How to cook crumbly pilaf? Step by step cooking recipe with photo

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Housewives who cannot boast of any experience in cooking pilaf often get rice porridge filled with a whole mass of sticky lumps, but not a traditional Uzbek dish. When this happens every time, all sorts of experiments begin. Cooking enthusiasts use different types of rice, certain types of meat, try to follow the advice of friends. Quite often, the results of such actions are deplorable, which makes one give up.

How to cook crumbly pilaf? What recipes should be adopted? We invite you to learn about this by reading the practical recommendations presented in our publication.

About choosing dishes

How to cook pilaf? It is difficult to achieve the expected results using the first pan that comes across, which has a thin bottom and walls. Following proven solutions, it is worth usingcast iron pot. The latter is better to put not on the stove, but on an open fire. If it is not possible to cook outdoors, you can choose the first option. The main thing is that the dishes correspond to the canon. Suitable here is not only a cauldron, but also a capacious cast iron pan or a deep duckling.

The above sample containers have specific qualities. The main property is the ability to retain heat inside, uniform temperature distribution. Ready pilaf is not taken in lumps. The meat comes out as juicy and soft as possible.

Which meat would you prefer?

How to cook delicious pilaf? To achieve the traditional taste, lamb should be used. However, there are many noteworthy recipes that allow the use of beef, poultry and pork. If you plan to get a classic, spicy taste, lamb should be preferred.

It is recommended to choose meat obtained from the shoulder blade or brisket. The flesh of the femur is also suitable. You can add meaty ribs. Pronounced hardness of the product is not a problem. Due to the languishing of the meat on the fire, the product will definitely soften.

How to cook rice for pilaf?

There are an impressive number of individual varieties of rice available to cooking enthusiasts these days. You can use traditional Uzbek and Tajik varieties. We are talking about cereals of the category Alanga, Devzira,scald, kenja. Good solutions - Mexican, Arabic, Italian rice.

When choosing the basis for cooking pilaf, the nature of the product should be given a decisive importance. It is better to use long-grained varieties. It is desirable that the indicators of the starch content are at the lowest level. Cooking masters advise pre-soaking rice. It is recommended to wash the grains and drain the water 6-8 times. Such actions ensure the removal of excess starch from the structure of the product. As a result, the risk of grits sticking together will be minimized.

Fat or vegetable oil?

You can use vegetable oil or animal fat during cooking. The final decision always rests with the chef. The use of an extremely limited amount of the ingredient will make the finished dish dry. Therefore, it is better to make pilaf fatty. Refined oil does not have a pronounced taste and aroma. On the contrary, animal fat will bring specific shades to the character of pilaf, which will not appeal to every consumer.

A few words about spices

The classic recipe involves the use of zira, cumin, barberry and hot pepper as seasonings for pilaf. These spices have a bright, spicy aroma, giving the dish a moderate spiciness and perfectly complementing the meat component. Garlic, thyme, suneli hops, saffron will serve as a good addition to such a composition. It is recommended to put the whole garlic in pilaf,having previously cleared the head of the husk.

Crushed pork pilaf

According to cultural beliefs, Muslims never use pork as an ingredient in pilaf. If there are no such restrictions in the family, you should use the recipe, which will be discussed later.

How to cook pork pilaf? The following set of ingredients should be used:

• Pork pulp - 500 grams.
• Long grain rice - 1 kg.
• Sunflower oil - half a glass.
• Onion - 4-5 pieces.
• Large carrots - 3-4 pieces.
• Garlic - 2 heads.
• Black pepper, bay leaf, s alt, turmeric to taste.

Meat, rice and vegetables are taken in approximately equal proportions. In this case, the dish will turn out to be balanced in all respects and will give a rich taste. Cooking should be done in a deep cauldron.

So, how to cook pork pilaf? Rice is washed several times first. The water should become clear, which will tell you about the high-quality leaching of starch. Carrots and onions are peeled. Vegetables are rinsed and then chopped. Carrots are cut into thin strips, and onions are cut into half rings. Pork is soaked in water, dried and divided into medium-sized pieces.

Pour half the amount of vegetable oil into a frying pan, and then heat until the first bubbles form. Prepared pork is placed here. The meat is fried until a light brown crust appears.shade. The product is sent to the cauldron. Add oil to the frying pan and place onion and carrot slices. Vegetables do not need to be fried. It is enough to soften them a little. The ingredient is also moved to the cauldron. Then everything is seasoned together with a mixture of spices.

Strained rice is laid in an even layer on the meat mixed with vegetables. Inside the cauldron, water is slowly poured along the wall of the container. The liquid should cover the cereal by a few centimeters. They make a big fire on the stove. When the water boils, the flame level is set to minimum. Pilaf is covered with a lid.

Cooking continues for half an hour. Then the cauldron is removed from the fire. Garlic is stuck into the pilaf. The container is again covered with a lid and wrapped in a warm blanket. The dish is allowed to reach the condition.

Pilaf with chicken meat

The recipe should be used by those who want to enjoy a tasty and fragrant, but at the same time quite light dish. How to cook pilaf using poultry as a meat ingredient? As in the previous case, first note the necessary ingredients:

• Chicken fillet - 400 grams.
• Long parboiled rice - 1.5 cups.
• Onion - 2 pieces.
• Medium-sized carrots - 2-3 pieces.
• Sunflower oil in an amount sufficient for high-quality frying of ingredients.
• Garlic - 1 head.
• Special seasoning for pilaf.

How to cook chicken pilaf? Rice is washed with starch under running water. The bird fillet is cut into moderately small pieces. Clean, wash and cut vegetables. You can grind carrots on a grater. Onions should be cut into half rings.

The bottom of the cauldron is covered with vegetable oil. A mixture of meat and vegetables is placed here. The ingredients are fried directly in the container over low heat. Pre-heat treatment is carried out until the products get a slight golden hue.

How to cook pilaf in a cauldron? Pour a small amount of water into the container. A mixture of meat and vegetables is slightly dried, s alted and spices are added. Washed and strained rice is laid on top. The groats are leveled and a series of holes are made inside. Cooking is carried out on medium heat. When no liquid remains on the surface of the rice, stick garlic cloves.

Pilaf is left to languish under the lid for 5-10 minutes. This time is enough for the rice to absorb the residual moisture and become crumbly. In conclusion, the dish can be mixed and resorted to tasting.

How to cook Uzbek pilaf?

The dish will be worthy of the highest praise if you resort to using the traditional Uzbek recipe. If everything is done correctly, there will be no hint of the presence of rice lumps. Pilaf will come out extremely fragrant and crumbly.

How to cook pilaf according to the Uzbek recipe? You need to use the following set of ingredients:

• Lamb - 500 grams.
• Large carrots - 3-4 pieces.
• Big onion - 4 pieces.
• Long rice - 500 grams.
• Vegetable oil - about 150-200 grams.
• Headgarlic.
• Spice mix: zira, thyme, cumin, barberry, saffron.

The rice is washed several times and then left to soak in cold water. The lamb is cut into medium pieces. Vegetables are cleaned and washed. The onion is cut into large cubes. Carrots are chopped into strips.

Vegetable oil is heated in a frying pan. Meat is placed here and fried until a blush appears. Add a mixture of vegetables and spices. Roasting continues for another 5 minutes.

The contents of the pan are sent to the cauldron. Rice is laid on top and a few teaspoons of s alt are added. Rice is carefully poured with water. The container is sent to the stove, setting a medium fire. After boiling, the cauldron is covered with a lid. The flame is reduced and the pilaf is left to cook for 20 minutes. Then the dish is left to infuse for a quarter of an hour.

Helpful tips

Once again, let's return to the question of how to properly cook friable pilaf? So that the finished dish never disappoints with its qualities, it is enough to pay attention to the following points:

1. Products must be added in a certain sequence. The best solution is to pre-fry the meat ingredients with onions. Chopped carrots are also added here. The mixture of ingredients is seasoned with spices, and then placed in a container that will be used to cook pilaf. Everything is poured with hot water so that the liquid level is at least 2-3 cm above the meat layer.
2. When putting the rice in a container, do not stir it. It is recommended to carefully level the surface of the cereal andput the head of garlic inside.
3. In the process of cooking, rice should not be boiled, but slowly steamed, languishing over moderate heat. To achieve uniform cooking of cereals, it is worth making a series of holes on the surface with a wooden stick. Through such holes, it will be easier for a couple to rise up.
4. Rice should be covered during cooking. The latter can be raised briefly to make up for the lack of water in the tank.
5. After the dish is fully cooked, it is important not to remove the lid for the next 10-15 minutes. Pilaf must be removed from the fire and let it brew. Otherwise, unwanted lumps may occur.

Cooking pilaf in a slow cooker

If you wish, you can cook a dish using a modern solution. How to cook pilaf in a slow cooker? The features here are identical to the specifics of cooking a dish using a cauldron. The main thing is that the multicooker has a special “Pilaf” mode. It remains only to prepare meat and vegetable frying, based on the advice from our article. Then it is enough to put the ingredients in the container of the device, add rice, pour water and set the desired mode. The "intelligent" device will do everything on its own.

In closing

The recipes discussed in our publication have some specific differences. At the same time, regardless of the option chosen, strict adherence to the recommendations allows you to achieve the canonical taste and make the rice crumbly. As for the use of spices, there is room for experimentation. Do not be afraid to use different combinations of seasonings. After all, this is the only way to achieve a taste that will fully satisfy individual preferences.