The recipe for pilaf, or how to make pilaf crumbly. How to cook pork pilaf at home

There are a lot of recipes for pilaf - this dish of national oriental cuisine has become widespread in many countries. All variations of pilaf simply cannot be counted, in addition, each housewife has her own secrets of preparing a successful dish. But what is the “standard"? How to cook pilaf so that it turns crisp and tasty? We will share the secrets of the proper preparation of pilaf today.

How to cook Uzbek pilaf?

Uzbekistan is the country where pilaf is most prevalent, therefore it is considered the ancestor of this dish. It is there that people know all the nuances of the recipe for a delicious and proper pilaf. The classic Uzbek pilaf consists of the following ingredients: onions, carrots, meat, fat, rice and water.

Proportions for pilaf:

meat (preferably lamb) - 1.5 kg;
rice - 1 kg;
vegetable oil or fat - 3/4 cup;
large carrots - 5 pcs;
large onions - 5 pcs;
garlic - 2 heads;
water;
spices to taste.

The correct rice for pilaf is usually long-grain or rounded. It is important that the cereal is not pre-steamed. The meat used is very different: usually it is lamb, beef or pork. To make the meat juicier and the pilaf richer, cut the pieces into large ones, about 200 g each.

For a real pilaf, every detail matters, including how the vegetables are sliced. Onions must be cut in half rings, and carrots - along, large strips. In this form, vegetables boil less.

Pilaf loves spices: barberry, zira, turmeric, black pepper, and, of course, garlic are perfect for rice.

How to make pilaf: stages of product preparation

Pour rice into a saucepan, sprinkle with a handful of salt and pour boiling water over it. Let the grains swell.
Cut meat and vegetables.
Pour oil or fat into a cauldron and set on fire. When the oil is hot, fry the pieces of meat in it until golden brown. Add the onion and bring it to a golden color. Add carrots last. While stirring, bring the vegetables to a golden hue. Season with spices, salt and pepper.
Pour water into a cauldron to only slightly cover the contents, and simmer over low heat.
Put water for pilaf to boil.
Drain the salt water from the rice. Rinse the grains thoroughly under a thin stream of lukewarm water. Grind the cereal to avoid stickiness of the rice.

How to cook pilaf?

Place washed rice evenly on meat and vegetables. In the middle, stick the peeled garlic cloves. Through a colander, carefully pour rice with boiling water - the water should be 1.5-2 cm above the cereal. Bring the pilaf to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a minimum and cook until the water has completely evaporated. After that, turn off the heat, cover the pilaf with a towel and a lid on top. In an hour, the dish will be ready.

How to cook the correct pilaf from chicken or another bird?

Pilaf with poultry is very popular today, because this way the dish becomes dietary and easy. Since the bird is an unusual component for pilaf, the recipe is much simpler, than in the classic version.

The most common recipe for pilaf at home. Beef or lamb, onions and carrots. Correct long grain rice. And of course, oriental spices. We lived in Tashkent for several years. In ordinary families, pilaf was prepared in such a way from available products.

Ingredients

beef - 600 g;
carrots - 300 g;
onions - 200 g;
long-grain rice - 400 g;
garlic - 1 head;
vegetable oil - 100 g;
zira - 1 teaspoon;
dry barberry - 2 teaspoons;
coriander seeds, ground black pepper - 0.5 teaspoon each.

Peel and wash carrots and onions. Cut the carrots coarsely enough into strips. Chop the onion into quarters and chop. Wash the garlic thoroughly, peel it from the husks and roots, but do not divide it into cloves, we will cook it whole. Wash, dry and cut the meat into pieces for 60-70 g.

Pour vegetable oil into a stewpan or a frying pan with high sides and bake until a haze appears. Here it is recommended to take a small peeled onion, dip it in oil, fry, remove and discard. This procedure should fill the oil with aroma. Do not be greedy and do this operation. Next, put the meat in oil, fry it until a light golden crust forms, occasionally stirring with a slotted spoon.

Pour chopped onions into the stew for meat and fry it. Then lay the chopped carrots, fry over high heat for about 8-10 minutes. Zira, coriander seeds, pepper add to the pan and reduce heat. It will not be superfluous to add a handful of pre-soaked pea chickpeas and washed raisins. Put a whole head of garlic.

Pour boiling water into the stewpan so that it completely covers the meat. Salt the broth and simmer over low heat under a closed lid for 1 hour. This we are preparing zirvak. So called the basis for pilaf, consisting of fried and stewed over low heat onions, carrots and meat with spices.

Rinse the rice until completely transparent in several waters. Lay rice in an even layer over the entire surface of the stewpan, without mixing with zirvak. Add boiling water to the stewpan so that it covers the rice by 1 centimeter. Cover, increase heat and allow to boil. Then reduce the heat to small and cook without a lid until the liquid is completely absorbed. Then close the stewpan with a lid and bring to readiness within 20-30 minutes.

Pilaf is ready. It remains to put it beautifully to the table. To do this, put a head of garlic and pieces of meat on a separate plate. Cut the meat into 2 cm slices.

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!

Mistresses often wonder, are looking for recipes, how to cook pilaf at home, experiment, practice to make it tasty, crumbly, it took a little time to cook. In our age of diversity and accessibility of food, household appliances, you can cook pilaf of any nationality or invent your own signature recipe for this dish.

How to cook pilaf

To cook a delicious pilaf, you need to choose the right variety of rice, meat, dishes. For example, Asian cooks claim that the best pilaf is one made from lamb, with fat tail fat, on an open fire, in a cauldron made of cast iron, and only a man should cook it. However, this does not mean that it is impossible to make a delicious pilaf from other ingredients at home. To date, there are many recipes that prove this.

What you need for pilaf

Classic real pilaf made from lamb. Often use the brisket, ribs, shoulder blade or back of the lamb. However, other types of meat can also be used as a meat component: pork, beef and even poultry, as is done in the East, in Central Asia. This food is of high nutritional value, so the meat variety directly affects the total calorie content.

According to the classical recipe, Uzbek pilaf is cooked on animal fat, for example, on melted lamb fat, and rarely on vegetable unrefined oils. The pronounced 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 spices. This is a kind of creative process, the combination of spices and spices completely determines the aroma. However, there is a basic set, which consists of barberry, hot pepper in a pod or ground. To make the dish fragrant, they often add zira, suneli hops, garlic, thyme, coriander. Saffron, which gives a characteristic golden color, is sometimes added to these spices.

In addition to meat and cereals, the composition includes vegetables, 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 put onions, a whole head of garlic, previously peeled from the husk. Adding dried fruits sets off the taste, in some recipes you can find dried apricots, prunes, raisins, figs. They are laid after frying meat and vegetables. Croup should be mentioned separately.

How to cook loose pilaf

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

Other varieties are softer, they can stick together at the time of cooking. If you decide to use one of the soft varieties of rice groats, then you need to get rid of starch as much as possible, this will make pilaf crumbly. To do this, rinse it, soak it in cold water, periodically changing the water. To diversify the taste, barley, wheat, corn and even peas can be used instead of rice.

Utensils for cooking pilaf

It is impossible to make the correct pilaf in the “wrong” dish. Traditionally, it is cooked in cast-iron dishes or an aluminum cauldron with a thick bottom. How to cook the correct pilaf without suitable dishes? In extreme cases, the cauldron can be replaced with a lingonberry or a pan with a thick bottom. Such dishes do not allow the grain to burn, it slowly languishes and cooks evenly, in contrast to enameled products, French frypots, wok pans.

Pilaf Recipes

The ideal recipe for pilaf 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, spices, dishes for cooking. Cooking books with a detailed description of recipes and the availability of photographs, relevant sites, which also often provide an extensive catalog of photos and cooking options, will be able to help. Over time, by 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.
Servings Per Container: 10 Persons.
Calorie content: 210 kcal per 100 g.
Cuisine: Uzbek.

Pilaf is considered a traditional dish of Uzbek cuisine. To create an Uzbek or Samarkand pilaw, lamb is used. Oriental people are famous for their hospitality, and the key is table decoration. This dish is perfect for a feast. The composition includes a large amount of vegetable oil, so it is of great nutritional value. You can decorate the dish with spices (barberry, garlic), then your pilaf will not differ from 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 rice in several waters, wash lamb thoroughly.
Peel the onions and carrots. Cut one onion into thin half rings, and carrot into finger-thick bars. Peel the garlic from the top husk without dividing into slices.
Heat the cauldron, then pour in the oil. When the oil is hot, put the whole peeled onion in the cauldron and fry it until it turns black, then pull it out - it will no longer be needed.
After prepare zirvak (base). To do this, fry the onion, then add the meat to it, fry until a characteristic crust appears.
Put the carrots, fry without stirring for three minutes, then mix everything, cook another 10 minutes.
Rub with a finger or stupa with a pestle the zira and coriander, add to the zirvak, then season with barberry, add salt to taste.
Reduce heat and cook until carrots are tender.
Pour boiling water with a layer of 2 cm, put hot pepper, reduce heat and simmer zirvak for an hour.
Drain the water from the cereal, put it in an even layer on the zirvak, then pour boiling water through the slotted spoon so that it covers the rice.
After the water is absorbed, plant the garlic in the rice heads, cook until the rice is cooked.
Turn off the stove, cover with a flat plate, and cover with a lid on top, let it brew for about 30 minutes.

Azerbaijani pilaf

Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes + 2 hours.
Servings Per Container: 6 Persons.
Calorie content: 280 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Azerbaijani.
The complexity of the preparation: difficult.

The recipe and technology is significantly different from the preparation of Uzbek pilaf. Groats for this dish are prepared separately from vegetables, spices, in a separate bowl. The base can be the most diverse, for example, lamb, poultry, game, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits and even milk. Dried fruits, fruits, 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, leave for about 2 hours.
Cut the lamb into pieces weighing about 50 g. Boil in salted water, at the time of boiling, remove the resulting foam.
Rinse dried fruits under running water, then pour boiling water for 10 minutes. Make a cross-shaped incision on each chestnut. Blanch for 5 minutes. Discard in a colander, under a stream of cool water, remove the skin. Throw the peeled chestnuts into fresh water and cook for 7 minutes. over low heat.
Peel the onions, cut into strips.
Heat the pan, melt half the available butter. Pour onion, passer until golden hue. Drain the dried fruits, add them to the pan, then put the meat. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the liquid evaporates quickly, add boiling water if necessary.
Drain the rice bowl, boil in fresh slightly salted water, do not digest. Throw it in a colander.
In a separate container, mix 5 tbsp. l boiled long rice with chicken egg, add a little turmeric.
Melt butter in a separate bowl (leave a small slice of about 5 g), salt and turmeric using a microwave or water bath.
Grease a cauldron or a thick-bottomed pan with the remaining butter, put the egg-rice mixture on the bottom. After the layer, lay out the rice groats, soak each layer with melted butter and spices.
Create a small press using a plate, cover and simmer over low heat.

Tajik

Cooking time: 2 hours.
Servings Per Container: 6 Persons.
Calorie content: 230 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Tajik.

The difference between the Tajik pilaw lies in a special variety - devzira. This is one of the simple recipes for cooking a spicy dish. Of the spices used only zira (cumin). A pilaf of Tajik cuisine is traditionally prepared from lamb, mainly from the lamb fillet. Such a simple, but very satisfying dish will provide a good charge 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, chop the onion into rings, and the carrots in large strips.
Soak the cereal in cold water for half an hour. Rinse the mutton and cut into arbitrary pieces.
Chop the cooking container, pour in the vegetable oil and fry the onion, then add the meat to the onion. When the meat is gilded from all sides, add carrots, fry until tender.
Pour half a liter of boiled water into the frying pan, season well with salt, stick the garlic and bring to a boil.
Remove the garlic and sprinkle pre-strained rice. Distribute and check evenly so that the liquid slightly covers it. Simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
After 10-15 minutes, re-insert the garlic and season with zira. Cover the pan and simmer another 20 minutes. over low heat.

Lamb

Cooking time: 2 hours.
Servings Per Container: 20 Persons.
Calorie content: 145 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Caucasian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

A simple lamb pilaf without the addition of specific spices, vegetables and dried fruits is quick to prepare, while taste and high nutritional value are not lost. Lamb is fatty meat, therefore, while cooking, you need to control the amount of other source of fat, otherwise one portion will be able to exceed the daily norm of this nutrient for an 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 the cauldron, pour in the sunflower oil, fry the lamb over high heat.
Peel the vegetables, chop the onions in half rings, carrots with straws or sticks.
Send 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 red ground pepper and deepen the peeled garlic heads in the center.
Rinse the grain and evenly distribute on top of the fry.
Pour the dish with hot water so that the level is about 1 cm higher than the ground.
Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

From chicken

Servings Per Container: 12 Persons.
Calorie content: 165 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

In the wake of good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, chicken has become one of the most popular diet foods. You can reduce calorie content and balance the BZHU with the help of the “right” cereal and chicken meat. An easy recipe for pilaf from chicken will provide you and your family with a healthy and nutritious dish that can be safely consumed for both lunch and dinner.

Ingredients:

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

Cooking method:

Chop the cauldron, pour in all the sunflower oil and warm it well.
Throw the chicken pieces into the cauldron in portions, fry evenly on all sides, then take out the finished pieces and throw the raw ones.
In the oil from the meat, fry the onions, then add carrots and chicken to it, fry not medium heat, stirring constantly.
Pour the mixture with hot water so that the level is about 1 cm higher than the ground, add peeled garlic cloves and ground pepper, boil for 10 minutes.
Pour a spoonful of salt and lay out the washed cereal.
Pour the whole mixture with boiling water 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

Servings Per Container: 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 to eat in the morning. The dish is cooked in a slow cooker or pan 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, put chopped carrots and raisins.
Grind prunes, dried apricots and figs, put on top of raisins and sprinkle with turmeric.
Pour in water with a small amount of dissolved salt.
Turn on the slow cooker in Pilaf mode for 30-60 minutes. The speed of cooking will depend on the variety of cereal.

Pork

Cooking time: 1.5-2 hours.
Servings Per Container: 4 Persons.
Calorie content: 205 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Uzbek.
The complexity of the preparation: medium.

Uzbek dishes often use pork. This is a variety 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. A pilaf with pork is better to eat at lunchtime, and for dinner - limit yourself to a light salad.

Ingredients:

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

Cooking method:

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

How to cook pilaf without meat

Cooking time: 30-60 minutes.
Servings Per Container: 10 Persons.
Calorie content: 63 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Many people wonder how you can cook pilaf without meat. Such recipes can be attributed to vegetarian dishes, they are prepared during the fasting period and people who adhere to a low-calorie diet. Low-fat pilaf can be given to children. Vegetables that are uncharacteristic for pilaf, such as tomatoes, bell peppers, etc., are placed in rice grains, so simple rice with vegetables is hidden under the prefix “without meat”. The time it takes to cook pilaf depends on the dishes and rice variety.

Ingredients:

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

Cooking method:

Peel the vegetables, chop the onion finely, chop the carrots or grate.
In a deep frying pan, heat the oil and pass the vegetables.
When the vegetables are significantly reduced in volume, add the cereal and lightly fry.
Pour the mixture with water, add salt, garlic, a mixture of peppers to taste.
Simmer under the lid until cereal is cooked.

How to cook pilaf with long grain rice

Cooking time: 60 minutes.
Servings Per Container: 4 Persons.
Calorie content: 150 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

During cooking, the croup should not lose its shape. There are special varieties for this, for example, long-grain steamed rice. The grain has an elongated 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 special preparatory processes.

Ingredients:

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

Cooking method:

Peel the vegetables, rinse the grits, and drop them into a colander.
Heat a cauldron and pour vegetable oil into it.
Next, you need to cut vegetables and chicken into portions.
First, fry the meat, remove it, then pass the vegetables.
Return the chicken to the prepared vegetables, put the rice, cover it with water or broth and let the mixture boil.
Reduce the heat, cover the cauldron and simmer until cooked.

Video

Rice

This is the main stumbling block for all culinary experts who have ever cooked pilaf. Nevertheless, almost all of them agree that the best is devzira rice, as well as other Uzbek and Tajik varieties.

You can try to cook pilaf with other types of rice, but preferably not too starchy. And in any case, the rice must be thoroughly rinsed before laying (until the water is clear). This will wash away the starch dust and prevent the pilaf from sticking together. Chefs are also advised to soak it in cold water for an hour or more.

By the way, instead of pilaf, you can use wheat, chickpeas, corn and mung bean. But this is a slightly different story.

Meat

Lamb is traditionally used for pilaf, but beef is also suitable. You can use pork, although Muslim cooks are unlikely to forgive you for this. The chicken option is also possible, but it already has little in common with the classic Uzbek pilaf.

It is better to choose the meat of adult animals: it gives the necessary rich taste.

The meat must be cut into sufficiently large pieces, about 5 × 5 cm or a little more. You can fry the meat with large, non-proportional pieces and grind it immediately before serving. It is believed that the larger the piece, the juicier the finished meat will be.

Vegetables

In pilaf there are two main vegetables: onions and carrots. Onions can be used. Carrots are more difficult: in Central Asia, pilaf is often cooked with yellow carrots, but in its absence, the usual orange is also suitable.

The main rule is not to grind. Onions are cut into rings or half rings, carrots are cut into large sticks about 5 mm thick. If finely chopped vegetables and meat, then it will not be pilaf, but rice porridge.

Oil

For the preparation of pilaf, either odorless vegetable oil, or animal fat (fat tail fat), or both species together are used. At home, it is easiest to use refined sunflower oil.

No need to skimp: pilaf is a fatty dish. On average, about 200–250 ml of oil is consumed per 1 kg of rice.

Spice

Here the space for the experiment is impressive. Nevertheless, more or less traditional seasonings can be distinguished:

garlic (slightly peeled and laid with whole heads);
hot red pepper (laid with a whole pod);
zira;
barberry;
ground black or red pepper.

You can also add thyme, coriander, suneli hops, saffron or other spices to your pilaf to your taste. The easiest way is to use a ready-made seasoning mixture.

Other ingredients

In addition to the components listed above, often pre-soaked chickpeas and dried fruits are often added to pilaf.

Which dishes to choose

Cauldron, cauldron and cauldron again. With thick walls. In it, the meat does not stick, and the rice is cooked evenly and remains crumbly. It is best to use a cast-iron cauldron (especially if you are cooking pilaf at the stake), but aluminum is also suitable.

A good substitute for a cauldron can be a duckweed. But the pan, deep frying pan, wok and other kitchen utensils will not give the desired effect, no matter how you like it.

The basic principle of pilaf is this: first zirvak is cooked (these are meat and vegetables fried in oil with spices and broth), and then rice is poured on top.

The standard proportion for pilaf is equal parts of rice, meat and carrots. The number of onions can vary, but be at least 1-2 heads. The same goes for garlic.

Heat the cauldron and pour the oil into it. It should warm up well so that in the future the ingredients can quickly brown.

Next onion or meat is fried. If you cook pilaf with a lot of onions, you can first fry the meat. Put it in a cauldron gradually, so as not to bring down the temperature, and do not turn it over immediately - otherwise it may begin to secrete juice.

Fry the onion until golden brown so that the finished broth gives color to the rice.

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When the meat and onions are fried, carrots are laid. It is fried for several minutes until softened.

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Then all the ingredients are poured with hot water. It should cover the meat 1-2 cm. Next, put the garlic, pod of red pepper, spices and other ingredients. Everything is salted to taste (or a little more salt is added than you like: rice will absorb it) and cooked over moderate heat for at least 40 minutes until the meat is softened.

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After the zirvak is prepared, rice is laid. Make it better with a slotted spoon to distribute the rice evenly. From above it can be flavored with a pair of a pinch of zira - for flavor.

Rice is heated in the broth (if necessary, add more hot water through a slotted spoon so that it slightly covers the dish) and stewed open until the water is completely absorbed (about 20 minutes). Then the fire is turned off (if pilaf is being cooked at the stake, then by this moment the wood should simply smolder), the cauldron is covered and the rice is left to steam for about 15–20 minutes.
After laying the rice, the cauldron immediately closes with a lid and the contents are stewed for about half an hour at minimum heat, and then about 10 minutes more comes without fire.

When the fire is off, wrap a towel over the lid: it will absorb condensation and will not allow it to get into the dish.

Garlic and pepper are taken out of the prepared pilaf. If large pieces of meat were used for cooking, then they are also taken out, cut and laid on top of the mixed pilaf. If you used small pieces, you can mix the pilaf with them.

Pilaf is traditionally served on a large plate, and on top it is decorated with a head of garlic. This dish is best combined with fresh vegetables.

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Do you know other secrets of cooking pilaf? Share them in the comments.