Cooking pilaf at home. How to cook pilaf at home

Real pilaf is a combination of aromas, juicy meat, delicious vegetables. Complex dishes present a certain mystery from the point of view of the embodiment of recipes, but at the same time they give chefs 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 correct 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 the components complement each other, but at the same time they do not merge into porridge and are distinct in shape and consistency.

A traditional dish does not need expensive or difficult-to-obtain ingredients. Technology is the foundation. And if you do not follow its sequence, then the dish will be far from ideal.

Here are 7 nuances that will help you cook pilaf properly:

• pilaf is cooked in or on a stove using a duck, a cauldron or other utensils with a thick bottom and walls that ensure uniform heating;
• the ideal cooking mode is in a refractory dish over an open fire;
• the starch content of rice makes it sticky. Culinary experts choose different varieties, but they must be united by one condition so that the pilaf turns out to be crumbly - a minimum of starch and repeated washing of the cereal to a clear liquid;
  
  
• oil should be chosen only odorless - olive oil is suitable only for unconventional recipes;
• spices are the basis without which a real dish cannot be prepared;
• the name of the broth for pilaf, in which meat and vegetables are cooked - zirvak (these two components are most often called this way);
• zirvak sets the aroma, taste and consistency of pilaf, if it fails, the dish turns into porridge.
  
  

An Uzbek dish is prepared from strict proportions of rice, meat and carrots. The rest of the components are reduced and increased 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 pieces or cubes.

How long the dish is cooked depends on the meat used and the method chosen. In the oven, baking pilaf will take on average 40-60 minutes after frying the zirvak. The food is stewed on the stove for 20 to 30 minutes. Fire cooking 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 an oriental dish are meat, vegetable oil, carrots, rice and onions. From traditional spices 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 on your own using matching ingredients, or buy store-bought seasonings "for pilaf".


When choosing carrots, keep in mind that yellow has a sweeter taste: use about 30-40% of a yellow vegetable and 70-60% of an orange one. However, not all markets can find this product. Taste the vegetable before cooking; bitter carrots will ruin the taste of the dish.

Rice selection

The composition of the Uzbek pilaf traditionally includes rice devzira (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 solid. 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 stays dry. Round, when properly prepared, boils well, does not stick together very much.

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

Meat selection

Traditionally, pilaf is made from lamb, but you can use beef, pork, as well as different parts of chicken.

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

If beef is used, then take the meat from the back leg or shoulder blade. Tenderloin tastes good. Pork also has a very pleasant tenderloin, but an equally tasty dish comes out of the neck and ribs with thin cartilage.

From the lamb carcass, choose a 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 well with any type of meat. Chicken, pork, and lamb all take on a spicy aroma and great taste.

Saffron, cumin and barberry are used with any type of meat. But not a single chef prohibits the use of additional spices: amazing recipes arise in experiments.


Remember that too much spice is not always good. Avoid more than 2-3 ingredients in the spice composition 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 cooking pilaf is the use of unique sets of spices and different types of meat. There are not many technologies on how to properly prepare pilaf according to the classic recipe.

Pilaf cooking technologies differ in carrot slicing and onion laying time (before or after meat).

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

Loose pilaf with beef

To make the pilaf tasty, it is not necessary to prepare for the fact that the recipe will be very complicated. The main thing in the preparation of any oriental dish is moderation in spices. An accurate and simple recipe for delicious pilaf begins with the selection of components:

• 1 kg of beef;
• 900-1000 g of rice;
• 350-500 g of carrots;
• 250-300 g of onions;
• 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 by washing meat, rice and vegetables. First, the starch is washed out of the cereal, soaked in warm water for 20-40 minutes. Then they wipe the vegetables dry, peeling them off.

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


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

• vegetable oil is heated in a cauldron;
• lay out the dried pieces of beef, fry for 5-7 minutes until golden brown;
  
  
• pour the onion and fry for another 3-4 minutes, until it becomes golden brown;
  
  
• add carrots, reduce heat to medium;
• when the vegetables become soft, add boiling water so that it barely covers the carrots;
• put the garlic and prepared spices, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the beef is soft;
  
• completes the procedure for adding the components of 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, they scoop up the rice with a slide, cover the cauldron and leave on low heat for another 20 minutes.
  
  

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

Loose pilaf with chicken

When used for pilaf in a chicken recipe, you can deviate slightly from the choice of conventional ingredients. This dish cooks faster and turns out to be very tender.

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

Components:

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

Cooking begins by soaking the rice in warm water. The rest of the components are washed and dried. Cut the onion into half rings, carrots into thick strips. The meat is cut into large pieces.
Further, the technology is standard:

1. The oil is heated over high heat, as soon as the house appears, add the meat.
   
   
2. Fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes until crusty, then put 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 fire to medium, when the mixture boils, keep it to a minimum. Stew for another 30 minutes under the lid.
   
   
5. Since the cereal was soaked earlier, and the meat is almost cooked by this moment, it is not necessary to cook rice in pilaf with chicken for a long time. They put it on the finished zirvak, level it with a spatula.
   
   
6. Add a little more hot water, set the fire to maximum until the water boils a second time.
7. As soon as drilling begins, the power of the plate 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.

Garlic is removed before serving, or put on a plate in the center of the slide to look beautiful.

Loose lamb and pork pilaf

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

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

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

• cut carrots into cubes, onions - into cubes, half rings or rings;
  
  
• warm up a wok or cauldron with butter;
• put pieces of meat in it, cut into cubes;
  
  
• soak barberry for 10 minutes, if used;
• fry lamb or pork over high heat for 5-7 minutes, add onions and fry for another 4 minutes;
• put carrots on the golden onion, fry over medium heat for 5-6 minutes until soft;
  
  
• prepare the garlic: peel from the bottom, cut from the top;
  
  
• add water to the stewed zirvak, 2 tbsp. l. salt, seasonings, and hot peppers;
• pour water and stew on low heat for 15-20 minutes;
  
  
• lay the swollen rice, leveling it over the zirvak, pour it 1.5 cm above the cereal level with water;
  
  
• when the liquid has evaporated, reduce the fire to a minimum, cover and boil pilaf for another 20 minutes.
  
  

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

Loose Uzbek pilaf at home

Uzbeks cook homemade pilaf from lamb. Recently, the inhabitants of the country are deviating 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 of rice;
• 0.5 kg of onions;
• 0.5 kg of 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 fat (lamb), or 150 ml of refined oil.

The traditional recipe uses devzira rice, but many sources use long grain basmati. In fact, this product turns out to be insufficiently digestible to take the necessary consistency. Many culinary experts point out such a mistake: even with a large amount of water and fat, the rice remains dry.

Cooking process

To get the right pilaf, you cannot rush to prepare it. The process is divided into 3 stages.

The first is the preparation of oil or fat:

• if fat is used, then it is pre-melted;
• kazakhs are well heated over high heat on the stove;
  
  
• add fat or oil - carefully, along the wall;
• the fire is immediately set to a minimum;
• oil cannot be boiled - it emits carcinogens, and products in such fat begin to stew, and not fried;
• when the fat begins to crackle and exude a slight smoke, start frying meat and vegetables;
  
  
• if a fat tail is used, then it is melted down to greaves, and then they are immediately taken out.
  
  

This is the second stage.

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

No components for pilaf can be chopped and finely chopped.


The second stage is the preparation of the zirvak:

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

Go to the third stage - you need to cook the rice correctly.

When preparing pilaf, steam is used, not water.

This is the only way products combine aroma and taste:

As soon as the time runs out, the stove is turned off and left under a closed lid for another 10-15 minutes.

It is important that in the process a cauldron lid is used, tightly fitting to the edges.

If the steam comes out strongly, then pilaf will not work.

Main secrets and tricks

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


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

• you need to take more salt than for cooking other dishes - rice will absorb the excess;
• you only need to pour rice with hot water, otherwise it will crack and remain tough;
  
  
• when washing the cereal, wipe it in your palms - this way the starch will quickly leave the grains;
• the meat is cut into large pieces - it will fry and become juicy and tasty, the small pieces will dry out;
  
  
• real Uzbek pilaf is served, following the advice of the chefs, either on a common dish, after mixing, or in portioned plates;
• but no less interesting is the serving of ordinary pilaf, when rice is first laid out, 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, always rinse cereals until clear water. The dish will remain very fragrant, but it will not be pilaf, but porridge.

Video

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

Real Uzbek pilaf - crumbly, aromatic, moderately spicy and spicy - is an addition to the festive table and everyday dinner. If you master all the secrets and subtleties of preparing a classic dish, you can provide yourself with an inexpensive but tasty masterpiece for decorating the table for any occasion.

All the subtleties and tricks of cooking from Stalik Khankishiev live

The correct 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, immediately proceeding to review and prepare the pilaf recipe, in which EVERYTHING IS UNDERSTANDING. However, the introduction describes important details about real pilaf, which will certainly come in handy ...)

When it comes to pilaf, almost everyone means the Uzbek version of this dish. Despite the fact that there are quite a few options for pilaf, Uzbek is still considered the most, real, correct, authentic. This is the same pilaf, which is spread on a large dish in a slide, large pieces of meat are laid around, and in the center is a head of garlic, stewed right in the husk. This pilaf is so crumbly, 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 cooking Uzbek, or rather, Fergana pilaf is considered the choice of rice. So, the ideal would be rice called dev-ziragrowing in the Fergana Valley. This rice is hard, has little starch, and is able to absorb a lot of water and oil while remaining crumbly. Rice varieties such as chungara, dastar-saryk, kora-koltak, bugday-gurunch, arpa-sholi, koniligi... But there is a high probability that such rice will not be found, then choose Spanish varieties of rice "for paella". If they are not there, there remains basmati - this is wrong, but still better than "Krasnodar" or "for risotto". Basmati is a relatively non-starchy rice. The only caveat is that it cooks much faster than the "pilaf" varieties - only 10 minutes. Rice varieties that contain a lot of starch are categorically not suitable for cooking pilaf - pilaf will never turn out crumbly with them. Before preparing pilaf, the rice must be soaked in slightly warm water for an hour and a half, after which it is washed in several waters.

Zirvak - medium-sized part of pilaf

As for meat, traditional pilaf is made from lamb, but other meat is also very tasty. At home, chicken is more popular than lamb - we will cook from it... The proportion of dry rice and meat for pilaf is one to one.

To prepare pilaf, take quite a lot of carrots.... Carrots need one that retains its shape during stewing and does not disintegrate, it must be cut into strips. Onions are also often added to pilaf - they add flavor to the dish.

The most important spice for pilaf is zira... In addition to cumin, not very many spices are added - usually hot peppers, a head of garlic, barberry. Do not put bay leaves in pilaf.

The right dishes for pilaf

The choice of dishes for cooking pilaf is also important. Ideally, this should be a cauldron. But, you must admit, not everyone has such dishes at home. Therefore, you can cook pilaf in a wok, deep frying pan or a saucepan with thick walls.

A few words about pilaf technology

Rice cooking techniques can seem confusing to a beginner. But as soon as you cook pilaf a couple of times, and you will already be doing it without much ado. So, all the ingredients must be prepared in advance. Then the oil is overheated, in which vegetables and meat will be fried.

When the zirvak is ready, spices are added and rice is added. But this is not the end: as soon as the rice is dry, the process of cooking pilaf will continue: the pilaf is covered and allowed to ripen for half an hour, or even better - an hour. Only after that you will receive that magical and unique dish that can be called "correct pilaf".

Cooking time: about 2 hours

Ingredients

• 400 grams of rice (basmati)
• 400-500 grams of chicken meat
• 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 cumin, red hot pepper and barberry
• salt, black pepper - to taste

Preparation

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First, soak the rice in lukewarm water (45-50 degrees).



Now chop up all the other ingredients. Cut the onion into half rings.



Cut the meat into large pieces.



Peel and chop the carrots into strips.



Now you can start cooking. First, pour the vegetable oil into a bowl and overheat the oil over a fairly high heat - white smoke should begin to go from it.



Gently pour the onion into the hot oil. Stir the onions constantly so that they cook evenly. In just a couple of minutes, it should become rosy.



At this point, send the meat to the dish.



It should also start to crust over.



As soon as this happens, send the carrots to the dish. Stir the contents, but do it very delicately and lovingly.



Fry all for 5 minutes, then pour in 500 ml of water and add a whole head of garlic. This is the beginning of the final stage of preparing zirvak. Let it boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer the zirvak for 30 minutes.



After this time, remove the garlic and add salt and spices to the zirvak.



Then send the washed rice. Rice should not float in a large amount of liquid, otherwise the pilaf will not turn out crumbly.
As soon as you add the rice, the heat should be reduced to 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 on top, without touching the meat and vegetables at the bottom, with light stroking movements.
After 10 minutes, when the rice is almost ready, form a slide out of it, put the head of garlic in the center, which was stewed in the 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 when the pilaf is finally ready, take out the garlic and all the pieces of meat, and fluff the rice itself with a slotted spoon or spatula, so that it becomes airy, light.



Lay rice in a heap on a large dish, decorate its top with garlic, and arrange the meat around it beautifully. You can supplement it only with vegetable salad and a cup of green tea - that's the whole feast. Bon Appetit!

Rice

This is the main stumbling block of all cooks who have ever cooked pilaf. Nevertheless, almost all of them agree that devzira rice is the best, 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 (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 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 × 5 cm or slightly larger. You can also fry meat in large, non-portioned pieces and grind 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 prepared with yellow carrots, but in its absence, ordinary orange carrots will do.

The main rule is not to be too small. Onions are cut into rings or half rings, carrots are cut into large pieces 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.

Spice

The space for experimentation here is impressive. Still, 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.

Ducklings 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.

The basic principle of pilaf is as follows: first, zirvak is prepared (these are meat and vegetables fried in butter 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 later the ingredients can quickly brown.

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.

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

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Then all the ingredients are filled 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.

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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.

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 the 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 about 10 minutes more without fire.

When the heat is off, wrap a towel over the lid: 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 combined with fresh vegetables.

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

Pilaf - cooked in a special way, rice dish. There are many ways to cook pilaf.

There is pilaf with lamb, pilaf with pork, pilaf with beef, chicken pilaf, sea pilaf, pilaf without meat, lean pilaf, vegetarian pilaf, vegetable pilaf, fruit pilaf, red pilaf, etc.

There are Uzbek pilaf, Turkmen pilaf, Armenian pilaf, Azerbaijani pilaf, Samarkand pilaf, Italian pilaf, Fergana pilaf, etc.

The composition of the classic pilaf includes:

1. Meat (lamb, pork, beef, veal)
2. Carrots (preferably yellow, juicy, ripe)
3. Fat or oil
4. Rice (large)
5. Onions
6. Spices and seasonings for pilaf: coriander grains, cumin, barberry, saffron, basil, raisins, dried fruits.

To prepare a simple pilaf for ten portions (approximately 8 liters of pilaf), you need:
1. Meat - 1.5 kg
2.Rice - 1.5 kg
3. Onions - 0.5 kg
4. Carrots - 1 kg
5. Vegetable oil - 450 gr. (for 1 kg of rice - 300 g of oil).
6. Spices - 50 gr.

There is more than one way to cook pilaf, but in any case, you cannot do without a cauldron.

1. Before cooking pilaf, wash the cauldron with hot water.
Then we set it to heat up at maximum heat (it is worth noting immediately that the level of intensity of the fire will not change until a certain stage of cooking pilaf - see below).

2. We heat the cauldron for pilaf on fire for five to seven minutes, then pour all the cooked oil into it.

3. Continue to heat the cauldron over the fire until faint smoke (evaporation) appears. This should take an average of eight to ten minutes.

4. Put the peeled and cut onion into the cauldron. The rings should be half a centimeter thick. At the same time, we immediately begin to intensively stir the onions.

Attention: Never close the cauldron with a lid. The lid is lowered onto the cauldron, only after putting rice in it.

5. Within seven to ten minutes, the onion is covered with a golden crust. The intensity and duration of frying depends on the intensity of the fire and the initial temperature of the oil.

Delicious pilaf will turn out if you fry the onion with high quality. Fried onions significantly affect the taste of pilaf and its color. We must adhere to the golden mean: onions should be fried as much as possible (we get a dark color), but at the same time the onions should not burn (turn into coals).

6. Cut the meat into small cubes. The average size of the pieces should be 4 centimeters.

As soon as the onion is fried, immediately lower the chopped meat into the cauldron. Stirring the resulting mass, fry over high heat until the meat darkens and gets a colored crust.

The process of frying the meat should take about 15 minutes. Unforgettable stirring pilaf at intervals of one minute.

7. Clean and cut carrots into strips in advance. After frying the meat, put the carrots in the cauldron. We continue to fry the resulting mass, stirring occasionally, for another 10-15 minutes.

8. After that, boiling water is poured into the cauldron. The water level should hide the contents of the cauldron, but not exceed it. As a result, we get the so-called zirvak.

9. Reduce heat under the cauldron to a minimum, so as to keep it boiling. Fill in salt - 2 tablespoons, and put in the selected seasonings and spices for pilaf.

Stir the contents and cook for about 15 - 30 minutes. The meat should be ready. It is worth considering that high-quality and fresh meat is cooked much faster than old and stale meat.

10. Now you can taste the resulting zirvak. You should get a bitter-salty, even salty taste. Do not be afraid for the large amount of salt - most of the salt will be absorbed when cooking rice. If necessary, add a little more salt to obtain the salty taste of zirvak.

11. It is necessary to boil the water for cooking rice. Rinse the rice thoroughly. We increase the fire under the cauldron to the maximum level. On top of the obtained zirvak, lay the rice in an even layer, leveling it with a slotted spoon. Then boiling water is poured into the cauldron. The water level should be 1.5 centimeters above the rice.

12. Without changing the intensity of the fire under the cauldron, cook until the water evaporates below the rice level.

Attention: In this case, stir the contents of the cauldron in no case.

13. Taste the resulting rice. If the rice is hard and not cooked, add boiling water to the cauldron. Pour boiling water very carefully, so as not to destroy the resulting structure of rice.

14. Now comes one of the most crucial and important moments in the preparation of real pilaf. It is necessary to catch a moment when the water from the surface of the rice has almost evaporated, and the rice itself is in a state of semi-readiness. The rice should be exactly halfway ready, since it will be cooked with the cauldron closed, for another 15-20 minutes. If the rice is already ready by this time, you run the risk of further boiling the rice and ruining the whole taste of pilaf.

15. Now reduce the heat under the cauldron to a minimum. We begin to collect rice with a slotted spoon in a neat slide in the center of the cauldron. Cover the rice with a plate so that it falls into the cauldron. We select the plate in such a way that there is a distance of 1 or 2 centimeters between the plate and the walls of the cauldron. We press the plate, then close the cauldron tightly with a lid.

16. Tomim pilaf for 10-15 minutes on low heat.

17. Turn off the fire under the cauldron.

18. Without removing the lid from the cauldron, let the pilaf stand for 10-15 minutes without fire.

Pilaf. The recipe for classic pilaf.

19. Remove the lid from the cauldron and take out the plate.

20. Mix the finished pilaf gently with a slotted spoon. It is necessary to mix evenly rice with onions, carrots and meat. If you have followed all the above conditions for cooking real pilaf, you will end up with ready-made and crumbly rice. This is a properly cooked pilaf. If you're unlucky, the rice will be raw or boiled.

21. We spread the resulting pilaf on lagan. Lyagan is a special flat and wide dish.

22. The pilaf is finally ready. Now you can gather family and friends at the table. We wish you bon appetite and delicious pilaf. Cook pilaf at home.

Some features of the recipe for real pilaf:

1. Garlic cloves are usually used to obtain a pleasant aroma. The cloves of garlic, well washed and peeled from coarse husks, are not cut, but placed entirely in the zirvak, before filling the rice, after which the rice is laid. After cooking the pilaf, the cloves are removed and placed on top of the cooked rice (but this is a matter of taste). For the specified volume of products used, you can use about four medium heads of garlic.

2. For pilaf with a bright red-brown color, while heating the oil, put a small bone in it, fry the bone until black, and then discard it. You can also use a joint or rib.

3. For real pilaf, you need to use meat with fat (the presence of layers in the meat). But it is worth considering that in the case of using meat with a large amount of fat, the volume of oil used should be reduced by one third.

4. Pilaf is usually eaten from a common dish (one lagan), by the whole family or company. In this case, they eat with hands or spoons. After a hearty meal, unsweetened green tea is drunk.

Plov belongs to the dishes of oriental cuisine; in terms of its taste, it is quite satisfying and colorful. The original recipe for this dish has several variations, as a result of which the dish is prepared differently in each country. Consider the most common cooking recipes.

Classics of the genre

An important feature of making pilaf according to this recipe is the correct choice of rice. Semi-soft varieties are not suitable for this technology, give preference to hard-grain rice ("Devzira", "Laser", "Alanga").

As for meat, Tashkent-style pilaf is made from lamb or beef. According to the original recipe, you need to use cottonseed oil, but in some cases it is replaced with regular refined sunflower oil.

• rice - 650 gr.
• beef (lamb) - 650 gr.
• natural oil (cottonseed, vegetable) - 100 ml.
• capsicum - 2 pcs.
• yellow onions - 4 pcs.
• garlic - 1 head
• carrots - 500 gr.
• adjika ground (dry) - 5 gr.
• zira - 10 gr.
• seasoning for pilaf

1. Wash and peel the carrots, chop them into cubes, cut the capsicum into thin strips, the onion into half rings, lamb or beef into small 4 * 4 cm cubes.
2. Take a cauldron or a thick-bottomed frying pan, put on high heat, pour in cottonseed (sunflower) oil and heat up to the maximum possible threshold. When this happens, add the onion half rings, fry them until golden brown in boiling oil.
3. After the onion is browned, add the meat cubes to it, reduce heat to medium and cook well. It is necessary to bring the meat to such a state that it grabs with a crust, while leaving the juice inside. Do not cook it, it will go by itself during the cooking process. After the expiration of the period for roasting the meat, send the carrot cubes to the cauldron, simmer it, stirring constantly.
4. Peel the garlic, cut 3 garlic cloves into small pieces, mix with cumin, pilaf spices and salt. Send the contents to the rest of the ingredients, add a little water so that the liquid covers the composition. Simmer over low heat for about half an hour, then open the lid and wait for the water to partially boil.
5. While the base is simmering on the fire, proceed to processing the rice. Rinse it under running water 7-8 times so that the drained liquid becomes completely transparent. Next, pour boiling water over the grains so that the liquid level rises by 1 cm, cover with a lid and leave for a quarter of an hour.
6. After infusion of rice, put finely chopped garlic over the contents of the cauldron, press it with a spatula, place a dense layer of rice. Then again garlic and rice. When all the grains are laid out, cover the lid, cover with water, simmer for about 10 minutes.
7. At the end of the period, collect the rice from the walls to the middle of the container, open the cauldron and allow the liquid to boil. After all the water has evaporated, cover the pan, reduce the heat, let the mixture soak for another 20 minutes.

You should end up with crumbly parboiled rice with no damaged grains. Serve with a vegetable and cheese salad, and complement it with green tea with jasmine or lemon balm.

• rice (parboiled) - 750 gr.
• white onions - 3 pcs.
• carrots - 2 pcs.
• tomatoes - 4-5 pcs. (at the discretion of)
• garlic - 1 head
• pork or lamb (pulp) - 650 gr.
• olive oil - 175 ml.
• spice

1. Cut the onion into half rings, chop the carrots into strips or thin slices. Heat the cauldron well, fry the vegetables until half cooked. After that, chop the meat into cubes, fry it over medium heat so that the juice comes out.
2. Rinse the rice grains under running water several times, then place them in a thick layer on top of the fried onions, carrots and meat. Peel and chop the garlic, stick it in the rice, pour the contents with purified water mixed with spices.
3. Cover with a lid, simmer for about half an hour so that the water partially boils away. When this happens, place the tomato cubes on the surface, do not stir, refill with liquid.
4. Wait 20 minutes, during which time the water should evaporate. Collect the rice from the walls towards the center of the container to make a kind of slab. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to the minimum mark, simmer for another quarter of an hour.

People who, for some reason, do not eat meat, have to look for alternative ways of cooking pilaf. Since tender fish fillets are heat-treated in a short time, it is better to use a multicooker or double boiler.

• boneless sea fish (sirloin) - 400 gr.
• rice "Alanga" or "Laser" - 450 gr.
• sour cream with fat content from 20% - 300 gr.
• onions - 2 pcs.
• vegetable oil - 50 ml.
• carrots - 1 pc.
• dill, parsley
• seasoning for pilaf

1. Rinse the fish, pat dry with a waffle or paper towel, chop into small cubes or slices
2. Slice the onions into rings. Fry it in a slow cooker until golden brown, after adding vegetable oil. Select the appropriate "Express" or "Fry" mode.
3. When the onion rings are ready, grate the carrots with a coarse section. Send it and the fish fillet to the rest of the ingredients, cook until golden brown (10-15 minutes). During the entire period, pause the appliance and stir the contents so that all the ingredients are cooked evenly.
4. Rinse the rice through a colander 8-10 times, soak it in boiling water for 15 minutes. Mix sour cream with spices, add chopped parsley and dill.
5. When the onions, meat and carrots are ready, put rice on top of them and season with sour cream mixture, stir, set the "Stew", "Groats" or "Porridge" mode (depending on the multicooker / steamer manufacturer).
6. Wait until the timer turns off, then do not open the lid, leave the dish to ripen for another half hour. Sprinkle the pilaf with lemon juice mixed with soy sauce before serving.

Many people prefer chicken fillet to lamb (beef, pork) tenderloin, and this is not surprising. A quick cooking recipe does not require much effort, the chicken easily soaks the rice grains, as a result of which the dish is tender.

• chicken fillet or breast - 550 gr.
• parboiled rice - 600 gr.
• onions - 3 pcs.
• carrots - 2 pcs.
• seasoning
• olive oil
• fresh herbs

1. Grate the carrots on a medium grater or chop them into thin rings / strips. Chop the onion into small pieces, mix with the carrots, add seasoning, black pepper and salt.
2. Pour olive oil into the cauldron, heat the dishes to the maximum mark, then immediately send the vegetables there for frying. Wait for the moment when they acquire a golden hue.
3. Cut the chicken breast (fillet) into small cubes, send to fry with onions and carrots. When the chicken is crusty, pour in 100 ml of the mixture. purified water and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Pass the rice through a colander and process it with running water to remove excess husk and starch. Pour the grains into the cauldron with meat and vegetables, do not stir. Cover with water, cover, simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Chop parsley, dill and basil, sprinkle rice with herbs, leave for a quarter of an hour. All this time, the water will boil away, it must be added.
6. After the expiration date, stir the pilaf, set the burner to the minimum power, simmer the dish for about 15-20 minutes. When the time is up, do not rush to serve pilaf to the table, leave it to rise for another half hour.

The recipe is for people who prefer mushrooms to meat and fish. The downside of such pilaf is considered to be its long digestibility, since mushrooms are digested for about 5-6 hours. The dish has gained particular popularity among vegetarians, who use it along with vegetable salad and tartar sauce.

• mushrooms (champignons or chanterelles) - 400 gr.
• tomatoes - 4 pcs.
• rice (long-grain, steamed) - 400 gr.
• bulgarian pepper - 2 pcs.
• carrots - 1 pc.
• white onion - 1 pc.
• garlic - 5 cloves
• butter
• spices for pilaf
• dill - 1 bunch
• turmeric (optional)

1. Rinse the rice through a colander 6-8 times, pour filtered water into a container, add ice cubes, salt the grains and soak them for 1 hour.
2. Cut the carrots into thin slices, chop the onions. Chop the bell peppers into strips and the tomatoes into half rings. Wash the mushrooms, peel them, cut into wedges along the stem.
3. Preheat a thick-walled saucepan or cauldron, add a lot of butter, fry the mushrooms on it until half cooked. Then add carrots, onions, bell peppers and tomatoes, cover with water. Add salt, pepper, minced garlic and pilaf spices, mix. Simmer the mixture over low heat for about 10 minutes.
4. Strain the rice, then spread it evenly over the surface of the vegetables, add water to cover the grains by 5 cm. Cover, simmer for 20 minutes. At the end of the time, turn off the stove, stir and let the dish stand for another 1 hour.

It is considered that the Tashkent technology with adjika and beef (lamb) is called a classic. However, pilaf can also be prepared using tomatoes, chicken, fish and even mushrooms. Choose the recipe you like, then feel free to start cooking.

Video: how to cook real Uzbek pilaf