Uzbek pilaf

Uzbek pilaf is the most delicious version of pilaf, which is recognized by many. To prepare it, it is important to follow the chosen recipe, taking into account the subtleties and features of cooking. Real Uzbek pilaf is prepared using seven ingredients: meat, onions, carrots, fat, salt, water and rice. The remaining ingredients: garlic, barberry and a set of spices are considered additional. The taste of pilaf is influenced by both the cooking method and special utensils.

Real Uzbek pilaf in a cauldron on a stove

The most popular type of Uzbek pilaf is cooking it in a cauldron. In this dish, all ingredients are heated and mutually saturated with aromas and flavors evenly, and their texture is correct. For pilaf, choose lamb or beef and long-grain rice. Meat, rice and carrots are taken in equal quantities.

1. 
   Uzbek pilaf is very easy to prepare. In a separate bowl, rinse the rice with cold water several times until the last water runs clear.
2. 
   Rinse and dry the boneless lamb with a napkin. Then cut the meat into small cubes. Peel the onion and chop three onions into thin quarter rings. Chop the carrots into strips. Peel the garlic heads from the outer peel.
3. 
   Pour vegetable oil into a cauldron and heat it until a slight smoke appears. Fry the whole peeled onion in oil until golden brown and then remove it.
4. 
   Now prepare zirvak for Uzbek pilaf. Place the chopped onion in the heated oil and fry it while stirring for 5-7 minutes until it turns dark golden in color, but does not burn.
5. 
   Then add the pieces of lamb to the fried onions and fry them for 10-15 minutes until the pieces become golden brown on all sides. Fry everything over high heat.
6. 
   Next, place the chopped carrots into the cauldron and fry them for 3 minutes without stirring. After three minutes, mix all the ingredients with a spatula and cook the zirvak for another 10 minutes. Grind the coriander and cumin in your palms or in a mortar and pour this mixture into a cauldron. Add dried barberries and salt to your taste.
7. 
   Fry the meat with vegetables and spices until the carrots become soft. Then pour boiling water into the cauldron 2 cm above the meat level and simmer the zirvak over low heat for 1 hour. You can add hot pepper to the zirvak according to your taste.
8. 
   After an hour, place the washed rice in an even layer on top of the zirvak. Then increase the heat to maximum and pour boiling water through a slotted spoon or along the side of the cauldron.The water level should be 3 cm above the rice layer.
9. 
   When the rice has absorbed all the liquid, press two heads of garlic into it (only halfway), turn the heat to minimum and simmer the pilaf under a closed lid.
10. 
    After 10 minutes, tap on the wall of the cauldron with a slotted spoon, and if the sound is dull, then make punctures in the pilaf with a stick to the bottom of the cauldron to remove steam through them.
11. 
    Then place a flat plate on top of the rice and close the cauldron with a lid. Cook the pilaf for another 20–30 minutes over low heat. Then remove the heads of garlic, stir the pilaf and take a sample. Uzbek pilaf in a cauldron is ready. You can serve it to the table.

Good luck and delicious dishes!

Proper Uzbek pilaf in a cauldron on a fire

According to the Uzbeks, the most correct and authentic pilaf can only be cooked over a fire and in a cauldron. For pilaf, it is important to maintain a constant temperature, so the wood is chopped small to maintain an even fire. The walls of the cauldron must be at least 6 mm thick. Lamb pilaf is prepared with the addition of fat tail fat. Long-grain rice is taken: “Devzir” or “Basmati”.

Cooking time: 2 hours.

Cooking time: 1h.30min.

Portions: 10.

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice – 1 kg.
• Young lamb without bone – 1.5 kg.
• Lamb tail – 200 gr.
• Carrots – 1 kg.
• Onions – 7 pcs.
• Garlic – 1.5 heads.
• Dried barberry – 1 tsp.
• Zira – 1 tsp.
• Salt – 2 tbsp. l.

Cooking process:

1. Cut the lamb tail into medium pieces.

2. Peel the carrots, rinse and chop them with a knife into large pieces of any shape.

3. Rinse the lamb, dry it with a napkin, remove the tendons and cut the meat into small longitudinal pieces.

4. Peel the onions and chop them into large half rings.

5.Heat a cauldron over a high fire, place the chopped fat tail into it and fry until brown. Then remove the pieces from the cauldron.

6. Place chopped onion in hot fat and fry it, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

7. Place the lamb pieces into the fried onion and cook them over high heat until half cooked.

8. While the lamb is cooking, rinse the rice several times with cold water and leave it in the now clear water for 7 minutes.

9. Add chopped carrots to the fried lamb and fry them with the meat for another 20 minutes.

10. Then place the prepared rice in an even layer on top of the meat and carrots, draining the water.

11. Then pour clean water into the cauldron through a slotted spoon or along the wall so that it completely covers the rice.

12. Pour salt and cumin crushed in your palms into a cauldron.

13. Close the cauldron with a lid and simmer the pilaf over a high fire until it becomes thick.

14. Then place a head of garlic in the middle of the rice and stick the peeled cloves around the edges. Sprinkle the pilaf with dried barberry. Reduce the fire and simmer the pilaf for another 15 minutes with the lid closed. Then remove the garlic, stir the pilaf with a spoon, take a sample and place it on plates.

Bon appetit!

How to cook pork pilaf?

A worthy and excellent dish would be pork pilaf, prepared according to a traditional Uzbek pilaf recipe. Pork cooks faster and tastes better than lamb for us. We take meat with small layers of fat, a special seasoning for pilaf, long-grain rice and cook it in a cauldron on the stove.

Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Portions: 6.

Ingredients:

• Long grain rice – 2 tbsp.
• Pork – 0.5 kg.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• Onion – 1 pc.
• Garlic – 1 head.
• Seasoning for pilaf – 1 tbsp. l.
• Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp. l.
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Rinse the meat under running water, dry with a napkin and cut into medium pieces. Heat the vegetable oil well in a cauldron and place the pieces of meat into it.

2. Over high heat, fry the meat on all sides until golden brown, so that the crust does not allow the juice to escape, and the meat remains juicy and soft.

3. While the pork is roasting, peel and rinse the onions and carrots. Also dry them with a napkin and chop the carrots into thin strips and the onions into quarter rings. Then add the chopped vegetables to the fried meat, stir and fry the vegetables for 5 minutes.

4. Next, pour hot water over the fried ingredients until it covers them completely, add pilaf seasoning and add salt to your taste. Place the head of garlic, peeled from the outer husk, into the cauldron. This will be our zirvak for pilaf. Close the cauldron with a lid and simmer the zirvak over low heat for 40 minutes until the meat becomes soft.

5. Rinse the rice for pilaf several times with cold water and then place it in an even layer on top of the prepared zirvak.

6. In a thin stream along the wall of the cauldron or through a colander, pour hot water into the pilaf 1.5 cm (one finger) above the level of the rice. Bring the pilaf to a boil over high heat.

7. Then close the cauldron with a lid and cook the pilaf over low heat for another 20–30 minutes. During this time, the rice will absorb all the water and become crumbly.

8. Uzbek pilaf with pork is ready. Let it sit for 15–20 minutes, covered, then stir, take a sample, and serve.

Bon appetit!

Uzbek beef pilaf - classic recipe

Pilaf has a strong place on the table in many families, but not everyone likes and can eat lamb as the main ingredient of the classic Uzbek pilaf. This recipe asks you to cook this dish with beef, which is lean and turns out tender when simmered for a long time. It is advisable to cook such pilaf only in a cauldron. Among the spices, cumin and barberry are required, which create the unique aroma of Uzbek pilaf.

Cooking time: 2 hours 20 minutes.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Portions: 10.

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice – 1 kg.
• Beef – 1.5 kg.
• Carrots – 500 gr.
• Onion – 500 gr.
• Vegetable oil – 250 ml.
• Barberry – ½ tsp.
• Zira – 1 tsp.
• Garlic – 1 head.
• Hot pepper – 1 pc.
• Ground black pepper - to taste.
• Coriander - to taste.
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Rinse Basmati rice (it is considered the best variety for pilaf), then cover with cold water, leave for a while and work on the meat.

2. Rinse a piece of beef, preferably neck or brisket, dry with a napkin and cut into small pieces. Place a cauldron over high heat, pour vegetable oil into it and bring to a boil. You can detect the heating of the oil by looking at a piece of onion - the oil boiling around it is ready for frying.

3. Place the chopped beef in portions, not all at once, into the boiling oil.

4. Over high heat, fry the pieces of meat until golden brown.

5. While the beef is roasting, peel and rinse the vegetables. Chop the onion into quarter rings.

6. Chop the carrots into thin strips, but not very finely, because they should be preserved in pieces in the pilaf.

7. Add the onion to the fried beef and fry it until golden brown.

8.Then put the carrot sticks into the cauldron, add salt to your taste and add all the spices specified in the recipe (cumin, barberry, coriander and black pepper).

9. Then place the head of garlic, peeled from the outer husk, and a pod of hot pepper into the cauldron. Then pour hot water into the cauldron so that it completely covers the meat and vegetables. After the water boils, turn the heat to low, cover the cauldron with a lid and simmer zirvak (fried meat and vegetables) for one hour.

10. During this time, your soaked rice will absorb some of the liquid and swell. Drain the remaining liquid from it.

11. After an hour of stewing, the beef will become soft. Remove the garlic and pepper from the cauldron. Place the prepared rice in an even layer on top of the zirvak and sprinkle it with a little salt. Then carefully and in a thin stream along the wall of the cauldron, pour hot water 1 finger above the level of the rice. Bring the pilaf to a boil over high heat.

12. Turn the heat to minimum; do not cover the cauldron with a lid. Simmer the pilaf until the rice has absorbed almost all the water. A little liquid should remain at the bottom of the cauldron. Then cover the pilaf with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.

13. After this time, stir the pilaf with a spatula, take a sample and let it brew for 20 minutes under a closed lid.

14. Uzbek pilaf with beef is ready. You can put it on a beautiful dish and serve it to the table.

Bon appetit!

Authentic Uzbek lamb pilaf

The key to delicious pilaf in Uzbek traditions is undoubtedly spices (cumin, barberry), equal amounts of meat, rice and carrots, as well as cooking pilaf in a cauldron. We prepare pilaf with lamb and take long-grain rice. We chop the vegetables coarsely so that their taste is not lost in the finished dish.Lamb can be used either fresh or frozen.

Cooking time: 2 hours 20 minutes.

Cooking timeme: 20 minutes.

Portions: 6.

Ingredients:

• Long grain rice – 2 tbsp.
• Boneless lamb – 0.5 kg.
• Carrots – 4 pcs.
• Large onion – 2 pcs.
• Water – 4 tbsp.
• Vegetable oil – ½ tbsp.
• Zira – 1 tbsp. l.
• Garlic – 1 head.
• Barberry - 1 tbsp. l.
• Paprika – 1 tbsp. l.
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Rinse a piece of fresh or pre-thawed lamb with cold water, wipe dry with a napkin and cut into medium pieces.

2. Peel the onions and chop them into half rings.

3. Peel the carrots, rinse and chop into medium cubes. For pilaf, carrots are not grated.

4. Heat vegetable oil in a cauldron, and check its readiness for frying by putting a piece of onion or meat into the oil. The hot oil should sizzle around the piece. Place the pieces of lamb into the cauldron and fry them over maximum heat until white on all sides. Then add chopped onion to the meat.

5. When the onion turns golden, place the carrot slices in the cauldron and fry them until soft.

6. Then add the head of garlic, peeled from the outer husk, to the fried ingredients and pour three glasses of hot water. After boiling, simmer the zirvak over low heat under a closed lid for 40 minutes.

7. Rinse the rice for pilaf at least 6 times. Pour the spices indicated in the recipe into the zirvak: barberry and cumin, paprika. Add a little more salt than you like, as the rice will take it away. Mix the zirvak with spices and salt and place the prepared rice on top of it in an even layer.Then carefully pour water into the cauldron in a thin stream along the wall so that it covers the rice 1 finger above its layer. Bring the pilaf to a boil over maximum heat and cook without covering the cauldron with a lid until the rice has absorbed almost all the water. Then close the lid and simmer the pilaf over low heat for 25 minutes, which will make the rice crumbly.

8. Mix the finished pilaf with lamb, take a sample and serve.

Bon appetit!

Homemade chicken pilaf

A good option for a family dinner would be Uzbek pilaf with chicken, because this meat is affordable and loved by many, and poultry cooks faster than meat. For pilaf, choose the thigh portion of the chicken so that the pieces retain their shape in the finished dish. The ratio of main products and the order of laying remain the same as in traditional pilaf. Based on well-fried meat and vegetables, zirvak is stewed and then long-grain rice is added to it.

Cooking time: 2 hours.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• Long grain rice – 400 gr.
• Chicken thigh fillet – 500 gr.
• Carrots – 3 pcs.
• Onion – 3 pcs.
• Water – 4 tbsp.
• Vegetable oil – ½ tbsp.
• Garlic – 1 head.
• Paprika – 1 tbsp. l.
• Ground coriander – 1 tsp.
• Hot pepper - to taste.
• Ground red pepper – 1 tbsp. l.
• Ground black pepper - to taste
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Remove the bones from the chicken thigh or take the finished fillet. Rinse the meat, dry with a napkin and cut into medium pieces.

2. Peel the onions and chop them into small cubes.

3. Peel the carrots, rinse and cut into slices, just do not grate them.

4. Zirvak for pilaf can be cooked in a frying pan, because there is no need to simmer it.Heat the vegetable oil well and fry the thigh pieces in it over high heat until golden brown.

5. Then add the chopped vegetables to the fried meat, add the spices indicated in the recipe (pepper, paprika and coriander), salt to your taste, stir and fry until the vegetables also become golden brown.

6. Then transfer the zirvak to the cauldron. Place well-washed long-grain rice on top of it in an even layer. Place the cauldron over high heat.

7. Stick a head of garlic, peeled from the outer husk, into the rice and add a pod of hot pepper. Then pour cold water in a thin stream along the wall of the cauldron. There is no need to stir the pilaf anymore. Cook it with the lid closed over medium heat for 30–40 minutes. Then turn off the fire. Wrap the cauldron in a terry towel and let it sit for half an hour, which will make the rice very crumbly. Then mix the pilaf, take a sample and serve.

Bon appetit!

Step-by-step recipe for making pilaf with chickpeas

A variant of Uzbek pilaf is to cook it with chickpeas. These peas give the pilaf a special richness of taste, additional texture and make the dish tasty and satisfying. The chickpeas are soaked in cold water for several hours in advance and the rice is soaked for an hour. Meat for pilaf is chosen according to your taste. The spices added are the same as for classic pilaf.

Cooking time: 2 hours.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Portions: 2.

Ingredients:

• Long grain rice – 250 gr.
• Meat – 200 gr.
• Carrots – 100 gr.
• Chickpeas – 50 gr.
• Onion – 150 gr.
• Water – 4 tbsp.
• Vegetable oil – 75 ml.
• Zira – 0.5 tsp.
• Dried black barberry – 0.5 tbsp. l.
• Turmeric – 0.5 tsp.
• Ground coriander – 0.5 tbsp. l.
• Ground red pepper - to taste.
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Soak the chickpeas in cold water in advance for 4 hours in a ratio of 1:6. During this time it will increase significantly in volume. 1.5 hours before cooking, rinse rice of any flat variety several times (this kind of rice absorbs water well and retains its shape during cooking) and fill it with cold water. After soaking, the rice will acquire a pearlescent color.

2. Before starting cooking, peel and rinse the carrots and onions. Then chop them into small pieces. Rinse the meat, dry it with a napkin and also cut into pieces. Heat the vegetable oil in a cauldron until a bluish haze appears. Fry the pieces of meat in it for 5 minutes until golden brown.

3. Then add the chopped onion to the meat and fry it for 5 minutes until golden brown, stirring.

4. Then put the chopped carrots into the cauldron and fry them for another 10 minutes. Then drain the soaked chickpeas and pour the peas into the cauldron. After the chickpeas, add all the spices indicated in the recipe and a little more salt than to your taste.

5. Mix these ingredients and pour cold water 1 cm above their level. Bring the broth to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer the zirvak for 20 minutes without closing the lid.

6. Then drain the soaked rice and place it in an even layer on top of the zirvak.

7. Now pour hot water from the kettle into the cauldron in a thin stream so that its level is 1 cm higher than the rice. Cook the pilaf over high heat and with the lid open until the water has almost completely evaporated; a little of it should remain at the bottom of the cauldron. Do not stir the rice while cooking.

8.Then, after the water has evaporated, reduce the heat, use a spatula to gather the rice into a mound, and in the middle of it, make a depression to the very bottom for steam to escape. Close the cauldron and simmer the pilaf for another 10 minutes. If the rice is not ready yet, continue simmering over low heat.

9. Gently mix the finished Uzbek pilaf with chickpeas, take a sample and serve hot.

Bon appetit!

How to properly cook Uzbek pilaf in a slow cooker?

Uzbek pilaf in a slow cooker is considered an urban version of preparing this dish, but it also has advantages over a cauldron - rice in a slow cooker is more crumbly and the meat is more tender. The ingredients and their ratio for pilaf are the same as for traditional Uzbek pilaf in a cauldron. Cooking pilaf with lamb.

Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Portions: 6.

Ingredients:

• Long grain rice – 2 tbsp.
• Lamb – 500 gr.
• Carrots – 3 pcs.
• Onion – 2 pcs.
• Garlic – 4 cloves.
• Zira – 1 tbsp. l.
• Dried black barberry – 1 tbsp. l.
• Ground black pepper - to taste
• Salt - to taste.

The process is readyand I:

1. Rinse a piece of lamb for pilaf with cold water, remove excess moisture with a napkin and then cut the meat into medium-sized pieces of equal size.

2. Chop the peeled onions into thin rings.

3. Chop the peeled and washed carrots into strips.

4. In a multibowl on the “Frying” program, fry the lamb pieces until golden brown.

5. Then add the chopped onion to the fried meat and stir with a spatula.

6. Place carrot sticks on top of the onions. Fry the vegetables until golden brown. If your meat is lean, then pour a little vegetable oil into the bowl.Add salt to the fried ingredients to your taste and add the spices specified in the recipe.

7. Rinse the pilaf rice at least five times with cold water.

8. Then place the washed rice on top of the zirvak in an even layer. Pour 3.2 cups of hot water in a thin stream along the wall of the multi-bowl, so as not to disturb the layer of rice. Stick garlic cloves into the rice. Close the lid of the device and turn on the “Pilaf” program for the default time. After the signal about the end of the program, leave the pilaf for 20 minutes in the “Warming” mode. Then open the lid and stir the pilaf with a spatula. The dish is ready. You can take a sample and serve it.

Bon appetit!

A simple and tasty recipe for Uzbek pilaf with raisins

Pilaf with raisins is called “Bukhara” and is prepared by special masters for a rich holiday table. This recipe offers you a simpler version of this pilaf, which is more suitable for the home table. Any meat for pilaf is suitable, depending on your taste preferences, but in this recipe we cook it with chicken. Raisins (preferably sultanas) give the pilaf sweet notes, a special taste and aroma. Pilaf is prepared according to the Uzbek principle - meat is fried with onions and carrots, and then long-grain rice is added to this zirvak.

Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• Long grain rice – 2 tbsp.
• Chicken breast – 400 gr.
• Raisins – 0.3 tbsp.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• Onion – 2 pcs.
• Garlic – 3 cloves.
• Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp. l.
• Butter – 1 tbsp. l.
• Spices for pilaf - to taste.
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Rinse the chicken breast with cold water, dry with a napkin and cut into small cubes. Fry the meat in a frying pan in hot butter until light.

2.Peel and rinse the onions and carrots. Then chop the carrots into strips and the onions into small cubes.

3. Transfer the sliced ​​vegetables to the meat and fry, stirring occasionally, until the onion is transparent and the carrots are soft.

4. In a separate bowl, pour hot water over the raisins and let them swell a little.

5. Rinse the pilaf rice several times with cold water. Then transfer it to another bowl, add soaked raisins and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Mix everything and leave for 30 minutes. You can do this earlier, before you start cooking.

6. Then place the raisin rice in an even layer on top of the fried chicken.

7. Sprinkle the rice with salt and pilaf seasoning to your taste. Add finely chopped garlic cloves.

8. Then pour hot water into the frying pan until it covers the rice 1 cm above. Cook the pilaf over low heat and under a closed lid for 20 minutes from the start of boiling.

9. Then turn off the fire. Wrap the frying pan in a terry towel for half an hour. During this time, the rice will become especially crispy.

10. Uzbek pilaf with raisins is ready. Stir it, take a sample and you can serve it.

Bon appetit!

Classic pilaf with quince at home

As an option from many recipes for Uzbek pilaf, you are invited to cook it with quince. This southern fruit is added to pilaf only to give the dish a special delicate aroma and piquant sourness, and the quince itself acquires an amazing taste. The ingredients and the order of their laying are the same as for traditional Uzbek pilaf, only we do not put onions and carrots in this pilaf. We prepare beef pilaf, although the meat can be any kind.

Cooking time: 2 hours.

Cooking time: 30 minutes.

Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• Rice for pilaf – 200 gr.
• Quince – 1 pc.
• Beef – 400 gr.
• Pork lard – 15 gr.
• Garlic – 1.5 heads.
• Turmeric – 1 tbsp. l.
• Olive oil – 1 tbsp. l.
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. For pilaf, choose a ripe quince with yellow skin. We wash it with a sponge to remove fluff from the surface. Then we cut the quince into halves, remove the seeds and the capsule and cut the fruit into small pieces.

2. Peel the cloves of half a head of garlic and chop them with a knife.

3. Cut a piece of lard into small cubes. Place a cauldron over high heat and melt the chopped lard in it. Then put the chopped garlic in the cauldron and fry it for a minute. Add quince pieces to the garlic and fry them until golden brown on all sides.

4. Then, using a slotted spoon, transfer the quince fried with garlic to a separate plate.

5. In the remaining fat, put the beef, cut into medium pieces, and fry it over high heat for at least 10 minutes until golden brown.

6. Then put the fried quince into the cauldron with the meat, fill everything with water so that it covers only half of these ingredients, and simmer over low heat for an hour until the beef is soft.

7. When the beef becomes soft, add a head of garlic, peeled from the outer husk, and fill it completely with hot water.

8. After the broth boils, spread the washed rice in an even layer on top of the meat and quince. Then salt the pilaf to your taste. After 5 minutes from the start of boiling, add a spoonful of turmeric to the pilaf. Cook pilaf with rice over maximum heat without covering the cauldron with a lid. We periodically add hot water to the cauldron so that the rice is constantly covered with it. After 15–20 minutes, test the rice to see if it is ready, and if the rice has become soft, turn the heat on low and let the water boil completely.

9.Then carefully mix the pilaf, take a sample and place it in portioned plates. Before serving, drizzle the pilaf with olive oil.

Bon appetit!