How to make pilaf so that the rice is crumbly. How to cook real pilaf: secrets and rules you can’t do without. Uzbek pilaf with lamb

Pilaf is one of the most common dishes not only in the Middle East, but also in Slavic countries. This is explained by its high taste and ease of preparation. Pilaf can be eaten the next day warmed up - it perfectly preserves the original taste.

Each housewife has her own signature dish recipe. One of the most popular is crumbly pilaf. Initially, it was customary to cook the dish in a cauldron, but now modern technologies make it possible to simplify cooking and prepare crumbly pilaf in ordinary dishes and even in a slow cooker.

Crumbly pilaf: recipe with photo

This recipe is designed to be prepared crumbly pilaf in a cauldron. And it will be cooked on pork ribs.

We will need:

• 600 g rice;
• 5-6 chopped pork ribs;
• 3 medium sized carrots;
• 3 medium onions;
• 50-70 g vegetable oil;
• spices: paprika, cumin (cumin), barberry;
• salt, pepper

Preparation of zirvak (gravy):

1. Heat a cauldron, pour in vegetable oil.
2. Place one onion in hot oil (after smoke appears) and fry until golden brown (to remove bitterness from the oil and give it a unique flavor).
3. After this, remove the onion and dispose of it.
4. Do not reduce the heat; cooking continues over high heat.
5. Place the ribs in a cauldron and fry until golden brown crust.
6. Add the remaining onion, cut into half rings, and fry until golden brown.
7. Cut the carrots into cubes and add to the cauldron. Fry with ribs and onions for about 5 minutes.
8. Fill the cauldron with hot (you can even boiling water) water until the contents in the cauldron are completely covered.
9. Add spices, salt and pepper to taste, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil over medium heat.
10. When boiling, reduce heat and simmer over low heat for about an hour.

Cooking rice:

1. Sort the rice, rinse and soak in cold water for a quarter of an hour.
2. Drain the water and cover the zirvak with an even layer of rice.
3. Without damaging the rice layer, pour hot water in a thin stream into the cauldron until it reaches a level of 2-3 cm above the rice.
4. Add salt to taste, cover with a lid and wait for it to boil.
5. Reduce heat and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.
6. After adding rice to the cauldron, the contents do not need to be stirred until the end of cooking - then the dish will not turn out crumbly.
7. Remove the pot from the heat and, without removing the lid, let it sit for another 15 minutes.
8. The crumbly pilaf is served as follows: turn the cauldron onto a dish so that the rice is on the plate and the zirvak is on top. If desired, you can add greens and serve with lightly salted tomatoes.

How to cook crumbly pilaf in a slow cooker

This recipe for crumbly pilaf in a slow cooker is designed for 6 servings. The total cooking time for this dish takes about an hour.

You will need the following ingredients:

• 1 cup rice (160 ml);
• 200 ml water;
• 0.5 kg of meat (chicken, beef, lamb or pork);
• 50 ml vegetable oil;
• 1 onion bulb;
• 1 carrot;
• 1 tsp. salt;
• 1 tsp. favorite seasoning.

Step-by-step cooking instructions:

1. Rinse and dry the rice.
2. Cut the meat into pieces measuring 1.5x1.5 cm.
3. Chop the onion and grate the carrots.
4. Pour oil into the multicooker bowl and turn on the “Baking” (or “Frying”) mode.
5. Place meat cubes in hot oil and fry for 10 minutes until golden brown.
6. Add carrots and onions, wait another 10 minutes until carrots wilt and onions become translucent.
7. Add rice to a bowl and stir-fry for about 15 minutes.
8. Turn on the “Stew” (or “Pilaf”) mode, add water, salt, seasonings and cook for half an hour.

Now the crumbly pilaf is ready. You can serve it with vegetable salads, sauces, but it can also be served as a full-fledged independent dish.

Crumbly pilaf in a slow cooker: cooking secrets

Sticky rice is a pressing problem in the kitchen of many housewives. Often cooked pilaf resembles sticky rice porridge. As a rule, these are mistakes of young, inexperienced housewives. Some people consider the task of preparing crumbly pilaf impossible. This is a big misconception.

To get pilaf grain by grain, you just need to know some nuances:

1. The cereal must be washed well. Gluten contained in rice makes the dish sticky and to get rid of rice gluten, you need to wash the grain at least 10 times.
2. After washing, the rice must be dried. For example, put it on a towel.
3. To ensure maximum fluffiness of the dish, the rice must be fried before cooking.

If you follow all the listed instructions, your pilaf, cooked in a slow cooker or in a cauldron, will have a rich, rich taste, a wonderful aesthetic appearance and will undoubtedly turn out crumbly.

I have been preparing all grains (and rice is no exception) for many years very in a simple way: fill them with water in a ratio of 1:2 (1 cup of cereal/rice, 2 cups of water), bring to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes. Next, I remove the cereal/rice from the burner and let it “ripen” - usually for 10-15 minutes. Rice (like any other cereal) turns out grain-to-grain! And then I add everything I need: meat (any kind, to taste: lamb, pork, chicken.) with spices, carrots and other vegetables, sometimes with mussels and mushrooms (this is already risotto). Naturally, all this is already prepared :-) Stir and eat hot! :-)

Pilaf is a very tasty and balanced food. This national dish Uzbek, Tajik cuisine and some others. And in each national cuisine pilaf is prepared in its own way with its own little secrets. Pilaf can be cooked with different meats. Traditional pilaf is pilaf with lamb meat, but it will be no less tasty with pork, beef, and chicken.

It is very important to choose for pilaf proper rice, half the success in this dish depends on it, so to speak. I use steamed long rice for pilaf.

Vegetable oil is poured into it and put on fire. Meat can be cut in large pieces, placed in heated vegetable oil, pre-salted. Then 2 onions are cut into half rings and placed in a cauldron. 3-4 large carrots are cut into strips and sent to the meat and onions. After this, you can add spices. When the meat, onions and carrots are slightly fried, add washed rice in an even layer and add water (boiling water) at the rate of 1 part rice to 1.5 parts water. Cover everything with a lid and wait for it to boil. after this the fire is made small. For flavor, you can put a whole head of garlic in the middle of the pilaf (no need to peel it; after cooking, it is removed from the pilaf). Pilaf cooks for a total of 1.5-2 hours, depending on the meat. Rice is added 30-40 minutes before expected readiness. The pilaf is ready when all the water has boiled away. When preparing pilaf, do not stir it.

Traditionally, pilaf is laid out on large dish Simply by turning the cauldron over onto it, the meat comes out on top.

There are a lot of options for preparing pilaf. But oriental cuisine It’s quite heavy, and I’m giving a recipe for an “adapted version of pilaf.” So that heartburn doesn’t bother you later.

• Pour into the duck pot (cauldron or deep frying pan) sunflower oil about 1 cm .


• When the oil is hot enough, throw in the slices of meat. I usually add it in parts, stirring. The meat should be crusty on all sides.. I add it in parts to so that the meat is fried before the juices release. Then there will be no soot at the bottom of the duckling pot. and the slices of meat will remain juicy inside.


• When the meat is already “golden”, add chopped onion (cut as you like, but not too finely). Fry the onion until golden brown .


• Next, add the grated carrots (you can use a beetroot grater, but I usually use a smaller “carrot grater”). No need to fry carrots. just mix and add the following ingredients.


• Add tomato sauce, favorite seasonings, salt to taste and several whole garlic cloves. Optionally, raisins. Mix everything. Garlic serves “to separate tastes and smells” so that each ingredient does not lose its individual taste. This is how I was taught, I don’t know how it works, but I think it really works.


• Level the mass at the bottom of the duckling pan. Sprinkle raw rice on top. Fill with water so so that the water covers the rice by 1-1.5 cm. (You can add more or less rice; the more rice, the more water. I’m used to doing it by eye. I usually just pour it to 1 cm, and then, if necessary, add boiling water along the edge of the duck if the water has already boiled away and the rice is not ready yet)


• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until the water evaporates. All the water should evaporate, leaving the pilaf dry and crumbly. If some of the water remains, the grains of rice will still be separate, not sticky, but it can hardly be called crumbly. When it’s almost ready, you can crumble the greens on top and add more garlic (chopped or garlic). The garlic that was added earlier will not leave any garlic aroma. If you want the aroma of garlic to be felt in the pilaf, you need to add more.


• Turn off and mix .

• Long grain rice varieties They boil less, round-grain ones - more, and often produce a sticky, sticky mass.


• Parboiled rice holds its shape better than just sanded.


• In water containing acids, salts and oil, rice cooks less and turns out crumbly.

Can be added to pilaf rice, cooked until half cooked.

but I prefer raw: it is already cooked in a suspension of water and oil (the oil in the duck pot floats up and comes into direct contact with the layer of rice). I don’t remember a time when the pilaf didn’t turn out crumbly and golden. If everything was successful, then the pilaf will simply melt on the tongue: both rice and pieces of meat.

There are many recipes for pilaf, but no matter what recipe you prepare, first of all you need to wash off the starch from the rice, which forms a paste on the surface of the grain. Rinse the rice in hot water, you can do this several times. Personally, I prefer to cook Uzbek pilaf. It is based on zirvak - stewed meat with spices. I put the washed rice on the finished zirvak and fill it with hot water so that it covers the rice by 3-4 cm. I cook it with the lid open at high temperature. If, nevertheless, a paste has formed on the rice and the rice begins to stick together, the situation can be corrected by increasing the temperature of the brew. In this case, I cover the open cauldron with a towel; its function is to absorb moisture. I put a lid on top of the towel and cook until done.

When preparing pilaf, the main thing is to follow the cooking technology, take the right utensils and products. The best pilaf is made in a cauldron and over an open fire. Before cooking, the rice must be soaked and washed thoroughly, then it will not stick together in the pilaf. To prepare pilaf best rice Devzir variety, but it is not always possible to buy. Round Krasnodar or Chinese will also work. You can also use steamed rice, it’s easier to cook, the pilaf will be crumbly, but the taste is average. All products for preparing pilaf are taken per kilogram. This includes rice, meat, carrots, onions, half a liter of vegetable oil, and spices. First, onions are fried, then carrots, then meat with spices, water is added, and the base of the pilaf, zirvak, is cooked. Rice is added, the main thing is to maintain the proportion of water. If you cook in a cauldron, then the water should be two fingers above the level of the rice. The pilaf is not disturbed, it is only pierced to allow steam to escape. After the water has boiled away, close the cauldron, turn off the fire and leave the pilaf to simmer for about twenty minutes.

When preparing pilaf, the main thing is to maintain the proportion of rice and water; if you don’t add it, it will burn, if it turns out wrong simple porridge Well, temperature is also important

Cut the meat - lamb is best - into small pieces and fry in very hot oil. Then add onions and carrots, cut into strips. Add spices I add turmeric and basil, be sure to add the rest of the usual seasoning. Pour water, add salt, bring to a boil. You can add garlic cloves, 2-3 whole hot pepper pods.

Wash the rice, put it in the cauldron with the meat, and smooth it out. When the water has boiled away, pierce the rice in several places to the bottom of the cauldron with a knife or wooden stick, close tightly and leave for 20 minutes. over very low heat. Place on a plate without stirring, in a heap.

Prepare vegetables and meat. Cut the meat into cubes, carrots into strips, and onions finely. We take more carrots and onions so that the pilaf is juicy.

Fry the meat with onions in vegetable oil, add salt and pepper. Add carrots and fry for another 5 minutes. Add rice, add garlic to the rice and add some salt. DO NOT stir, add 3 fingers of water and, closing the lid, cook until all the water has boiled away.

Pilaf is a dish that different countries the world is prepared in its own way national recipes. Any cooking option for this delicious, hearty treat will delight consumers with a rich meaty aroma, crumbly grains and the bright taste of a variety of spices. And in order to prepare the most authentic pilaf, you need to cook it, or rather stew it, in a cauldron or other thick-walled container. In this case, the rice grains will not stick together and turn into ordinary porridge, but will remain intact. Numerous folk recipes suggest the use of not only rice, but also other cereals for preparing pilaf. Traditional young lamb meat can be successfully replaced with beef, pork, chicken and even fish. A special type of pilaf is sweet pilaf with dried fruits.

There is a great variety, but they are all united the right choice dishes, varieties of rice, meat, vegetables and spices. Let's start with rice.

Rice

To prepare pilaf, you need strong varieties of rice with medium-length transparent grains and low starch content. Thai and Indian varieties of rice, long-grain, steamed and wild rice are not suitable for pilaf. Best option– Uzbek and Tajik rice. Choose oshpar, belay alanga, akmarzhan, devzira, round Krasnodar rice, barakat.

Before preparing pilaf, you need to properly prepare the rice - sort it out, rinse it several times, and soak it in salted water for a couple of hours.

Meat

The best meat for the dish is undoubtedly lamb - brisket, shoulder and back. Take twice as much meat if you have it with bones. Pork and beef are also suitable for pilaf. But don’t take veal - the pilaf won’t be as flavorful.

Oil and spices

Pilaf is prepared in corn oil or fat tail fat, seasoned with cumin, barberry berries, hot pepper, and other spices as desired. But do not take ready-made spice mixtures, supposedly made specifically for pilaf, they will not give the dish the desired aroma.

Dishes

You need to cook pilaf in a thick-bottomed cast-iron pan with straight walls. Never use thin-walled or enamel dishes for pilaf.

Basic classic recipe

So let's begin.

1. Take the meat, fry it until golden brown, remove it from the pan and fry the onion in half rings in the same fat. Place the meat back into the pan.
2. Stir the onions and meat, heat them for 5 minutes and add the carrots, cut (not grated!) into bars.
3. Fry everything for 2-3 minutes without stirring, then mix all the ingredients and fry for 10 minutes, stirring gently.
4. Add spices, fry a little more and pour boiling water over it.
5. Next you need to add pepper and barberry berries.
6. Simmer the dish over low heat until the water has completely evaporated. This usually takes from 40 minutes to an hour and a half. About 10 minutes before the end of cooking the meat part, you need to add a little salt.
7. When the meat part (zirvak) is ready, you need to turn the heat to maximum, put the unpeeled head of garlic and washed, well-dried rice into the pan, then slowly pour in boiled water - it should cover the rice by 2-3 cm.
8. Bring the dish to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the rice comes out from under the water, and it should be half cooked.
9. Next, you need to place a plate on the rice, close the pan with a lid, turn the heat to minimum and simmer the pilaf for another 20 minutes.
10. At the end of cooking, remove the pilaf from the heat, stir and serve immediately.

Pork pilaf in a cauldron

The dish is quite high in calories, it is better to eat it at lunch.

Ingredients:

• 200 g pork;
• 200 g rice;
• 200 g carrots;
• 200 g onion;
• 40 ml vegetable oil;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• salt, ground black pepper - to taste.

Let's prepare it like this:

1. Pour vegetable oil into a cauldron and heat it up.
2. Cut the meat into pieces and fry until cooked on all sides.
3. Cut the onion into half rings and place on top of the meat.
4. Grate or thinly slice the carrots, add to the main mixture, and simmer the food.
5. Pour in the washed rice, pour in warm water, it should cover the food by two fingers.
6. Add salt to taste, add ground black pepper.
7. 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking, add a whole head of garlic.
8. Heat until the water evaporates, turn off the heat, and let the dish cook under the lid.

You can serve vegetable salad with pork pilaf.

Friable pilaf with chicken

A tender and aromatic treat with poultry meat. The dish will do for children's table

We will need:

• 750 g chicken;
• 600 ml water;
• 400 g rice;
• 350 g carrots;
• 1 large onion;
• 1 head of garlic;
• Italian herbs, hot pepper – 5 g each;
• cumin, thyme, turmeric, salt - 5 g each.

Method of preparation.

1. Wash the rice, pour into warm water, leave for 40 minutes.
2. Peel the onion and cut into half rings. Grate the carrots, peel the garlic and divide into slices.
3. Wash the chicken and chop into medium-sized pieces.
4. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan, add chicken, fry until an appetizing crust.
5. Add onion, brown, add carrots, heat everything together for 4 minutes.
6. Salt the mixture, add cumin, thyme, hot pepper, turmeric, Italian herbs. Pour in 550 ml of water, add garlic.
7. Bring the mixture to a boil, simmer covered over low heat for half an hour.
8. Add rice, add a little water, simmer the pilaf for 25 minutes. When serving, remove the garlic.

Decorate the pilaf with parsley sprigs.

Lamb pilaf recipe

Simple pilaf without spices and dried fruits, the dish is quickly prepared.

Required components:

• 2 liters of water;
• 1 kg stewed lamb;
• 400 g rice;
• 100 ml vegetable oil;
• 3 medium onions;
• 3 medium carrots;
• 2 heads of garlic;
• ground red pepper and salt - to taste.

Preparation:

1. Heat the cauldron, pour in refined vegetable oil, fry the lamb.
2. Cut the onion into half rings, carrots into bars or strips.
3. Add the onion to the meat, fry for 10 minutes, add carrots, simmer for 25 minutes, heat is medium, stir.
4. Add salt, red ground pepper, place the heads of garlic in the center.
5. Rinse the rice and place on top of the roast.
6. Pour in hot water; it should cover the food by 1 centimeter.
7. Simmer covered for 15 to 20 minutes, heat low.

When serving, place the meat on top and garnish with herbs.

How to cook pilaf in a cauldron

You need to know how to cook traditional pilaf. To help - step by step recipe and the right products.

Compound:

• 1 kg of fatty meat pulp;
• 720 g basmati rice;
• 60 g dark raisins;
• 2 medium onions;
• 2 large carrots;
• 2 heads of garlic;
• 1 glass of vegetable oil;
• cumin, coriander seeds, salt - 1 tbsp each. (incomplete).

Step by step recipe:

1. Peel the carrots and chop them into large strips without using a grater. Cut the onion into half rings. Peel the garlic cloves.
2. Rinse and dry fatty meat.
3. Heat refined vegetable oil, fry vegetables and meat, cut into slices. Frying time – 6-7 minutes.
4. Add washed rice.
5. 17 minutes after the start of frying the zirvak, add salt, cumin, and coriander to it.
6. Place cereal on top, pour in water. The liquid should cover the food.
7. Simmer the pilaf until the liquid evaporates.
8. Add dark seedless raisins and salt. Press a few heads of garlic into the rice.
9. Simmer the dish for another half hour, then cover the cauldron with a blanket and let stand for 20 minutes.

When serving, remove the garlic and garnish the pilaf with herbs.

Pork pilaf in a slow cooker

To make the dish tasty and appetizing, you need to prepare a good roast.

You will need:

• 500 g pork ribs;
• 150 ml vegetable oil;
• 4 medium carrots;
• 2 cups long grain rice;
• 2 medium onions;
• 1 head of garlic;
• 1 d.l. salt
• ground black pepper, barberry, turmeric, paprika, suneli hops to taste.

Cooking stages.

1. Soak long rice in hot water, then rinse with warm water.
2. Pour the cereal into the multicooker bowl. Set the “Frying” mode for 20 minutes.
3. Heat vegetable oil, put onions, fry until golden brown.
4. Add pork, cut into pieces, fry everything together for 5-7 minutes.
5. Cut the carrots into strips, put them in the fryer, stir, and heat for 5 minutes.
6. Pour boiling water over the meat and vegetables, add spices for the pilaf: ground black pepper, barberry, turmeric, paprika, suneli hops. Set the “Extinguishing” mode for 20 minutes.
7. Add washed rice, salt, add 500 ml of boiling water so that the water covers the rice by 2 fingers. Add a whole head of garlic.
8. Close the multicooker and cook in the “Pilaf” mode for 40 minutes. When ready, mix the cereal with the meat.

Serve pilaf with fresh herbs and vegetables.

Uzbek pilaf with lamb

Lamb is traditionally used to create Uzbek or Samarkand pilaf. Pilaf is the main dish of the East.

List of ingredients:

• 1 kg lamb;
• 1 kg carrots;
• 1 kg rice;
• 300 ml vegetable oil;
• 4 onions;
• 2 dry hot peppers;
• 2 heads of garlic;
• 1 tsp coriander seeds;
• cumin and dried barberry - 1 tbsp each;
• salt - to taste.

Recipe step by step:

1. Rinse the rice well. Wash the meat thoroughly and cut into cubes.
2. Peel the carrots and 3 onions.
3. Cut the carrots into 1 cm thick bars, and the onion into half rings. Peel the garlic, do not separate the cloves.
4. Heat the cauldron well, pour in vegetable oil.
5. Add a whole peeled onion, fry until black, then remove and discard.
6. Fry the chopped onion for 7 minutes, add the meat, fry together until golden brown.
7. Add carrots, fry everything together for 3 minutes, do not stir, then stir and heat, stirring slightly, for 10 minutes.
8. Grind the coriander and cumin with your fingers or in a mortar and pestle. Add spices to the frying, add salt, add barberries.
9. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 8-10 minutes until carrots are soft. Pour in boiling water; it should cover the food by 2 centimeters. Put hot pepper, simmer zirvak for 1 hour.
10. Place the pre-soaked cereal on frying in an even layer, pour in a 3 cm layer of boiling water. The water should be absorbed.
11. Place the heads of garlic and drown them in the mass, continue to simmer the pilaf until fully cooked. Turn off the stove, cover the food with a flat plate, with a lid on top. Let stand for half an hour.

When serving, garnish the pilaf with stewed heads of garlic and herbs.

Beef pilaf

A classic recipe for a hearty and beautiful dish for a family dinner or holiday.

We will need:

• 500 g beef;
• 500 g carrots;
• 350 g onions;
• 200 ml vegetable oil;
• 1.2 liters of water;
• 3 cups steamed rice;
• 1 head of garlic;
• 1 pinch of hot pepper;
• cumin, dried barberry, ground black pepper - ½ tsp each;
• salt and turmeric - 1 tsp each.

Let's prepare it like this:

1. Cut the carrots into small strips with a knife or using a vegetable cutter. Cut the onion into small cubes.
2. Cut the beef into medium-sized pieces.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a cast iron frying pan or in a cauldron, fry the beef until crusty.
4. Add vegetables, simmer everything together for 5 minutes.
5. Add salt, dried barberry, cumin, hot ground pepper, black pepper, turmeric. Mix the ingredients and simmer covered over low heat for 35-40 minutes.
6. Pour in boiling water, bring to a boil, add pre-washed rice. Cover the pilaf with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Add the head of garlic and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
8. Remove the finished dish from the heat, stir, cover the cauldron with a blanket, and let stand.

Serve the dish hot, garnish with herbs.

Cooking in Azerbaijani style

The difference in preparing Azerbaijani-style pilaf from Uzbek pilaf is that the rice is cooked separately from the vegetables.

Required products:

• 700 g long grain rice;
• 700 g lamb;
• 200 g butter;
• 150 g dried apricots;
• 100 g prunes;
• 100 g chestnuts;
• 100 g raisins;
• 2 medium onions;
• 1 egg;
• 1 tsp turmeric;
• salt.

Cooking:

1. Soak the rice in cool water, add salt, and leave to swell for 2 hours.
2. Cut the lamb into pieces, boil in salted water, skim off the foam.
3. Rinse dried apricots, seedless raisins, dried prunes. Pour boiling water over for 10 minutes. Make cross cuts on the chestnuts. Blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, pour over cool water, remove the skin. Place peeled fruits in water, cook for 7 minutes, heat low.
4. Peel the onion and cut into strips.
5. Heat a frying pan well, melt the butter, fry the onion until golden brown.
6. Add dried fruits to the pan, add meat. Simmer for 15 minutes, stir. If necessary, boiling water can be added.
7. Strain the rice, boil it in a new portion of water, add salt, and drain in a colander. It is important not to overcook the product.
8. In a small container mix 5 tbsp. boiled long rice with turmeric and chicken egg.
9. Separately, melt the butter (reserve 5 g), add salt and turmeric. You can use a water bath or microwave. Lubricate with the remaining butter cauldron or frying pan with thick walls. Place the egg mixture on the bottom. The next layer is rice. Soak in oil and spices. Cover with a plate, then with a lid, and simmer over low heat. When serving, place meat on rice.

Decorate the pilaf with dried fruits.

Real Tajik pilaf

For classic pilaf lamb and fat tail fat are used.

Ingredients:

• 2 kg lamb;
• 1 kg of onions;
• 1 kg carrots;
• 1 kg rice;
• 250 g fat tail fat;
• spices, garlic, salt.

Cooking steps.

1. Cut the meat into large pieces. Grind the tail fat. Heat the cauldron until red hot, add fat, heat until cracklings appear, remove the pieces. Place meat in fat and fry, stirring.
2. Peel the onion, cut into thin half rings, add to the meat.
3. Peel and cut the carrots into bars, add half of the product to the cauldron, and fry.
4. Add the remaining carrots and add water. Add salt and spices to taste, cook everything together until the meat is cooked.
5. Add washed rice and place a head of garlic in the center. Cook until done, covered.
6. Pierce the rice several times with a chopstick. Fire is low, extinguishing time is 20 minutes. Keep the pilaf covered and serve.

For Tajik pilaf you can use cumin, black and ground hot pepper, coriander, barberry, dried garlic, paprika, saffron.

With added dried fruits

An original dish, to prepare pilaf with dried fruits you can use dates, figs, cherry plums, dried plums, dried apricots, dried apples, raisin.

You will need:

• 500 g long grain rice;;
• 300 g butter;
• 100 g honey;
• 50 g nuts;
• dried fruits – 80 g each;
• cardamom, vanillin, cinnamon - ¼ tsp each.

Preparation:

1. Rinse the rice well.
2. Put butter, salt in a liter of boiling water, add rice, cook over low heat.
3. Fry dried fruits and nuts in butter in a saucepan. Add natural honey and hot water. The liquid should cover the dried fruit by two centimeters. Cook for five minutes. Recommended spices: cinnamon, vanillin, cardamom.
4. Place the finished rice on a dish, pour over the dried fruit sauce.

To prepare the dish, it is better to use light honey and nuts – if possible and desired.

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

How to properly cook crumbly pilaf? What recipes should you use? We invite you to find out about this by reading the practical recommendations presented in our publication.

About choosing dishes

How to cook pilaf correctly? It is difficult to achieve the expected results using the first pan you come across that has a thin bottom and walls. Following proven solutions, you should use a cast iron cauldron. It is better to place the latter not on the stove, but on an open fire. If it is not possible to cook in an open space, you can choose the first option. The main thing is that the dishes comply with the canon. Not only a cauldron is suitable here, but also a spacious cast iron pan or a deep duck pot.

The above samples of containers have specific qualities. The main property is the ability to retain heat inside and uniform temperature distribution. The finished pilaf does not come in lumps. The meat comes out as juicy and soft as possible.

Which meat is better to choose?

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

It is recommended to choose meat obtained from the shoulder or brisket. The flesh of the thigh is also suitable. You can add meaty ribs. The pronounced hardness of the product is not a problem. By simmering the meat over the fire, the product will definitely soften.

How to properly cook rice for pilaf?

There are an impressive number of individual rice options available to cooking enthusiasts these days. You can use traditional Uzbek and Tajik varieties. We are talking about cereals of the alanga, devzira, oshpar, and kenja categories. Good solutions are Mexican, Arabic, Italian rice.

When choosing a base for preparing pilaf, the determining factor should be the nature of the product. It is better to use long-grained varieties. It is desirable that the starch content be at the lowest level. Cooking experts advise pre-soaking rice. It is recommended to rinse 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 cereal sticking will be minimized.

Fat or vegetable oil?

During cooking, you can use vegetable oil or animal fat. The final decision always remains with the cook. The use of an extremely limited amount of the ingredient will ready dish dry Therefore, it is better to make pilaf fatty. Refined oil does not have a distinct taste and aroma. On the contrary, animal fat will add specific shades to the character of the pilaf, which not every consumer will like.

A few words about spices

Classic recipe involves the use of cumin, cumin, barberry and hot pepper. These spices have a bright, piquant aroma, giving the dish a moderate spiciness and perfectly complementing the meat component. A good addition to such a composition would be garlic, thyme, suneli hops, and saffron. It is recommended to put the garlic whole into the pilaf, after first clearing the head of the husk.

Crispy pork pilaf

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

How to properly 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.
• Onions - 4-5 pieces.
• Large carrots - 3-4 pieces.
• Garlic - 2 heads.
• Black pepper, bay leaf, salt, turmeric - to taste.

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

So, how to properly cook pork pilaf? First, the rice is washed several times. The water should become clear, which will indicate that the starch has been thoroughly washed out. Peel carrots and onions. Vegetables are rinsed and then chopped. The carrots are cut into thin strips, and the onions into half rings. The pork is soaked in water, dried and divided into medium-sized pieces.

Half the norm of vegetable oil is poured into a frying pan and then heated until the first bubbles form. Prepared pork is placed here. The meat is fried until a light brown crust appears. The product is sent to the cauldron. Add oil to the frying pan and add chopped onions and carrots. Vegetables do not need to be fried. It is enough to soften them slightly. The ingredient is also transferred to the cauldron. Then the whole thing is seasoned with a mixture of spices.

Strained rice is placed in an even layer on top of the meat mixed with vegetables. Water is slowly poured into the cauldron along the wall of the container. The liquid should cover the cereal by several centimeters. Make a big fire on the stove. When the water boils, set the flame level to minimum. The 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. Cover the container again with a lid and wrap it in a warm blanket. The dish is allowed to reach condition.

Pilaf with chicken meat

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

• Chicken fillet- 400 grams.
• Long steamed rice - one and a half cups.
• Onions - 2 pieces.
• Medium-sized carrots - 2-3 pieces.
• Sunflower oil in a quantity sufficient for high-quality frying of ingredients.
• Garlic - 1 head.
• Special seasoning for pilaf.

How to properly cook chicken pilaf? The starch is washed out of the rice under running water. The poultry fillet is cut into moderately small pieces. Peel, wash and cut vegetables. You can chop carrots using a grater. The onion 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. Preliminary heat treatment perform until the products have a light golden hue.

How to properly cook pilaf in a cauldron? A small amount of water is poured into the container. The mixture of meat and vegetables is lightly dried, salted and spices are added. Place washed and drained rice on top. The grain is leveled and a number of holes are made inside. Cooking is carried out over medium heat. When there is no liquid remaining on the surface of the rice, stick in the garlic cloves.

The pilaf is left to simmer under the lid for 5-10 minutes. This time is enough for the rice to absorb residual moisture and become crumbly. At the end, you can stir the dish and resort to tasting.

How to cook Uzbek pilaf correctly?

The dish will turn out 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. The pilaf will be extremely aromatic and crumbly.

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

• Lamb - 500 grams.
• Large carrots - 3-4 pieces.
• Large onions - 4 pieces.
• Long rice - 500 grams.
• Vegetable oil- about 150-200 grams.
• Head of garlic.
• Spice mixture: cumin, thyme, cumin, barberry, saffron.

The rice is washed several times and then left to soak in cold water. Lamb is cut into medium pieces. Vegetables are peeled and washed. Cut the onion into large cubes. The carrots are chopped into strips.

Vegetable oil is heated in a frying pan. The meat is placed here and fried until golden brown. Add a mixture of vegetables and spices. Roasting is continued for another 5 minutes.

The contents of the frying pan are sent to the cauldron. Place rice on top and add a few teaspoons of salt. The rice is carefully poured with water. The container is sent to the stove, setting medium heat. After boiling, cover the cauldron with a lid. Reduce the flame and leave the pilaf to cook for 20 minutes. Then the dish is left to steep for a quarter of an hour.

Let's return once again to the question of how to properly cook crumbly pilaf? To ensure 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. Pre-frying appears to be the optimal solution. 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 prepare pilaf. Everything is filled with hot water so that the liquid level is at least 2-3 cm above the meat layer.
2. Once you put the rice in a container, do not stir it. It is recommended to carefully smooth the surface of the cereal and place the head of garlic inside.
3. During the cooking process, the rice should not be boiled, but slowly steamed, simmering over moderate heat. To achieve uniform cooking of the cereal, it is worth making a series of holes on the surface with a wooden stick. Through such holes it will be easier for the steam to rise up.
4. Keep the rice covered while cooking. The latter can be raised briefly to replenish the lack of water in the container.
5. Once the dish is fully cooked, it is important not to remove the lid for the next 10-15 minutes. The pilaf must be removed from the heat and allowed to brew. Otherwise, unwanted lumps may form.

Cooking pilaf in a slow cooker

If desired, you can prepare the dish using a modern solution. How to properly cook pilaf in a slow cooker? The features here are identical to the specifics of preparing a dish using a cauldron. The main thing is that the multicooker has a special “Pilaf” mode. All that remains is to prepare the meat and vegetable frying, based on the tips from our article. Then just put the ingredients in the device’s container, add rice, pour water and set the desired mode. A “reasonable” device will do everything on its own.

In conclusion

The recipes discussed in our publication have some specific differences. At the same time, regardless of the chosen option, strict adherence to the recommendations allows you to achieve the canonical taste and make the rice crumbly. When it comes to using spices, there is room for experimentation. Don't be afraid to use different seasoning combinations. After all, this is the only way to achieve a taste that fully satisfies individual preferences.

Rice is used to prepare a wide variety of dishes. But the most famous is pilaf. The rice grains in it should crumble and not form sticky fragments. However, to achieve proper preparation This dish is difficult. We will tell you how to prepare crumbly pilaf in our article.

Main reasons for failure

The most difficult thing in preparing pilaf is to ensure that the rice becomes crumbly and absorbs the taste of zirvak. To do this, you need not only to strictly follow the recipe, but also to choose the right ingredients for preparing the dish.

Rice in pilaf does not turn out crumbly for the following reasons:

• non-compliance with cooking technology. Today there are a wide variety of pilaf recipes. In many of them, the components of the dish should not be mixed during the cooking process. Rice is added at the very end, which is why it is not always possible to accurately meet all the requirements (temperature in the container, cooking time, amount of water, etc.). This leads to the fact that the grains either remain very dry or stick together;
• incorrectly selected cereal. Only suitable for preparing pilaf durum varieties long grain rice. There are many varieties of grains that can be used for cooking. Some of them are perfect, but they are very difficult to find in a store or market (for example, devzira rice). Others are easier to find, but more difficult to achieve crumbly quality. However, many types of rice should absolutely not be used to prepare this dish;
• You need to choose a specific brand of rice. Some products, even if the pilaf cooking technology is followed, give off an unpleasant odor and sticky lumps. This happens if the grain is of poor quality and was harvested in violation of the collection technology. It is best to give preference to more expensive products from well-known brands. In this case, the risk of buying a fake will be minimal;
• the presence of a large amount of starch in rice. To reduce its content in cereals, it is necessary to rinse the grains well. Be sure to rinse the rice to remove all contaminants. Their presence can also lead to grains sticking together during cooking. Depending on the type of rice, you need to wash it from 3 to 10 times.

The most common reason for the appearance of sticky lumps in pilaf is a violation of the cooking technology. For example, rice needs to be filled with boiled water to swell. The volume of liquid poured should be 2 times more than the cereal used.

When the water in the container in which the rice is cooked begins to gurgle, the heat should be reduced. In this case, the pan or cauldron is covered with a tight lid. The ingredients should be evaporated for 15–20 minutes (the time is determined depending on the recipe, as sometimes you need to simmer for 40 minutes).

After pouring water, regardless of the need to mix the remaining components, the cereal should not be disturbed. The rice should be evenly distributed over the entire surface of the zirvak. Only in this case can you achieve good friability and excellent taste.

Some chefs advise resorting to certain tricks when cooking rice. For example, use a little sunflower oil during cooking. You can also rinse the cereal after completing the cooking process.

If you choose the right rice, soak it and cook it, it is highly likely to turn out crumbly.

Video: “How to properly cook crumbly pilaf”

How to cook crumbly pilaf, because this is the main difficulty in cooking of this dish?

What you need for cooking

To prepare crumbly pilaf you will need the following ingredients:

• 1 kg of long grain rice (only durum varieties are taken). You can use any cereal that belongs to this variety;
• 1 kg of meat (pork, beef, chicken, rabbit, etc.). There are recipes in which the meat component is ordinary stew;
• 0.25 kg of lamb (tail) fat. It can be replaced with cottonseed oil;
• 0.5–0.7 kg carrots;
• 0.5–0.7 kg of onions;
• several heads of garlic;
• spices. Their set is determined according to the taste preferences of the cook. But it is recommended to include a seasoning such as cumin in the list;
• salt.

As already noted, today there are a huge number of the most variety of recipes pilaf Therefore, the list of ingredients can be expanded. Above is a basic set of products. But you can add winter peas (chickpeas), corn, dried fruits, etc. to the pilaf. Spices to add flavor and spiciness to the dish are often used: hot red and ground black pepper, barberry, suneli hops, etc. You can decorate the pilaf with herbs.

How to cook crumbly pilaf

The crumbly pilaf is prepared as follows:

• first, all products (vegetables and meat) are peeled and cut, and the rice is soaked in water;
  
  
• Next, the carrots are first fried, and then onions and meat pieces are added to it. The ingredients are poured into a well-heated container. Meat and vegetables only need to be fried, not fully cooked. Otherwise, the pilaf will come out dry and tough. The result is a rich broth - zirvak;
  
  
• Then rice is poured into the prepared broth and seasonings are added. The cereal is poured with salted boiling water on top. When adding rice, the heat decreases and the dish simmers for the time specified in the recipe;
  
  
• then the container is removed from the heat and stands for some time. After this, the pilaf can be served.
  
  

Depending on the recipe, additional recommendations may arise in the technology for preparing this dish. For example, it is forbidden to mix layers of vegetables with meat. The simmering time of pilaf can also be increased after adding rice to the zirvak.

If you need to cook fluffy rice, choose simple recipes, which involve performing standard actions. Only after honing your skills on them can you safely move on to more complex variations of pilaf. Follow the above recommendations, and the rice in this dish will always be crumbly.