How to cook pilaf according to the traditional Uzbek recipe

Perhaps, there is no such person who would not know how to cook pilaf. Currently, there are a lot of ways to prepare this popular dish, and sometimes instead of meat it can include a variety of vegetables, mushrooms, seafood and even fruits. But in itself, pilaf is a traditional Uzbek national dish, which is prepared according to a constant recipe, mixing mincemeat with pieces of meat, carrots and onions.

In traditional Uzbek cuisine, there are two main ways of cooking this dish, which differ from each other in the kind of meat used. Before cooking pilaf, carefully calcine the fat. The Uzbeks use it very much, both animal and vegetable. Cotton or any other oil is poured into the hot cast iron cauldron, which is strongly heated on the fire, and is calcined for a long time, occasionally it must be stirred with a noise, and at the end of the process, when the white smoke starts to rise, whole purified bulbs are placed in it, which are designed to remove the bitterness of the oil.

Lamb's fat used for pilaf, cut into small cubes and melt until a crisp squash is formed. They are then caught, and fat is burned for another 7 minutes to destroy the specific smell of mutton.

After the prepared fat is prepared zirvak (stewed vegetables with spices) and lay meat. It is necessary to ensure that the products retain their original appearance during roasting and do not stick to the bottom of the cauldron. Only real Uzbeks know how to cook pilaf, so that it turns out to be fragrant, crumbly and incredibly tasty. They salivate the food and add water to it twice, season it with spices only when the zirvak is completely ready. The rice is laid on top of the dirvak and in no case stirs the pilaf. Bring the food to the ready on a very slow fire, and then collect it with a spoon directly in the cauldron of the hill, which pierced in several places with a wooden skewer, cover the pilaf with a lid and leave to "forestall" for half an hour. After that, the prepared dish can be stirred and served on the table.

Modern housewives at times recede from the recipe of Uzbek masters for cooking pilaf, experiment in the kitchen, and after they wonder why they instead of the famous dish get the usual rice porridge with meat. There are a couple of subtleties to create a truly magnificent pilaf in your own kitchen. And I will now describe how to cook pilaf in a house kazan .

It is best to take exactly cast iron, and not aluminum, which will not allow the dish to languish long. To make the pilau turned friable, you need to use long grain rice. It absorbs water well and does not boil. Carrots and onions should be taken more, but in equal quantities, and carrots are best cut into thin strips, and not grated. Among the spices is to give preference to garlic, spicy pepper, zire, ground coriander, freshly ground black pepper. Sweet plov give prunes, dried fruits or barberry. They are added, guided by their own taste.

When roasting onion in fat, you must carefully monitor that it does not burn, otherwise the finished pilaf will turn out with bitterness. The degree of roasting the onion determines the final color of the food. Zirvak for pilau must be stewed for a long time on a slow fire. And, the harder the meat, the more water you need to add during the preparation of this gravy. The second time water is added to the pilaf after laying rice. Starting to extinguish the food in the cauldron, do not cover it with a lid. When a part of the water evaporates, in rice make a wooden stick a few holes and pour water in them. And then cover and cover for about an hour until full readiness.

How to cook pilaf in a pressure cooker, not every hostess knows. Indeed, these two concepts seem completely incompatible. But to make a delicious pilaf in a pressure cooker is easy. The principle of cooking is similar in many respects to the cooking of pilaf in a cauldron. Vegetables and meat are lightly fried in such dishes without a lid in a large amount of fat. But you do not need to fatten meat, because it will cook very quickly in a pressure cooker. After the meat has browned, add the rice to the pan, level it and add a little bit of water. Since the water will not evaporate, it needs so much to cover the rice. Now you can cover the pressure cooker with a lid, turn on the "meat" mode and everything. Smart pot itself will notify the hostess with a loud bell that pilaf is ready.

Now, knowing how to cook a pilaf for a truly Uzbek recipe, you can experiment with different ingredients, using instead of meat chicken, seafood, mushrooms and even fish. Bon Appetit!