Cook pilaf crumbly recipe. How to cook crumbly pilaf? Crispy pork pilaf

We mix rice with whatever we cook pilaf. Every housewife has her own favorite recipe. But, of course, any housewife should know that pilaf will be truly tasty if it turns out crumbly.

It is then that the pilaf will be pilaf, and not rice porridge, seasoned with vegetables and spices. How to prepare crumbly pilaf? There is nothing complicated about it, you just need to know the little secrets.

What to make pilaf from?

The most important components of traditional pilaf are meat, rice, onions and carrots. You can use any refined oil for frying meat and vegetables. Uzbeks, and they are the creators of pilaf, overcook meat and vegetables exclusively in lamb fat. But lamb fat has a smell that not everyone likes, so you can get by with our usual sunflower oil.

The spices that are used in the preparation of traditional pilaf include khmeli-suneli seasoning, barberry, ground pepper, garlic and salt, of course.

Any rice you have in your kitchen is suitable for preparing pilaf. But if you run out of rice, then it is better to buy steamed durum rice. It is this rice that absorbs the broth well, and therefore turns out crumbly and with a rich taste.

Recipe for making crumbly pilaf

First we prepare the base for pilaf from meat, carrots and onions.

• Take half as many carrots as meat. Carrots are cut into long thin slices. If you want to speed up the chopping process, take a large Korean salad grater and chop the carrots with it. The carrots should not be finely grated because they should retain their shape at the end of cooking.

• Add vegetable oil or fat to a thick-walled frying pan or roasting pan. Its quantity should be sufficient, do not skimp, pilaf should not be dry. Then add the meat and fry it over high heat until golden brown. At this stage of preparing pilaf, it is better not to leave the frying pan at all, since burnt meat will give the pilaf a bitter taste and a not very tasty aroma.
• Once the meat is well browned, reduce the heat slightly and add the onion. As soon as the onion becomes soft, add the carrots. When the carrots become limp, make sure they do not break when stirring.
• We complete the preparation of the pilaf base by adding spices. Be sure to add salt, black pepper, you can add the Khmeli-Suneli mixture, you can add barberry, and also garlic. Fans of spicy dishes can add a little hot ground pepper to the pilaf. Then add tomato paste or finely chopped fresh tomatoes.

• After adding spices, mix everything well. Then pour water into the frying pan so that the water covers all the products 1 centimeter from their level. Cover the pan tightly with a lid and simmer over low heat for half an hour.

It's time to add rice.

Secrets of making fluffy rice

• Any rice can be made crumbly. It's just that steamed rice absorbs the broth better.

• Be sure to wash the rice in clean water up to 8 times.

• Then fill it with cold water. This can be done before preparing the pilaf base to give the rice time to soak up water.

• Place the rice in the pan using a slotted spoon to drain off excess water.

• Now remember, in order to prepare crumbly rice, and, therefore, crumbly pilaf, the rice should not be boiled in water, but should be steamed.

• To do this, turn the heat to minimum under the frying pan and lay out the rice in a heap. Using a wooden stick, make several holes in the slide to allow steam to rise more easily. And close the pan tightly with a lid.

• When the rice is completely cooked, turn off the heat, but do not remove the lid, leave the pilaf, as they say, “to finish”, for 10 minutes.

During this time, you can set the table or prepare fresh onions marinated in vinegar, which go so well with pilaf.

When you lift the lid, you will see real crumbly pilaf. Onions should not stand out from the overall dish, but carrots, on the contrary, should be noticeable. Large pieces of meat can now be cut into smaller pieces. Cut it if you want, or you don't have to. After all, it’s the big piece that makes your mouth happy. But most importantly, you must cook the rice fluffy. It should acquire a golden color, a unique aroma and taste.

Now you know how to prepare crumbly pilaf. If you have all the necessary products at home, today you can please yourself and your family with this Uzbek dish, which has taken root so well among us.

Perhaps professional chefs will make a few comments, but this version of pilaf is also very tasty, and it is also prepared at home.

Ingredients

• pork or lamb – 500 g;
• onion – 2 heads;
• carrots – 1 large;
• garlic – 1 head;
• vegetable oil – 100 ml;
• salt, pepper;
• seasoning.

Preparation:

• In order to prepare crumbly pilaf at home, wash the rice with special care in running water, as stated in the recipe. Pour boiling water and close the lid.

• We wash the meat and cut it into small pieces, put it in a frying pan with a non-stick coating. Fry the meat without oil until golden brown.

• Add onion, cut into half rings, salt and pepper to the meat, mix everything and continue frying.

• Place the garlic, cut into slices, into the frying pan. A few cloves of garlic can be left to add to the pilaf at the end of cooking.

• Fill the contents of the frying pan with boiling water so that the water covers the meat, simmer until cooked.

• Then, add rice, vegetable oil and carrots, grated on a coarse grater.

• Add a little more salt and add turmeric seasoning to give the crumbly pilaf a yellowish color.

• Add the bay leaf, the remaining garlic and simmer the homemade pilaf until cooked under the lid for 10-15 minutes, as follows from the step-by-step recipe with photos.

Uzbek pilaf

A special type of pilaf, the pride of Uzbek cuisine, is as tasty as it is not entirely healthy for frequent consumption.

Ingredients:

• beef (best option: back, neck or shoulder fillet) – 500 g;
• special rice for pilaf – 2 tbsp.;
• onion – 2 heads;
• carrots – 3 pcs.;
• vegetable oil – 150 ml;
• garlic – 1 head;
• seasoning for pilaf;
• salt, pepper

Preparation:

• Starting to prepare crumbly pilaf at home, wash the meat and cut into medium pieces with sides of approximately 3 cm, as in the recipe with the photo.

• Prepare the vegetables, cut the onion into half rings, carrots into large strips.

• We wash the rice thoroughly; if you do not have steamed rice, then regular rice should be washed in several changes of water.

• To prepare delicious real pilaf, it matters what it is cooked in; Uzbek pilaf can only be prepared. Pour oil into it and heat it up as much as possible. Place the prepared onion in hot oil, fry for a couple of minutes and add pieces of meat.

• Fry the meat for about 20 minutes, reducing the heat slightly. Then add carrots, salt, pepper and spices to the meat and onions and continue frying for another 10 minutes.

• During this time, prepare a sufficient amount of boiling water and pour it over the meat and vegetables. The water should completely cover them.

• Close the cauldron with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes, at a low boil.

• Add the washed rice and spread it evenly in the cauldron without stirring. The liquid should rise 2 cm above the rice.

• When all the liquid has been absorbed into the rice, place a thoroughly washed head of garlic in the center of the cauldron with the pilaf being prepared.

• Close the lid and cook the crumbly pilaf until ready for another 30 minutes. After the home-cooked pilaf is ready, serve it to the table.

Pilaf in Tajik style

The preparation of pilaf in each national cuisine has its own characteristics, which also affects the taste. Tajik pilaf does not contain many spices, only cumin and ground black pepper or peppercorns. In addition, when preparing pilaf according to the Tajik version, all the main ingredients are taken in equal quantities.

Ingredients:

• lamb – 500 g;
• rice – 500 g;
• carrots – 500 g;
• onion – 2 heads;
• salt, pepper;
• zira – a pinch;
• vegetable oil – 3 – 4 tbsp. l or to taste;
• garlic - 2 heads.

Preparation:

• If we use non-special rice to prepare crumbly pilaf at home, we rinse it thoroughly and fill it completely with water. Before adding rice to meat and vegetables, rinse it a couple more times.

• Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and add the pre-chopped onion.
• As soon as the onion takes on a golden hue, add the meat, do not reduce the heat and stir until the meat is fried on the bottom.

• Then mix everything, add carrots, cut into large strips, salt and pepper.
• Fry everything with the carrots for another 7-10 minutes, put the washed whole head of garlic in the middle of the contents of the frying pan.

• Pour boiling water over everything so that it covers the meat and vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the meat is cooked.

• Then remove the garlic, spread the rice evenly, cover with a lid, and simmer for 15 minutes. Insert the next washed head of garlic into the crumbly pilaf, sprinkle everything with cumin.

• We continue to simmer the pilaf, which we prepare at home, under the lid, for about 15 minutes, as stated in the step-by-step recipe with photos.

Let the prepared dish brew, covered, and serve.

Samarkand pilaf

Also, crumbly pilaf can be prepared according to the recipe of Samarkand cuisine, as some kind of general Uzbek cuisine.

Ingredients:

• lamb on the bone – 1 kg;
• rice - 4 tbsp.;
• fat tail fat – 100 g;
• onion – 800 g;
• carrots – 800 g;
• garlic – 2 heads;
• vegetable oil – 150 g;
• salt.

Spices:

• cumin;
• barberry;
• ground black pepper;
• bay leaf.

Preparation:

• We begin preparing crumbly pilaf at home by washing and soaking the rice, as we have already described in step-by-step recipes with photos.
• Finely chop the fat tail fat and place it in a cauldron, simmer until cracklings form. While the fat is melting, prepare the meat, wash it, trim off excess flesh, and cut it into pieces.

• Remove the cracklings from the cauldron and pour in vegetable oil. Place the prepared meat into the oil, which is hot until it smokes blue, and fry until brown crusts form on all sides.

• Cut the onion into large half rings, add it to the meat, fry everything together until the onion is transparent.

• Pour two glasses of boiling water, add salt and pepper, cover with a lid and prepare “zirvak”, covering with a lid and reducing the heat.

• By the time the meat is ready, the water should have evaporated completely.
• Add carrots, cut into large strips, increase the heat to maximum.

• Lightly fry everything, add cumin and barberry, insert two whole heads of prepared and washed garlic.

• Fill with boiled water again so that it covers all the products. Simmer the carrots for 15 minutes, place the rice on top of the carrot layer.

• Pour boiling water again, which covers the rice by 1.5-2 cm.

• We turn up the heat and evaporate the water again, after which we collect the rice in a slide toward the center, making several holes to the bottom with a wooden stick.

Pilaf with chicken

A selection of pilaf recipes would not be complete without this popularly favorite option for preparing pilaf with chicken.

Ingredients:

• chicken – 1/2 pcs.;
• rice - 3 tbsp.;
• carrots – 3 pcs.;
• onion – 2 heads;
• garlic – 2 heads;
• vegetable oil for frying;
• seasoning for pilaf with chicken;
• salt, ground black pepper.

Preparation:

• Wash and soak the rice. We cut half the carcass into small pieces; you can, if desired, free the meat from the bones.

• In a cauldron or deep frying pan, heat the vegetable oil with garlic, then remove the garlic. Place the prepared chicken pieces into hot aromatic oil and fry until golden brown.

• At this stage, you can add salt, pepper and onion, cut into half rings.
• Mix everything and fry over high heat for three minutes, then add carrots, cut into large strips and all the spices, mix.

• Fry all the products for another 10 minutes and add the washed rice, distributing it evenly over the surface. Insert one or two heads of onion cut from the bottom into the pilaf.

• Pour boiling water until it rises slightly above the rice. Reduce heat and simmer until done, controlling the amount of water. It should be quickly absorbed into the rice, and the remaining small amount is needed for further cooking.

If the rice and meat are already ready, but the water has not evaporated yet, simply turn up the heat. Otherwise, when the meat and rice are not yet ready, and the water has already evaporated, add a very small amount of boiling water.

Let the crumbly pilaf, prepared at home, brew, covered, and serve.

Pilaf in a slow cooker

Crumbly and very tasty pilaf can also be prepared, and with a guaranteed result of obtaining the desired properties of this dish.

Ingredients:

• beef – 400 g;
• rice – 400 g;
• onion – 3 heads;
• carrots – 3 pcs.;
• seasoning for pilaf or dry spices - to taste;
• garlic – 1 pc.;
• sunflower oil – 4 tbsp. l;
• salt, pepper

Preparation:

• Prepare the beef as usual, wash it and cut it into small pieces.
• Traditionally, for pilaf, we chop vegetables and place all prepared products in the multicooker bowl.

• Add vegetable oil, mix everything and close the lid. Set the “Bake” function for 15 minutes.

• Open the lid, add salt, prepared spices and those that you personally like, mix. Insert the garlic cut from the bottom.

• We lay out the pre-prepared rice, washed and soaked, without stirring.

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Pilaf is not just a dish. This is a philosophy that every nation has its own. Therefore, despite the commonality of ingredients, Uzbek pilaf differs from Tajik, and it can also be prepared in Azerbaijani, Bukhara, it can be with poultry, meat and even dried fruits. We will tell you how to prepare pilaf according to all the rules, as well as adapt ancient national recipes for cooking under the conditions and using products of traditional Russian cuisine.

You should start with this type of pilaf, since it can be considered a classic example, and is also extremely common both in any cafes with an Uzbek bias, and in Russian kitchens in general.

So, Uzbek pilaf (it is also often called Fergana pilaf) is prepared in such a way that the rice turns out crumbly, and rice does not stick to rice. How to achieve this?

As the famous culinary expert and expert on national cuisine Stalik Khadzhiev assures, the volume of products is calculated based on the availability of rice.

Although an experienced cook usually does everything by eye, there is an exact recipe for Fergana pilaf:

• 1 kg rice;
• 350 g unsalted lard;
• 800 g meat;
• 800 g carrots;
• 150 g onions.

Important! If you want to cook real, even authentic Fergana pilaf, then look for yellow carrots, which you combine with a regular orange vegetable in a ratio of one to three. It roasts beautifully and looks good in the finished dish. If there are no yellow ones, then take the entire volume of regular carrots.

This pilaf is prepared in a cauldron, but in your home kitchen you can use a thick-walled cast iron pan. A duck dish will also do.

Preparation:

1. Melt lard in a thick-walled cast-iron pan or cauldron over low heat.
2. Heat it well and put in a couple of pieces of chopped meat. (For Uzbek pilaf it is cut into small pieces so that it fits in the mouth for one bite).
3. After a minute, these pieces will fry well in hot oil, imparting the aroma of meat to the fat. Now they need to be taken out for now.
4. Next, add the onion, cut into half rings, into the fat and fry over high heat until the water evaporates. After this, add the rest of the meat, add salt and lay out some of the carrots cut into cubes - first yellow. Salt it too and sprinkle with cumin (cumin is a mandatory ingredient in Uzbek pilaf).
5. As soon as the carrots begin to fry, add the rest of them and mix everything. Let it fry a little. Next add the remaining vegetables and spices. In general, everything except rice, including those pieces of meat that were fried first.
6. Salt again, add a small pod of hot pepper, and also add a teaspoon of barberry, it will add the necessary sourness.
7. Carefully pour hot boiled water along the edge of the cauldron or duckling pan, covering the meat and vegetables with it. Then, cover with a lid, leave for 40 minutes on the lowest heat.
8. While zirvak is preparing (this is the name of this seasoning for rice, it is the same for all kitchens where pilaf is prepared), wash the rice. It is better to do this under running water to wash off the flour. If you don't wash it off, you won't get crumbly pilaf.
9. Place clean rice in a zirvak with a slotted spoon, add salt at the rate of 1 tbsp. a level spoonful of salt per kilogram of rice.
10. Place a washed whole head of garlic in the rice.
11. Pour boiling water so that the water covers the rice on your finger.
12. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pan with a lid and wait for the water to evaporate. When the rice is almost ready, turn off the heat, cover the pan or cauldron with a warm towel or blanket and leave for another hour.
13. Open the lid, place in an Uzbek flat plate, place a salad of thinly sliced ​​tomatoes with onions next to it and enjoy!

Crumbly pilaf in a cauldron

In principle, the previous recipe is also suitable for a cauldron. All components of the dish are taken in the same proportions and prepared in the same sequence. The only difference is that the almost finished pilaf is covered with a lid, and after that the fire under the cauldron is completely extinguished. But the cauldron remains lying on the bricks of the oven; the bricks give off their heat to the rice layer, bringing it to condition. The lid of the cauldron is covered with a blanket and therefore itself is an additional source of heat. In this form, the pilaf arrives and turns out well stewed - almost as if you were cooking it in a Russian oven.

In Azerbaijani

The difference between Azerbaijani pilaf and Uzbek pilaf is that the meat in it is cooked separately from the rice, and a special flatbread called gazmakh is used to prepare the rice part.

Here's how pilaf is prepared in Azerbaijan:

1. Select products - 700 g of lamb, 200 g of pumpkin, five onions, 100 g of ghee, half a pomegranate, half a glass of raisins, a little water, turmeric and salt to taste. You also need to take an egg and 220 g of flour for the flatbread dough.
2. We deliberately do not indicate the dosage of rice - it is cooked separately, so you can take it at your own discretion. We wash it under running water or changing the water several times. Place in salted boiling water and cook until almost done. After that, fold it back and rinse with cold water.
3. We make gazmah: add an egg and very cold water to the flour, knead a very stiff dough. Roll it out into a thin cake.
4. We spread the cake along the walls and bottom of the cauldron.
5. Place half of the rice on the flatbread.
6. Tint the second part of the rice yellow, mixing it with turmeric diluted in a spoonful of ghee and a teaspoon of boiling water (take a pinch of turmeric).
7. Pour melted butter over the first part of the rice, place yellow rice on top, cover the cauldron with a lid and simmer a little more on low heat until cooked.
8. Meanwhile, in a thick-walled saucepan or frying pan, fry the pieces of lamb in oil or own fat. Once browned, add finely chopped pumpkin and onion, pour in pomegranate juice, add raisins, mix everything, add salt and, after pouring in half a glass of boiling water, keep for half an hour covered over low heat.
9. When all parts of the pilaf are ready, place rice on a large round dish, meat and vegetables on top of it, decorate everything with pomegranate seeds and immediately place the gazmah - break the flatbread with your hands.

If you're wary of unconventional flavors, you can skip the pumpkin.

Tajik pilaf with lamb

The main ingredients in this pilaf are traditional: rice, onions and carrots. But the meat is only lamb. In addition, Tajik pilaf is prepared from special rice - this red grain is called devzira, it is the best and highest quality of all “pilaf” types. However, you can also make quite good Tajik pilaf from ordinary Krasnodar short-grain rice.

The peculiarity of the preparation is that first, onion (2 heads) cut into half rings is fried in vegetable oil, achieving deep frying, then meat (600 g) is added. It is also fried to a noticeable crust. After this, add carrots in sticks (600 g), fry again and then pour in half a liter of boiling water. The meat should be half-cooked, then add rice (600g) soaked in salted water and pour boiling water over it so that the water slightly covers the surface. Spices - cumin and garlic. Under the lid, the pilaf is cooked for another half hour.

How to cook pilaf - basic recipe with pork

If there is no cauldron on an open fire, lamb and barberry, this does not mean that you will not get delicious pilaf for dinner. The basic recipe that always turns out is pork pilaf. It is prepared quickly and simply; it requires 400 g of meat in pieces, a couple of large onions and carrots, 2 cups of rice and five glasses of water. And also salt, bay leaf, a few cloves of garlic, a pinch of cumin and a few peas of allspice.

You need to take enough vegetable oil to fry the meat. After quickly frying the pieces, add the onion. Reducing the heat slightly, fry it and add the carrots. After frying the carrots a little, pour in a glass of water and simmer for about ten minutes under the lid. Put some spices and salt. The broth should be slightly salted - later the rice will absorb the salt. Next is washed rice. Fill it with water through a slotted spoon at the rate of twice as many glasses of water for 2 cups of rice. Bring to a vigorous boil, add the garlic cloves, reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer under the lid for 40 minutes. Then turn off the heat and wait the same amount of time for the rice to cook.

How to properly cook pilaf with chicken?

In the same way, you can use chicken instead of pork. You can cook chicken pilaf even faster, because it takes very little time to stew the meat and vegetables. You need to fry medium pieces of chicken in oil and add salt. Separately, fry finely chopped onion and a little garlic, add grated carrots, simmer for a little while and add to the meat. Sprinkle washed rice, bay leaves, peppercorns on top, salt thoroughly again and pour boiling water over it. Cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes until the rice is soft. If necessary, you can add boiling water.

Multicooker recipe

Pilaf in a multicooker is the signature dish of many; usually the multicooker even has a separate program for preparing pilaf, and therefore the time is predetermined by the microprocessor.

The recipe below is for 4 servings:

1. Cut 250 g of any meat into small pieces, chop 1 carrot into bars, and chop an onion into cubes;
2. Pour steam into the open multicooker. spoons of vegetable oil, set the frying program with a time of 25 minutes;
3. When the oil heats up, add the meat one piece at a time. There is no need to put everything in at once, otherwise it will not fry, but will be stewed;
4. After 10 minutes, add carrots and onions;
5. When the frying is over, add salt, pilaf spices, a couple of cloves of garlic, and place washed rice on top;
6. Pour about half a liter of boiling water (the water should cover the rice a little, one and a half to two cm);
7. Set up the program “Pilaf”;
8. When the task is completed, open the lid, stick in a couple of fresh cloves of garlic, pierce the rice to the bottom with a wooden stick and leave the pilaf to cook for another twenty minutes in the heating program.

With added dried fruits

In a slow cooker you can perfectly make vegetarian pilaf without meat, as well as a sweet dish with dried fruits. Instead of meat, you need to put only vegetables or dried apricots with raisins, and reduce the frying time to 5 minutes.

Rice

This is the main stumbling block of all cooks who have ever prepared pilaf. However, almost all of them agree that the best is devzira rice, as well as other Uzbek and Tajik varieties.

You can try cooking pilaf with other types of rice, but preferably not too starchy. And in any case, the rice must be rinsed well before loading (until the water runs clear). This will wash away starch dust and prevent the pilaf from sticking together. Chefs also advise soaking it in cold water for an hour or more.

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

Meat

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

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

The meat needs to be cut into fairly large pieces, approximately 5 × 5 cm or a little larger. You can fry the meat in large, non-portioned pieces and chop it just before serving. It is believed that the larger the piece, the juicier the finished meat will be.

Vegetables

There are two main vegetables in pilaf: onions and carrots. Onions can be used. It’s more difficult with carrots: in Central Asia, pilaf is often prepared with yellow carrots, but in its absence, regular orange ones will do.

The main rule is not to be shallow. The onion is cut into rings or half rings, the carrots into large cubes approximately 5 mm thick. If you finely chop vegetables and meat, you will no longer get pilaf, but rice porridge.

Oil

To prepare pilaf, either odorless vegetable oil, or animal lard (tail fat), or both types together are used. At home, the easiest way is to use refined sunflower oil.

There is no need to skimp: pilaf is a fatty dish. On average, 1 kg of rice requires about 200–250 ml of oil.

Spices

There is ample room for experimentation here. And yet we can distinguish more or less traditional seasonings:

• garlic (slightly peeled and put in whole heads);
• hot red pepper (put in whole pod);
• cumin;
• barberry;
• ground black or red pepper.

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

Other Ingredients

In addition to the ingredients listed above, 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 cooks evenly and remains crumbly. It is best to use a cast iron cauldron (especially if you are cooking pilaf over a fire), but an aluminum one will also work.

A duck pot can be a good replacement for a cauldron. But a saucepan, deep frying pan, wok and other kitchen utensils will not give the desired effect, no matter how much you might want it.

The basic principle of pilaf is as follows: first, zirvak is prepared (this is 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 amount of onions may vary, but be at least 1-2 heads. It's the same with garlic.

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

Next, the onion or meat is fried. If you are preparing pilaf with a lot of onions, you can fry the meat first. Place it in the cauldron gradually so as not to reduce the temperature, and do not turn it over immediately - otherwise it may begin to release 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, add the carrots. It is fried for several minutes until softened.

Then all the ingredients are poured with hot water. It should cover the meat by 1–2 cm. Garlic, red pepper, spices and other ingredients are added next. Salt everything to taste (or add a little more salt than you like: the rice will absorb it) and cook over moderate heat for at least 40 minutes until the meat is softened.

After the zirvak is prepared, rice is added. It is better to do this with a slotted spoon to distribute the rice evenly. You can flavor it with a couple of pinches of cumin on top for flavor.

1. The rice is drowned in the broth (if necessary, add more hot water through a slotted spoon so that it slightly covers the dish) and simmer uncovered until the water is completely absorbed (about 20 minutes). Then the fire is turned off (if the pilaf is being cooked over a fire, then by this point the wood should just be smoldering), the cauldron is covered with a lid and the rice is left to steam for about 15–20 minutes.
2. After adding the rice, the cauldron is immediately closed with a lid and the contents are simmered for about half an hour on minimal heat, and then about another 10 minutes without fire.

When the heat is off, wrap the lid with a towel: it will absorb condensation and prevent it from getting into the dish.

Garlic and pepper are removed from the finished pilaf. If large pieces of meat were used for cooking, then take them out, cut them and place them 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 topped with a head of garlic. This dish is best paired with fresh vegetables.

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

Real pilaf is a combination of aromas, juicy meat, delicious vegetables. Complex dishes present a certain mystery in terms of the implementation of recipes, but at the same time they give cooks many options for imagination.

The ability to cook traditional pilaf with different types of meat will help surprise even the most demanding and picky guests.

How to cook pilaf

There is no single recipe for the right pilaf: even in Uzbekistan it is prepared from several types of meat and often different oils are used to fry the base. There are unbreakable rules, without which the perfect dish will not work.

Important! In real pilaf with meat, all components complement each other, but do not merge into porridge and are distinct in shape and consistency.

A traditional dish does not need to use expensive or difficult to obtain ingredients. Technology is the basis. And if you don’t follow its sequence, the dish will be far from ideal.

Here are 7 nuances that will help you prepare pilaf correctly:

• pilaf is cooked in a stove or on it using a duck pot, cauldron or other utensils with a thick bottom and walls that ensure uniform heating;
• the ideal cooking mode is in a fireproof container over an open fire;
• The starch content in rice provides its stickiness. Cooks choose different varieties, but they must be united by one condition in order for the pilaf to turn out crumbly - a minimum of starch and repeated washing of the grain until a clear liquid;
  
  
• oil should be chosen only without odor - olive oil is suitable only for non-traditional recipes;
• spices are the basis without which you cannot prepare a real dish;
• the name of the broth for pilaf in which meat and vegetables are cooked - zirvak (most often this is what these two components are called);
• The zirvak sets the aroma, taste and consistency of the pilaf; if it fails, the dish will turn into porridge.
  
  

An Uzbek dish is prepared from strict proportions of rice, meat and carrots. Reduce and increase the remaining components to taste.

Important! The recipe contains 1 part meat, 1 part rice and 1 part carrots.

In rare cases, pilaf is prepared using 0.8 parts of carrots. In this case, it must be cut into thin bars or cubes.

How long it takes to prepare a dish depends on the meat used and the method chosen. In the oven, baking pilaf will take an average of 40-60 minutes after frying the zirvak. Cook the food on the stove for 20 to 30 minutes. Cooking over fire is the fastest.


Cooked pilaf is served with vegetables and herbs. If this is a non-standard recipe, then you can use sauces. Classic Uzbek pilaf is not recommended to be seasoned with any additional sauces.

Ingredients

The main components of the oriental dish are meat, vegetable oil, carrots, rice and onions. Of the traditional herbs and spices, salt and cumin (cumin) are used in any recipe. But a set of spices for pilaf is real creativity.

You can come up with recipes yourself using combining ingredients, or buy store-bought seasonings “for pilaf”.


When choosing carrots, keep in mind that yellow ones have a sweeter taste: use approximately 30-40% yellow vegetables and 70-60% orange ones. However, this product may not be available in all markets. Try the vegetable before cooking; bitter carrots will ruin the taste of the dish.

Rice selection

Uzbek pilaf traditionally includes devzira rice (dev-zira). This product grows in the Fergana Valley - the “homeland” of the famous dish.


It contains little starch, absorbs a lot of liquids and oils, and is quite hard. However, even with a large amount of fat, the cereal remains crumbly. Instead of devzira, you can use arpa-sholi, koniligi, chungara, dastar-saryk.

Despite the huge number of varieties, many cooks find ordinary Krasnodar or Altai rice no less tasty and suitable for pilaf.

A common problem is that long grain rice remains dry. When cooked correctly, round boils well and does not stick together very much.

Also popular are varieties such as basmati or jasmine; rice “for risotto” or “for paella” is used a little less often.

Meat selection

Traditionally, pilaf is prepared from lamb, but you can use beef, pork, and various parts of chicken.

Advice! When using pork or lamb, fat tail fat is used instead of part of the oil. It gives the pilaf a classic flavor.

If you use beef, then take the meat from the hind leg or shoulder blade. Tenderloin has good flavor. The pork also has a very nice cut, but just as good comes from the neck and ribs with their thin cartilage.

From the lamb carcass, choose the ham or other meaty parts. Shoulder is a leaner meat, but it is also suitable for the given culinary tasks.

A little about spices

Seasonings are necessarily used in pilaf. Zira is amazing because it goes with any type of meat. Chicken, pork, and lamb acquire a spicy aroma and great taste with it.

Saffron, cumin and barberry are used with any type of meat. But not a single chef imposes a ban on the use of additional spices: amazing recipes emerge from experiments.


Remember that too much spice is not always good. Avoid more than 2-3 components of spices if you are preparing such a complex dish for the first time.

Classic pilaf recipe

The main thing that is meant by different options for preparing pilaf is the use of unique sets of spices and different types of meat. There are not many technologies on how to properly cook pilaf according to the classic recipe.

Technologies for preparing pilaf differ in the cutting of carrots and the time of adding onions (before or after meat).

At the same time, the first option is the least preferable: the dish turns out darker, and the onions almost always burn.

Crumbly pilaf with beef

To make pilaf delicious, you don’t have to prepare for the recipe to be very complicated. The main thing in preparing any oriental dish is moderation in spices. An accurate and simple recipe for delicious pilaf begins with the selection of ingredients:

• 1 kg beef;
• 900-1000 g of rice;
• 350-500 g carrots;
• 250-300 g of onion;
• 1 tbsp. sunflower oil;
• 2 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. turmeric, 1 tsp. salt;
• fresh garlic – 2-3 heads;
• barberry - 1 tbsp. l. optional.

Preparation begins with washing the meat, rice and vegetables. First, wash the starch from the cereal and soak it in warm water for 20-40 minutes. Then wipe the vegetables dry, removing the husks.

The meat is cut into large cubes, the onion is chopped into half rings, the carrots are chopped into cubes or cubes.


Peel the garlic from the top peel and cut off about a quarter. The technology for preparing pilaf in this recipe is as follows:

• heat vegetable oil in a cauldron;
• lay out the dried pieces of beef, fry for 5-7 minutes until golden brown;
  
  
• add onion and fry for another 3-4 minutes until it turns golden;
  
  
• add carrots, reduce heat to medium;
• when the vegetables become soft, add boiling water so that it barely covers the carrots;
• add garlic and prepared spices, reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the beef is soft;
  
• The order of adding the components is completed by rice, it is distributed over the zirvak with a spatula without stirring;
  
  
• pour hot water 2 cm above the cereal, bring to a boil over medium heat and evaporate the liquid;
• when there is no water left, the rice is heaped, the cauldron is covered and left to simmer for another 20 minutes.
  
  

After turning off the stove, let the dish sit for 15-25 minutes.

Friable pilaf with chicken

When using pilaf in a chicken recipe, you can deviate a little from the choice of usual ingredients. This dish cooks faster and turns out very tender.

You can use a minimum of oil and also experiment with seasonings.

Components:

• 500 g chicken (thighs, legs, drumsticks, or in combination with fillet);
• 400 g rice (you can try basmati);
• onion and head of garlic;
• 300 g carrots;
• 70 ml oil;
• a set of spices - cumin, salt and red or black pepper are required.

Cooking begins by soaking rice in warm water. The remaining components are washed and dried. Cut the onion into half rings and the carrot into thick strips. The meat is chopped into large pieces.
The following technology is standard:

1. Heat the oil over high heat, as soon as the house appears, add the meat.
   
   
2. Fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes until crispy, then add onions to it.
   
   
3. When the vegetable is browned, add carrots, stir gently, after 4-5 minutes add spices, 400-500 ml of water, add a head of garlic.
   
   
4. Reduce the heat to medium, when the mixture boils, turn it to minimum. Simmer for another 30 minutes covered.
   
   
5. Since the cereal was soaked earlier, and the meat was almost cooked at this point, the rice in pilaf with chicken does not need to be cooked for a long time. It is placed on the finished zirvak and leveled with a spatula.
   
   
6. Add a little more hot water, turn the heat to maximum until the water boils a second time.
7. As soon as the boiling begins, the power of the slab is reduced. Cook with the lid open.
   
   
8. When the water has evaporated, cover with a lid, turn off the stove and leave the pilaf to brew for 20 minutes.

The garlic is removed before serving, or placed on a plate in the center of the mound to make it look beautiful.

Crumbly pilaf from lamb and pork

To prepare delicious lamb or pork pilaf correctly, you can use the same number of components:

• 1 kg of meat pulp;
• 1 kg rice;
• 800-1000 g carrots;
• 600 g onions;
• 3-4 heads of garlic;
• 1 tsp. cumin;
• mixture of peppers, turmeric - 1 tsp each;
• fresh red pepper – 1 pc.;
• oil – 200 ml;
• salt and barberry to taste.

You will also need boiling water to extinguish zirvak. 1-1.5 hours before frying the food, soak the rice, rinsing it well with water. Start cooking:

• carrots are cut into cubes, onions - into cubes, half rings or rings;
  
  
• heat a wok or cauldron with oil;
• put pieces of meat cut into cubes into it;
  
  
• Soak barberry for 10 minutes, if used;
• fry lamb or pork over high heat for 5-7 minutes, add onion and fry for another 4 minutes;
• add carrots to the golden onions and fry over medium heat for 5-6 minutes until soft;
  
  
• prepare the garlic: peel the bottom part, cut the top;
  
  
• add water to the stewed zirvak, 2 tbsp. l. salts, seasonings, and hot peppers;
• add water and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes;
  
  
• lay the swollen rice, leveling it over the zirvak, pour water 1.5 cm above the level of the grain;
  
  
• when the liquid has evaporated, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook the pilaf for another 20 minutes.
  
  

Garlic is added to rice, drowned, immediately after sending it to the cauldron. When the water has almost boiled away, you can make small depressions - steam will escape through them better, creating the desired effect. After cooking, leave for another 40 minutes, turning off the heat and wrapping the cauldron with the lid closed in a terry towel.

Homemade crumbly Uzbek pilaf

Uzbeks prepare homemade pilaf from lamb. Recently, residents of the country have been moving away from the canons, but the traditional recipe is made only from this meat. Here is the exact list of components that will be required:

• 0.6-0.7 kg of meat;
• 0.6 kg rice;
• 0.5 kg of onion;
• 0.5 kg carrots;
• head of garlic;
• 5 tsp. mixtures of black pepper, cumin, paprika. This is a minimal set that can be supplemented with barberry and saffron;
• 60-70 g of fat tail (lamb), or 150 ml of refined oil.

The traditional recipe uses devzira rice, but in many sources you can find the use of long-grain basmati. In fact, this product turns out to be insufficiently boiled to accept the required consistency. Many cooks note this mistake: even with a large amount of water and fat, the rice remains dry.

Cooking process

To get the right pilaf, you can’t rush when preparing it. The process is divided into 3 stages.

The first is preparing the oil or fat:

• if fat is used, it is first melted;
• Kazakh is heated well over high heat on the stove;
  
  
• add fat or oil - carefully, along the wall;
• the fire is immediately turned to minimum;
• oil cannot be boiled - it releases carcinogens, and foods in such fat begin to stew rather than fry;
• when the fat begins to crackle and emit a slight smoke, start frying the meat and vegetables;
  
  
• if fat tail is used, then it is melted down to the cracklings, and then they are immediately removed.
  
  

This is the second stage.

Before calcining the dishes, you need to wash the vegetables and meat and cut them.

You cannot chop or finely chop any components for pilaf.


The second stage is the preparation of zirvak:

• Place not too small pieces of lamb on the bottom of the cauldron, increasing the heat to high;
  
  
• fry the meat until golden brown for 4-5 minutes;
• towel-dried onion, cut into rings, add to the meat and fry for another 3-4 minutes until golden brown;
  
  
• add carrots to the meat, mix gently and fry for 5 minutes;
  
  
• add 2 tbsp. l. salt – zirvak should be over-salted, since the component is no longer added to the rice;
  
  
• After 5 minutes, add the prepared spices.

Move on to the third stage - you need to cook the rice correctly.

When preparing pilaf, steam is used, not water.

This is the only way that products combine aroma and taste:

As soon as the time is up, turn off the stove and leave it under the closed lid for another 10-15 minutes.

It is important that during the process you use a cauldron lid that fits tightly to the edges.

If the steam escapes too much, the pilaf will not work.

Main secrets and tricks

Here are 6 more useful tricks and secrets that are not included in other recommendations.


With them, the oriental dish will turn out tastier and easier:

• you need to take more salt than for preparing other dishes - the rice will absorb the excess;
• You only need to fill the rice with hot water, otherwise it will crack and remain tough;
  
  
• When washing the cereal, rub it in your palms - this will remove the starch from the grains faster;
• the meat is cut into large pieces - it will fry and become juicy and tasty, the small parts will dry out;
  
  
• real Uzbek pilaf is served, following the advice of the chefs, either on a common platter, pre-mixed, or in portioned plates;
• but no less interesting is the serving of ordinary pilaf, when rice is laid out first, then carrots and meat.
  
  

To avoid cooking mistakes, remember the most important rules: never stir immediately after adding rice, do not allow vegetables to burn, and always rinse the cereal until the water is clear. The dish will remain very flavorful, but it will not be pilaf, but porridge.

Video

A step-by-step video recipe is the best way for a novice cook to get acquainted with an oriental dish.

All the subtleties and tricks of cooking from Stalik Khankishiev live