Pilaf

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Pilaf

Category: Culinary recipes

Ingredients
For 1 serving you will need:
Lamb fillet (as a substitute - beef)	100 g
Lamb (beef) meat on bone	100 g
Onion	200 g
Carrot	200 g
Long grain rice / devzira	200 g
Garlic	1 head
Zira or cumin	1 tsp
Calculate the above ingredients by the number of eaters.
Refined vegetable oil or fat tail fat	for frying
Chilli	1-2 pcs. on the cauldron
Black pepper	taste
Salt	taste

Cooking method

• Advice: everything should be prepared and at hand - the meat is cut, the onion is cut into half rings, the carrots are cut into coarse strips or chopped on a coarse Berner-type grater. Do not grate the carrots on a regular grater, because during the entire cooking it will simply burn out - it will not have enough thickness.
• And don't be intimidated by the amount of onions and carrots in relation to rice and meat, since the vegetables will be very fried.
• You just need to peel the garlic from the upper husk, do not divide it into cloves, and even more so do not remove the skin from the cloves!
• So that the rice has time to cook, it must be rinsed before cooking to absolutely clean water and soaked for 0.5-3 hours - the time depends on the type of rice, all varieties absorb water in different ways and soften (ask the seller).
• And at a certain stage, you will need boiling water.
• Let's get started!
• Heat the cauldron well.
• Pour in a lot of oil, let it warm up well.
• Instead of butter, you can finely chop and melt the fat from the fat tail. The cracklings are very tasty, crispy and help to wait for the pilaf!
• 
• If you have a bone that has been stripped of meat, then first throw it in the oil and fry it over high heat until it is almost black. This will give additional color to our future pilaf. After roasting, the bone is no longer needed.
• The next steps are on very high heat!
• Pour out the whole onion, stir it periodically, helping to quickly evaporate the juice. Onions should be FRYED, not stewed.
• 
• As soon as the onion is browned and fried, throw in the meat.
• 
• So that the meat is immediately sealed and does not let the juice in which it will stew, it is better to divide it into parts and fry a little. Stir constantly, allowing the meat to cook evenly.
• When the meat is crisp, you can toss the carrots.
• 
• In order not to turn the whole process into stewing, I caught and put the meat with a random onion aside for a while, and then threw in the carrots.
• Fry the carrots until browning, stirring, helping to quickly evaporate the juice.
• As soon as the carrots are browned, we return everything back to the cauldron, fill it with hot water so that everything is covered with a small margin for boiling. This is our future zirvak. The taste of all pilaf depends on its taste! Rice, neutral in taste, will absorb all the tastes and smells of zirvak. Let's try to make it tasty!
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low!
• Throw in half of the cumin, rubbing it a little in our hands, lay out the garlic, chili pepper, you can put the tied cilantro greens (do not forget to remove it later) and salt.
• 
• 
• We close the cauldron with a lid. We leave to languish for 45 minutes minimum. The essence of the process is to let all the tastes mix and stretch as much as possible into the broth, then the zirvak will turn out to be rich. Do not under any circumstances reduce the cooking time of the zirvak! Better to increase it a little. Remember that no quality broth can be cooked quickly.
• When the zirvak is supposedly ready, remove the lid and you will immediately smell the future pilaf.
• 
• Gently fish out the garlic and chili from the zirvak. Pour in freshly ground black pepper. Salt the zirvak so that it is well salted, this is necessary so that our pilaf does not turn out to be bland, because the rice will absorb a lot of liquid, and with it taste, and will noticeably increase in size.By the way, this is why it is not recommended to exceed the filling of the cauldron by 2/3 of the volume.
• Turn up the fire!
• The next steps are on very high heat!
• Put the rice in the zirvak, smooth its surface.
• 
• Make depressions in the rice and stick the heads of garlic into them, sinking them into the rice so that the tails stick out. Make a deep hole in the center and place the chili pepper in it.
• Adjust the liquid level with boiling water so that it covers the rice by 2 fingers. This is the very moment for which you need to be ready and keep boiling water on hand - this is necessary in order to achieve the fastest possible boiling, because the rice will cool the zirvak when it is laid.
• 
• The liquid must boil vigorously so that the oil rises upward, enveloping each grain of rice - this violent gurgle and high-quality washing of the rice will provide us with friability of our pilaf.
• If you are afraid of the fat content of pilaf, at this stage you can collect excess oil from the surface of the liquid (sometimes I do this), but do not overdo it!
• The liquid should boil vigorously all the time, quickly evaporating.
• 
• When almost all of the liquid has evaporated, poke several narrow holes in the rice all the way to the bottom to see if the water has boiled away. The indentations will help it evaporate if it hasn't already.
• Reduce fire to minimum!
• Rub the remaining cumin in our hands and sprinkle it on the rice. Close with a tight-fitting lid and leave for 40-45 minutes.
• After the time has elapsed, we open the lid, the smell is breathtaking, and a line of people is crowding around! And you, by the way, will be able to photograph this masterpiece, or rather its remains, only when everyone is seated.
• Dig out the garlic and chili carefully and lay them out temporarily from the pilaf. Toss the pilaf, combining the bottom layers of meat, carrots and onions with rice.
• 
• Serve on a large warmed platter with garlic and chili on top. Garlic is another story! He gave his taste to zirvak and rice, and he himself absorbed the juices of vegetables and meat, turning into a very delicate paste, enclosed in a peel. Squeeze the paste out of the cloves onto pilaf or simply suck it out! You can also squeeze a little pepper onto pilaf from all sides.
• Bon Appetit!
• 

National cuisine

Central Asian

Note

Reference:

palau / pilav / pilaf / pylav / osh / ash - all these are the names of the same dish among different peoples, known to us as PILAF.

You can talk and argue a lot about pilaf, and you can also eat a lot. This is the very dish that will leave a rare person indifferent. The mentions of pilaf, and very flattering ones, go back to the distant Middle Ages.
So let's make it and, rejoicing like children, eat it in a big warm company, washed down with hot tea or something stronger!
Collection of medieval Arab and Persian tales "A Thousand and One Nights"... Translated by Salie M.A.
The Tale of Judara (night 615)

“… And Judar said:“ I have all sorts of dishes in my bag ”. - "O my child, everything that is found will keep the spirit in the body," - said the mother to Judar. And he said: "Your truth. When there is no prosperity, a person is content with the smallest, but when there is wealth, a person wants something good. And I have everything that can be found. Demand what you want!" - "O my child, hot bread and a piece of cheese", - asked the mother, and Judar said: "O mother, this is not your order." - "You know my rank, feed me what suits my rank," his mother told him. And Judar said: "O mother, in your rank - browned meat, and browned chicken, and rice pilav with pepper"…
And the mother thought that he was laughing at her and making fun of her ...
…
… - You name me all sorts of luxurious dishes, and who can pay for them and who will be able to cook them? "-" I swear on my life, I must definitely feed you everything that I have just named! "- Judar exclaimed, and his mother said:" I don't see anything here! "-" Give me a bag! "- said Judar. And his mother brought him a bag and felt it, and saw that it was empty. And she handed the bag to Judar, and he put his hand into it and began to take out the full dishes until I took out everything I called ...
…
… - know that this bag was given to me by a Maghreb citizen. He is enchanted, and he has a servant, and when someone wants something and will say the names over the sack and say: "O servant of this sack, give me such and such a dish!" - he will bring it ... "
The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
(Part three, ch. II. Breakfast)

“…” “Dear Count,” he said, “I am very much afraid that you will like the cuisine of Elder Street less than the cuisine of Piazza di Spagna. I should have inquired in advance about your tastes and ordered the dishes you prefer.
“If you knew me better,” the count replied, smiling, “you wouldn't care about such trifles. On my travels, I had to eat pasta in Naples, polenta in Milan, allapodrida in Valencia, pilav in Constantinople, karrik in India, and swallow nests in China. For a cosmopolitan like me, the question of cuisine does not exist. Wherever I am, I eat everything, only a little; and just today, when you complain about my moderation, I have a wolfish appetite, because I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning ... "

This is a Master class! Arka -! With best regards! Pilaf in a cauldron is a classic! Very clearly, understandable and great - by the end of cooking zirvak and falling asleep in rice - I felt the aroma of your pilaf, I have no strength to look at the photo! How I love pilaf!

[Arka,]

Arka, super!!! I saw your picture, and I almost burst into tears: I never, never get such a pilaf. Crumbly, with such meat ... It cannot be explained ... I watch the master class, I read your explanations, everything seems to be clear. But, apparently, there is still a special inspiration and understanding when it is necessary to add this or that product, and when to wait a little longer ...
I took the recipe to the bookmarks, I will gain experience.

[Arka,]

Arka, what pilaf !!! And crumbly! Just a miracle
And many thanks for the master class

[Twist, Ikra, Vladislava,]

Twist, Ikra, Vladislava, girls, thank you for the good words!

I remember how I myself did pilaf for the first time from Stalik's book, stood straight with an open book and a slotted spoon, worried that it would not work out the first time.
But everything turned out to be very easy. Only in the first steps of frying is a constant presence and eye-yes-eye necessary! And then you can relax.

Common mistakes:
- the products are not fried at first, but are stewed - there are too many products when laying on the surface of the cauldron. After all, only in a large round cauldron this task is perfectly solved - you can throw it on the walls. And the way out is simple - fry in batches, then all the same, the tastes will be mixed in a zirvak.
- there is too much water, it is necessary to evaporate it very quickly over very high heat, making holes to the bottom. It must be remembered that the rice has already absorbed a certain amount of water when soaked. With water - less is better than more.
- non-observance of the cooking regimes, the fire should be maximum at the right time (everything is written about this in the recipe) and minimum at the moments of cooking zirvak and languishing semi-finished pilaf.
That's all! If you pay attention to these rules, everything will work out!

I believe in you Ikra!

And let's get in touch

Arch, I cook pilaf - everyone likes it, crumbly, fragrant, BUT my dream is to cook it in a cauldron (I also know Stalik - super!). So in the summer at the dacha I will definitely do it in a cauldron. Moreover, everything is so clearly stated! And thanks to a separate one for the tip that excess fat can be removed from the surface - if cooked from lamb - it is very appropriate, many do not like this taste!

[Vladislav]

Vladislav, so, are we creating a pilaf club?

I completely clean the lamb from fat immediately when cutting
And since I do not regret oil or fat when frying, then I collect about 2/3 from the surface, the residues are quite enough to grease the rice. (I feel that now I can fly in full for this, but this is my style and recipe)

Arochka, hurray! Pilaf fan club! I also don't like fatty, heavy food, that's why my pilaf is always "light" - I put in a little butter, I don't take fatty meat - and the rice is always crumbly and not dry! The main thing is not to spare onions and carrots! Rice love "Camolino".
As the saying goes: in the cauldron - pilaf, and on the stove - rice with meat.

[Arka,]

Arka, will be on you!
I read the Stalik too, I read it!
I think my problem is precisely the heat. I will try. Unfortunately, there is no place where to put the cauldron in the open air, but I know people who cook wonderful pilaf on gas.A thousand times I saw how familiar Kyrgyz men do it (I was only allowed to cut carrots and onions, as Stalik writes - "after that, remove your wife and girlfriend from the kitchen, you will no longer need them").

I know people who cook wonderful pilaf on gas

I also do it on the stove, and more often than on the street! And nothing, it turns out great!

I was only allowed to cut carrots and onions

Ugliness! Then let them cut the carrots themselves!
And then all the laurels then to them! And a lot also depends on how the carrot is cut!

Ikra, you are a born oshpaz!

Arochka, hurray! Pilaf fan club!

As the saying goes: in the cauldron - pilaf, and on the stove - rice with meat.

I disagree! You can also pile a cauldron on the stove, only of a different shape. And the pilaf is good!

Give pilaf everywhere! Both on the street and in the house!

oshpaz Nobody called me that! Who's that???
By the way, the Kizgiz were from Osh

oshpaz Nobody called me that! Who's that???
By the way, the Kizgiz were from Osh

in a broad sense, this is a cook, but now this word has a narrower meaning - a specialist in the preparation of pilaf

Of course, you can put a cauldron on the stove! But what about the fire? Girls, pilaf is pilaf! I am sure that both on the stove and in the cauldron it will be delicious and real, if you cook with heart! Arochka, do not be offended, I did not want to offend anyone in any way! This is often said in jest.

Arochka, do not be offended, I did not want to offend anyone in any way! This is often said in jest.

What are you! I never thought! I'm not touchy at all, I have long erased touchiness from my diet! Life is beautiful, so why spoil it with far-fetched emotions! And then pilaf may not work ...

Our people! Thank God!!!

Our people!

Vlad, we don't hold others!
Positive thinking leads to positive communication!

Girls! Are they still admitting to the club? I also want to join all of the above!

Marina, of course !!! While Arochka is gone, I will answer, okay? Salute to swimmers!

Urrrrrraaaaaaaa!
The shelf has arrived!
Twistic!

I love pilaf very much and learned to cook it according to Stalik too. I couldn’t cope with one thing: I don’t put the bow first. I put the meat first and then the onion. According to Stalik, it is fried first on its own, then with meat, then with carrots and it just turns black with me. I don't like that.

Scarecrow, try to cut the onion larger - it will not have time to "burn"

Today I decided to make fun of pilaf. I replaced part of the onion with leek, and half of the carrot with root celery and pumpkin. It turned out very tasty and no one noticed the substitution.

I was taught to cook pilaf by an Uzbek employee. He puts onions and carrots at the same time and does not burn anything.

here it is yeah ...

Today I decided to make fun of pilaf. I replaced part of the onion with leek, and half of the carrot with root celery and pumpkin.

Summer resident, I can imagine how delicious! I’m just thinking about pilaf with pumpkin! The color must be amazing!

here it is yeah ...

Yes natapit I am
I am very pleased that my modest recipe found a response! Thank you!

I was taught to cook pilaf by an Uzbek employee. He puts onions and carrots at the same time and does not burn anything.

It turns out that I do exactly as he said, because carrots are placed after meat. I put them together - onions and carrots. Hurrah! So you can!

Scarecrow, everything is possible! This is creativity in your own kitchen! Who is the hostess in the kitchen ?! Here! The hostess sets the rules!
for creativity!

It turns out that I do exactly as he said, because carrots are placed after meat. I put them together - onions and carrots. Hurrah! So you can!

There are as many recipes and methods of cooking pilaf as there are villages and auls in Central Asia.However, the classic version really is - first meat, then onions and carrots on top, at the same time, provided, as the author of the post rightly noted, that all this will be fried and not stewed. If the fire under the cauldron is not enough, then it is better to fry everything in the cauldron in parts, taking out the finished components into a bowl. And only then, when everything is fried, all this is mixed in a cauldron and then the zirvak is prepared.

In general, bravo to the author of the post! Everything is painted correctly and very appetizing illustrations! Thank you!
From myself, I will only add that the dried barberry zhmenka, adding a piquant sourness to the fat pilaf, will not be superfluous. Likewise, a piquant and aesthetic note will be added by the seed of any dried seedless grapes, laid together with garlic and pepper. Ground black pepper can be easily replaced with red - Uzbeks often use it in pilaf. And in no case, on pain of death, do not use any "pilaf" sets of spices, as a rule, containing spices completely unnecessary in this dish, even if such a set will be offered to you at the bazaar by a person of southern nationality. Everything that is needed for pilaf - the author indicated correctly in the recipe. The rest - believe me, from the evil one ...

[Kapet]

Kapet, thank you for your feedback and advice! It is very pleasant to find another "pilaf companion"
With regard to additives, I fully support!
You can also put dogwood for sourness instead of barberry.
But raisins have to be avoided. But these are my personal cockroaches! I don't like steamed raisins, but I really like dry ones!
That is how we live

For me, pilaf does not exist without barberry and cumin. The smell of cumin for me is the smell of pilaf ...

And yet, I would like to add, regarding the choice of the main component of pilaf - rice ...
Yes, devzira is a classic for pilaf. But, often, getting it is quite problematic. And if you do, it happens that you are sold cheap rice, painted with crushed bricks. Not everyone can distinguish such a fake from a real devzira when buying.

God forbid to use parboild steamed rice in pilaf. This rice has already been cooked during processing, it is very weakly saturated with zirvak, and it has nothing to do in pilaf, unless of course you are not a fan of chewing rubber-technical products with a taste of machine oil. It is better to cook "porridge" on a zirvak, which will be at least tasty, than to present a beautiful crumbly, but inedible pilaf from parboild on a platter.

Of all the types of rice that can be purchased without problems in most stores and supermarkets, and from which you can make a very decent pilaf, this is of course Basmati. This is a very fragrant and tasty rice, which in pilaf, if the correct proportion of water and rice is observed, can be very crumbly. As a rule, if I don't have a devzira (and in most cases I certainly don't have one), then I cook pilaf with Basmati. Unfortunately Basmati is not cheap at all, and sometimes you can run into a fake, where the share of this rice is less than half of the package volume, or the variety is simply being rejected. Therefore, it is advisable to purchase this rice from trusted brands from trusted suppliers or stores.

Of all the types of rice that can be purchased without any problems in most shops and supermarkets, and from which you can make a very decent pilaf, this is of course Basmati. This is a very fragrant and tasty rice, which in pilaf, if the correct proportion of water and rice is observed, can be very crumbly. As a rule, if I don't have devzira (and in most cases I certainly don't have one), then I cook pilaf with Basmati ...

I once blurted out among "specialists" that I love basmati in pilaf (I also love jasmine, because it is fragrant). I was almost anathematized and crucified on the fence.

I once blurted out among "specialists" that I love basmati in pilaf (I also love jasmine, because it is fragrant). I was almost anathematized and crucified on the fence.

Jasmine is really not good for pilaf, because it is very sticky.Well, experts are different, except for several varieties of rice from the Fergana Valley, they do not recognize anything else in pilaf.

Jasmine is really not good for pilaf, because it is very sticky. Well, experts are different, except for several varieties of rice from the Fergana Valley, they do not recognize anything else in pilaf.

No, I didn't make pilaf from jasmine. I meant that jasmine is also fragrant, like basmati, so I also love it just for life.

No, I didn't make pilaf from jasmine. I meant that jasmine is also fragrant, like basmati, so I also love it just for life.

I also really like Jasmine, for its aroma in the finished dish. Therefore, with this rice, one must be very careful with the spices in the dish, so as not to interrupt or hamper its delicate flavor.

I was 15 years old when my father, a thoroughbred Uzbek, taught me how to cook pilaf. I cook pilaf from any rice, from any meat and different spices (for guests). More often I cook friable pilaf, the rice will be cooked and at the same time strong, but if it is necessary for the elderly, I will cook it so that it is both crumbly and soft at the same time (but not porridge!). Rice is desirable to use round, coarse and almost transparent. Such rice will never turn into powder when rubbed in the palms. In the south, old people who are wise in life go to the bazaar for rice, they do not hesitate to walk along the rows of rice for a long time and choose rice (handmade), carefully rubbing every pinch of rice in their palms. I don’t like to add zira and other spices to pilaf, the only thing I allow is sometimes to put 0.5 teaspoons of saffron into the zirvak. The main taste of pilaf is given by fresh meat, in particular steamed lamb and, importantly, the oil in which it is fried. Ideally, this is ghee, try it and you will never cook pilaf in vegetable oil. I also often cook pilaf with chickpeas, we all love this kind of pilaf. Chickpeas cannot be used without soaking, they must be soaked in the evening and the water must be changed several times before putting in the zirvak and let it cook with the meat until tender.
Carrots also play a role; for a sweet wedding pilaf (with raisins), you need a sweet bright orange carrot; for basic recipes, it is better to use carrots that are less rich in carotene and sugars. On the market, it can be recognized as feed, it is lighter in color. But these are all nuances that few people adhere to now.
The main thing is to guess with the amount of oil, it is much more difficult for a beginner. A little oil - you get porridge, a lot of oil - also porridge, only fatty. Delicious pilaf to everyone! Sorry for the opus, but the theme is too good!

First time I hear about pilaf in ghee! It is imperative to try it (I would not have dared without the help of experts). And it’s logical why it didn’t occur to me: the creamy taste of ghee is indescribable, and its properties are akin to vegetable oil.

Continuing the topic of rice, I would like to suggest that you try Lazarus again, if you happen to buy it. I support Basmati! Highly soulful allspice rice!

Ghee is delicious. Including in pilaf. However, there is one caveat. Even perfectly cooked ghee has a lower "smoke point" (or "smoke point") than refined olive, sunflower, or corn oil. And in pilaf, meat and vegetables are roasted over high heat at high temperatures. Therefore, a beginner has every chance to overheat such oil and get a humpy product at the exit. And if this oil is not of the highest quality, as, for example, it was initially overheated or, on the contrary, unfinished, then the result will be completely predictable ...

Margit, please share the technology of cooking pilaf in ghee! I also thought about the rancid taste when frying meat, carrots and onions - the ghee is capricious, you just overexpose it and that's it ... And you don't want to spoil your favorite dish!

Margit, please share the technology of cooking pilaf in ghee! I also thought about the rancid taste when frying meat, carrots and onions - the ghee is capricious, you just overexpose it and that's it ... And you don't want to spoil your favorite dish!

Ghee is not melted butter after all. This is not to say that you overexpose a little - and the end. It is not so tender, but the probability of burning remains, yes. If the proteins do not come out completely during heating. They will burn (they give the same rancid taste).

I myself have cooked ghee many times and bought our local natural factory ghee, I really love to cook with it, so the idea inspired me too!

Margit, I am still making pilaf with your advice. All of mine really like it, and therefore I want to thank you again for your help. When I cook it, I always remember you with gratitude in my soul

ArKa, you also look very appetizing. I'm sure it's very tasty, but I've never seen such varieties of rice.

let me also insert my five kopecks about pilaf. Once, in Soviet times, I could not cook good pilaf, since the rice was of the "what is in the store" variety, but once in the magazine "Peasant" I read a recipe for Indian pilaf, in which the rice needs to be washed and dried before laying and lightly fry in vegetable oil in a pan, since then if I don't have good rice at hand, but I want pilaf, then I do just that, and believe me, pilaf will be crumbly from any rice. I know that in Crimea, many Tatars do just that to play it safe, and our Holding uses rice. It may be wrong, but it is not always possible to buy the "correct" rice, and for young inexperienced housewives this method can be a lifesaver. Everyone was displeased ... I'm going to prepare pilaf

[mamontenok]

mamontenok, thank you for your advice! I will definitely try!

Forum members and members of the forum, do not be afraid to cook pilaf from the most ordinary rice! The pilaf you see in the photo is made from the simplest long-grain rice! In Belarus, good rice is generally tense ... So I make pilaf from what is available. Sometimes friends from Tashkent give a devzira or a lazarus - then there is a holiday in the house! Thanks to them!

[Vladislav]

Margit, please share the technology of cooking pilaf in ghee! I also thought about the rancid taste when frying meat, carrots and onions - the ghee is capricious, you just overexpose it and that's it ... And you don't want to spoil your favorite dish!

Vladislav
You can, if you are afraid to overheat - burn the oil, throw the watchman - onions into the oil (preferably the upper, largest clothes of the onion), as soon as it turns brown, choose and you can fry the meat.
LiudmiLka
Thank you for your kind words, very nice!
Scarecrow - Natasha, you are doing the right thing that you were inspired to cook pilaf in ghee! And you can also try 50/50 vegetable / melted proportions, in general, any proportions, if only it was delicious!

Maybe someone will come in handy, found in the internet. Oil Smoke Point Chart:

Margit, thanks a lot for the tip !!!