There are more than 50 types of pilaf in Uzbek cuisine. The recipe can be classic with lamb, beef, dried apricots, raisins, chickpeas. There is also one with chicken. This pilaf is less fatty than with lamb, but no less tasty.
Spices. To feel the real taste of Uzbek pilaf, you need cumin or otherwise called cumin. This is the most important seasoning for pilaf. Also important: coriander, barberry, black and red pepper, salt. To give rice a bright yellow color, add saffron or its cheaper substitute - turmeric.
For a properly prepared dish, you need a deep cast-iron cauldron with a tight-fitting lid.
How to cook pilaf with chicken in a cauldron according to a traditional recipe
To prepare traditional pilaf, you will need the following proportions of components: 1 kg of chicken, onions, carrots, as well as 0.5 kg of rice (the cereal is boiled and there is no need to take the full 1 to 1 part). It is impossible to prepare Uzbek chicken pilaf without such components as: 2 heads of garlic, at least 150 ml of vegetable oil, a set of spices of 2-3 pinches each (cumin, turmeric, coriander, red or black pepper).
Additionally, you will need salt - about 1 tbsp. l. for the specified number of products:
- Meat processing. For real pilaf, it is better to use a whole gutted carcass - all its parts, except for thin ribs and wings. Before cutting, the chicken is thoroughly dried and then divided into equal pieces measuring up to 5 by 5 cm.
- Onion preparation. There is never too much of this vegetable in pilaf, so you can safely take 1 kg per 1 kg of meat. Cut the onion into either half rings or cubes.
- Preparing carrots. Orange, yellow or red carrots are cut into thin strips: first, the fruit is cut in half, and then each part lengthwise 1-2 more times, depending on the thickness of the carrot. The length of the straw is up to 6-7 cm, and the thickness is 2-3 mm; pieces that are too thick will not be baked. The process of cutting carrots is described very well in the video recipe.
- Garlic processing. A very important step is to prepare the garlic correctly, otherwise it will not impart flavor to the dish. Take the whole head, clean it well of leaves and husks, and cut the base to 0.3-0.5 cm.
- Preparing rice. Some chefs believe that it is impossible to cook pilaf with chicken in a cauldron from varieties such as steamed or short-grain rice. However, you can use different types of grains in the dish: devzira, basmati, as well as steamed long-grain or round rice. The main thing is to rinse the grains well until clear water and soak them 20-30 minutes before preparing the pilaf.
- Start of preparing zirvak. It is necessary to heat the oil in a cauldron at maximum heat, and then fry the chicken pieces in it. If the oil is too small, the pilaf will turn out dry. The chicken is laid out along a round wall so as not to splatter the oil. Fry the pieces for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add onion to the meat and simmer over high heat for at least 10 minutes.
- Add carrots and spices. When the meat is fried and the onion becomes transparent, add carrots to the cauldron and mix the spices, except salt, well. You can take 1 tbsp of cumin per 1 kg of meat. l., but coriander - no more than 1 tsp. Add 1 tsp ground pepper. no slide.
- Adding rice. In the recipe with chicken, you do not need to pour boiling water over the zirvak. However, when the carrots become soft, it is time to add rice. First, put the kettle on to boil, then mix the zirvak well and put a head of garlic in it. Place the rice on top in an even layer, not stirring from bottom to top, but leveling. Fill with water 2-3 fingers above the level of the cereal. You need to pour water either along the wall or using a slotted spoon so as not to wash out the cereal.
- The final stage. After filling the rice with liquid, do not close the lid and do not reduce the heat. As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat to medium. After 10-15 minutes, the rice should swell and absorb almost all the liquid. Use a wooden spoon to make holes in the cereal all the way to the bottom.
- Steaming pilaf. It's time to build a mound of cereal: take a slotted spoon and carefully move the rice from the edge of the cauldron to the center, forming a mound. Make 2-3 holes in the hill using a Chinese stick or spoon. Turn the heat to low, cover the pilaf with a lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Before finishing cooking Uzbek pilaf with chicken, you can try the rice - usually by this time it has already been sufficiently steamed. Turn off the stove, wrap the cauldron in a towel and leave for 15 minutes.
Uzbek style with raisins
For the classic recipe for Uzbek pilaf with raisins, you will need the following ingredients:
- Chicken 500 g;
- Rice 500 g;
- Carrots 500 g;
- Onion;
- Raisins 1 tbsp. l;
- Spices for pilaf;
- Salt.
Cooking time will be an hour and a half.
Step by step recipe:
- Rinse the rice so that clear water drains from it. Next, leave the rice in a bowl, add clean cold water, and leave to steep.
- The bird is washed and dressed, cut into small pieces. Immediately after, cut the carrots into thin strips, the onions into half rings or quarters.
- Rinse the raisins thoroughly and place in a separate plate. Pour vegetable oil into the cauldron and wait until it warms up. Add poultry pieces and fry thoroughly. When the chicken is browned, add vegetables and simmer everything together for another couple of minutes.
- When the onion turns golden, add raisins to the cauldron and reduce the heat. The dish is salted and seasoning is added.
- The rice is thoroughly washed again and added to the cauldron, on top of the vegetables. No need to stir. Pour boiling water on top so that it covers the rice by about a centimeter.
- Cover the cauldron with a lid and cook until the rice has completely absorbed the water. Make several holes in it so that the moisture from below also evaporates, turn off the heat and cover with a lid. Leave for 15 minutes. Mix the pilaf thoroughly before serving.
The total calorie content of the dish is 2898 kcal, 129 g protein, 75 g fat, 425 g carbohydrates.
Recipes for pilaf with chicken in a cauldron
You can move away from the traditional recipe for Uzbek pilaf with chicken and prepare an unusual version using wings and soy sauce! To do this you will need:
- 8 wings;
- 4 cloves of garlic for marinade, 3 tbsp. l. honey and 100-120 ml of soy sauce, as well as black pepper;
- rice – 300 g;
- from seasonings: 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste, 1 tsp. curry, 2 tsp. coriander;
- 1 onion;
- This recipe is served with a salad of cucumber, tomato, green onions, parsley, and green leaves. Optionally, you can add quail eggs and bell peppers, season with vegetable oil.
First, leave the wings in the marinade for 2-3 hours, then proceed to the step-by-step implementation of the pilaf recipe.
Heat the cauldron over a fire, add chopped onions to the oil, and after 3-4 minutes add the wings along with the marinade. Add garlic and tomato paste as soon as the wings are covered with an even crust.
Then add spices and lay out a layer of rice, salt, add water 1-2 cm above the level of the cereal. When the water boils, reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer everything for 10 minutes. After the specified period of time, turn off the stove, wrap the cauldron with the dish, and leave for 15-20 minutes.
Pilaf with dried fruits
This version of pilaf in a cauldron, which can be prepared from chicken on the stove, is made using dried fruits.
Components! For 7-8 servings of the dish, take 1 chicken carcass weighing up to 1.5 kg, 3 cups of basmati rice, 2 eggs, 2 onions, 120 g each of prunes, raisins, dried apricots, you can add figs. For the preparation you will need 250 g of butter, 1 tbsp. l. cumin and 1 tbsp. l. barberry powder or berries.
Before cooking, rice is washed in several waters to get rid of excess starch. Then cook the cereal for about 5-7 minutes in salted water. Then the grains are thrown into a colander and the water is left to drain.
70 g of butter is heated in a cauldron, and chicken eggs are mixed with 1 tbsp. l. water in a plate. Add the mixture to the cauldron, and then put rice in it and pour in 100 g of melted butter. Simmer the product for 20 minutes over low heat.
A crust of eggs should form at the bottom of the cereal. After this, the cauldron is removed from the stove, wrapped and left separately. Dried fruits are washed, laid out on a towel and fried in a frying pan with 50 g of butter, and a glass of boiling water is added. Simmer the food over low heat for about 15 minutes.
Before cooking, remove all the skin from the chicken, remove as many bones as possible, and cut into pieces. The onion is chopped into half rings and added to the dried fruits along with the chicken. Fry, mix with spices and simmer for another 40 minutes on low heat.
Mix dried fruits with rice directly in the cauldron, wrap and leave to brew for 20 minutes.
Step-by-step preparation of fillet pilaf
To prepare Uzbek chicken pilaf using fillet, you need to remember one rule: first marinate the meat with onions, garlic and a small amount of table vinegar for 40 minutes.
Component! For the recipe, use 800 g finne, 300 g rice, 300 g carrots and onions. For frying, take 50 g of oil, and for seasonings - 1 head of garlic, 1 tbsp. l. cumin and barberry, a little ground black pepper and salt.
Cooking pilaf at home on the stove begins with washing the rice and meat. Then the meat is dried and cut into cubes. After this, they begin to prepare vegetables and zirvak:
- chop the onion into half rings;
- carrots are cut into strips up to 0.5 cm in diameter;
- Heat the oil in a cauldron, fry the onion for 5 minutes;
- add carrots to it, fry for another 6 minutes until soft;
- add chicken fillet and cook pilaf with chicken in a cauldron for another 10 minutes;
- add spices to the zirvak, pour a glass of boiling water and simmer over moderate heat for 10 minutes;
- Place rice on top, drown garlic in it, pour boiling water over it and simmer for 20 minutes after boiling under the lid.
After some of the liquid has evaporated, holes are made in the rice with a wooden stick. After you have cooked the chicken pilaf in a cauldron on the stove, serve it on a common platter or in portions in plates.
In a frying pan
Pilaf is often cooked in a frying pan; it is more convenient and compact, and reduces cooking time by about 10-15 minutes.
To cook pilaf in a frying pan, you will need:
- Chicken fillet 700-800 g;
- Rice 400 g;
- Carrots 300 g;
- Bulb onions;
- Salt pepper;
- Vegetable oil;
- Seasoning for pilaf.
Cooking time at home is 40-50 minutes.
You need to follow the recipe step by step:
Taking into account the conditions, you first need to rinse the rice, put it on a plate and fill it with cold water so that it can be easily cooked later.
Immediately after this, the vegetables are peeled and cut. Grate the carrots on a fine grater, then cut them into small pieces with a knife. Cut the onion into quarters, as thin as possible.
Place the frying pan on the stove, pour in vegetable oil, and heat it up. Add the vegetables and fry until the onion turns golden brown. At this time, rinse the chicken thoroughly and cut into small cubes.
Once the vegetables are ready, add the chicken and fry together for another 10 minutes.
Pour a small amount of boiling water on top. Drain the rice, rinse again, and place on top of the pan without stirring. If necessary, add enough boiling water to barely cover the rice. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 20 minutes until all the water has evaporated.
Open the lid, make a couple of slits in the pilaf so that the moisture from underneath also evaporates. Close and let sit for 10 minutes. Mix the pilaf and serve with fresh herbs.
Calorie content 2600 kcal, 120 g protein, 75 g fat, 400 g carbohydrates.
Real Uzbek pilaf: secrets and tricks
To make real Uzbek pilaf with chicken appetizing, tasty and not dry, follow these simple rules:
- at the moment of evaporation (when the pilaf is left to infuse), wrap the lid with a waffle towel and cover the cauldron with it. This will prevent condensation from falling down onto the rice, turning it into mush;
- to prepare crumbly pilaf with chicken, choose long-grain varieties of rice and rinse the grains very well;
- if you want a hearty and flavorful pilaf, add more meat and reduce some of the rice by at least a quarter;
- if you don’t want unpredictable results, use only steamed rice;
- If the rice turns out tough, add boiling water into the holes made, or along the side of the cauldron.
These simple manipulations and tips will help you create a real masterpiece the first time!
