strips or cubes 4-5 cm long. Set the “Baking” or “Frying” mode, heat the oil in the multicooker bowl, fry the pieces of meat in it first until the oil becomes transparent, then the onions and lastly the carrots (at this point you can add a teaspoon of sugar to the bowl, it will give the carrots a golden color). Salt, add all the seasonings (cumin, barberry, turmeric, a mixture of peppers, ground tomatoes and paprika - to taste and desire), mix again and smooth out. Carefully place the rice, washed in several waters, into the bowl, level it without mixing with the zirvak, insert a head of garlic and a pepper pod deep into the center, pour boiling water so that it covers the layer of rice by no more than a centimeter, and close the lid. Set the “Pilaf” mode (“Porridge”, “Grains”, “Buckwheat”). After the mode ends, let the finished dish stand in the heating mode for 20 minutes or more. Then remove the garlic and pepper, peel the garlic cloves. Place a heap of rice on a wide dish, and fried meat and vegetables around it. Decorate with greens.

Pilaf with pork and prunes

Ingredients:
400 g rice,
400-500 g pork (ribs can be used),
75-100 ml vegetable oil,
2-3 carrots,
1-2 onions,
1 head of garlic,
1 pod of hot pepper,
a handful of prunes,
spices for pilaf (cumin, barberry are a must!), salt to taste.

Preparation:
Rinse the rice in several waters until completely transparent and soak in boiled cold water for a couple of hours. Cut the pork into pieces (chop the ribs). Cut the onion into cubes, carrots into cubes. In a multicooker bowl, heat the vegetable oil in the “Baking” or “Frying” mode, add the meat or ribs, add a teaspoon of sugar and fry, stirring constantly, until the oil is transparent and the meat has a light golden crust. Add onion to the meat and fry it until golden brown. Add carrots to the meat and onions, fry until the oil is transparent and add spices and salt. Level the finished zirvak with a spoon, place the washed prunes, pour rice on top in an even layer (drain off the water), insert garlic cloves in the husk into the rice, place the pepper on top and pour boiling water to a height of 1-1.5 cm, pouring it over the spoon so that the rice was not mixed with the vegetables. Close the lid, set the “Pilaf” mode (or another suitable time and temperature). After the mode ends, remove the pepper, peel the garlic cloves, stir the pilaf in a bowl and let it stand in the “Warming” mode longer, if possible, up to two hours.

When choosing lamb, pay attention to its color: the meat should be rich red and the fat white. If the fat is yellowish, the meat is old.

Ingredients:
500 g lamb,
2 multi-cups long grain rice,
4 onions,
3-4 carrots,
50 ml vegetable oil,
a piece of tail fat (preferably, but not required),
1 head of garlic,
1 tomato (optional)
2-3 tbsp. dark raisins,
1 tsp barberry,
1 tsp cumin,
salt, spices for pilaf - to taste.

Preparation:
Prepare the products: fat tail fat, if you decide to use it, cut into small cubes, meat into cubes, onion into rings or half rings, carrots into cubes or large strips along the root vegetable (straw length 3-5 cm). Set the multicooker to “Frying” mode (or similar), heat vegetable oil in a bowl and add pieces of tail fat. Fry them until light brown and remove with a slotted spoon. Place the onion in the bowl, fry until golden brown, then add the meat, stir and cook until the pieces turn white. Pour all the spices into the bowl, stir and fry everything for 10-15 minutes. Add carrots and peeled tomato, cut into pieces, simmer for another 5-7 minutes until the oil is transparent. Add raisins to the meat and vegetables, stir, add well-washed rice, insert a head of garlic into the center and carefully pour in boiling water so that it covers the food in the bowl to a height of 1 cm. Close the lid, set the “Pilaf”, “Buckwheat” mode. “Grains”, “Porridge on water”, etc. After the signal about the end of the mode, do not open the lid, let it stand in the heating mode for 20-30 minutes. Before serving, remove the garlic, peel the cloves, tip the pilaf onto a wide dish and serve immediately. Lamb fat hardens quickly, so wash down your lamb pilaf with hot unsweetened green tea or black tea with lemon (also without sugar, of course).

Bon appetit and new culinary discoveries!

Larisa Shuftaykina