How to cook real pilaf: secrets and rules you can't do without

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There are as many pilaf recipes as there are cooks. But there are basic rules that everyone must adhere to. Lifehacker has collected those of them that relate to the ingredients and preparation of the popular Uzbek pilaf.

How to prepare ingredients

Rice

This is the main stumbling block of all cooks who have ever cooked pilaf. Nevertheless, almost all of them agree that the best rice is devzira, 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 rinsed well before laying it (until the water is clear). This will wash away the starch dust and prevent the pilaf from sticking together. Cooks also advise soaking it in cold water for an hour or more.

By the way, instead of rice in pilaf, you can use wheat, chickpeas, corn and mung bean. But that's a slightly different story.

Meat

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

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

The meat should be cut into fairly large pieces, about 5 x 5 cm or slightly larger. You can also fry 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 onions. It is more difficult with carrots: in Central Asia, pilaf is often cooked with yellow carrots, but in its absence, ordinary orange carrots will do.

The main rule is not to be too small. The onion is cut into rings or half rings, the carrots are cut into large cubes about 5 mm thick. If you finely chop vegetables and meat, then you get not pilaf, but rice porridge.

Butter

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

You don't need to skimp: pilaf is a fatty dish. On average, 1 kg of rice takes about 200-250 ml of oil.

Spices

The space for experimentation here is impressive. And yet, more or less traditional seasonings can be distinguished:

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

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

Other ingredients

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

What kind of dishes to choose

Kazan, 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 over a fire), but an aluminum one will do.

A duckling can be a good substitute 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 want it.

How to cook pilaf

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

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

Next, onions or meat are fried. If you are cooking pilaf with a lot of onions, you can fry the meat first. Put it in the cauldron gradually so as not to bring down the temperature, and do not turn it over right away - otherwise it may start to release juice.

The onions need to be fried until golden brown so that the finished broth gives color to the rice.

When the meat and onions are fried, the carrots are laid. It is broiled for a few minutes until tender.

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

After the zirvak is cooked, rice is laid. It is better to do this with a slotted spoon to distribute the rice evenly. On top of it, you can spice it up with a couple of pinches of cumin - for flavor.

Next, there are two cooking options:

1. Rice is immersed in the broth (if necessary, more hot water is added 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 the pilaf is cooked over a fire, then by this time the wood should just smolder), the cauldron is covered with a lid and the rice is left to steam for about 15–20 minutes.
2. After laying the rice, the cauldron is immediately closed with a lid and the contents are stewed for about half an hour on minimal heat, and then it comes without fire for about 10 minutes.

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

Garlic and pepper are removed from the finished pilaf. If large pieces of meat were used for cooking, then they are taken out, cut and spread 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 decorated with a head of garlic on top. This dish is best paired with a light salad of fresh vegetables.