Eat, dear ones! All about classic Uzbek pilaf

Pilaf prepared according to the classic recipe is long, interesting, inexpensive and amazingly tasty, in general, everything I like. The recipe allows for a huge number of variations - I have cooked pilaf dozens of times - in nature and in tiny unequipped kitchens, with an excess of all kinds of ingredients and almost complete absence of them, according to the classics and experimental methods - only once the dish turned out not very tasty, in other cases it is a win-win food for a holiday, a friendly drinking party, a snack on an outing, for every day. The most important thing is to understand the basic principles of cooking pilaf, and then everything will go like clockwork, or rather, oil, fat, meat, vegetables, spices and rice!

Features and rules for preparing pilaf

Pilaf (a classic Uzbek recipe involves the use of rice, meat and vegetables) recipe may differ depending on the type of meat. Always use a large amount of fat, which must be calcined first. Rice and vegetables are cooked in one bowl.

In the cauldron

Before cooking, the meat and rice are washed, and the top layer of peel is removed from the onion and divided in half.

The remaining vegetables are peeled and finely chopped:

1. Fry the onion in oil until it takes on a golden hue.
2. Add meat and cook until crust appears. Then it is temporarily put away in another container.
3. The vegetables are cooked for a few more minutes, then the meat is added back. Sprinkle with spices and add rice. Pour in 1 liter of water. Place garlic in the center.
4. Cover with a lid and cook until all the liquid has evaporated.

   
   Pilaf. Classic Uzbek recipe

5. Let it sit for a while before serving.

In a frying pan

If you don’t have a cauldron, you can use a frying pan, but keep in mind that the thickness of the walls of the pan is different:

1. Vegetables are fried in oil until golden brown, then meat and spices are added.
2. When the ingredients are ready, add rice, add water and place garlic on top.
3. Reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and cook for half an hour, stirring the ingredients regularly.
4. When all the liquid has evaporated, let the dish sit for a few minutes.

In a saucepan

Pilaf is prepared at home in a pan, choosing a model that has a thick bottom and a non-stick coating:

1. The meat is fried in oil until the juice is released and then vegetables and spices are added. Cover with a lid and cook until all ingredients are softened.
2. Add rice, add salt, pepper and garlic. Add water again and cook until the liquid evaporates, stirring regularly.
3. The finished dish is infused under the lid for half an hour.

HOW TO COOK UZBEK PILAV CORRECTLY

How to cook Uzbek pilaf, many recipes have been written about this, but how to learn to cook it like a real citizen of Uzbekistan, few people write about this, so today I will tell you a step-by-step recipe for preparing Uzbek pilaf on the stove, quickly at home, from the ingredients that you need hand of any housewife.

The whole history of my ability to cook this dish began in my student days, when six guys lived under the same roof; the owner of a private house moved another “shabashnik” Asan from Uzbekistan to live with us. Who could only say “let’s wave” and “spit” in Russian. Apparently I became one of his best acquaintances, at least I didn’t refuse him, every evening they covered the table and started cooking pilaf (pilaf)!

Every evening Asan found the strength to cook pilaf in Uzbek style, and I won’t lie, every evening, I think this is already in order to relieve some tension, he boldly “sipped” a couple of glasses of “Russian vodka”. Alone, in a foreign country, and hard work could only be eased with a strong drink. This was repeated for three weeks until he completed his renovation for the customer, the grandfather of our house.

Then, I just remembered how pleasant it was to talk with this man about life, about the culture of the Uzbek people, his attitude towards our people and what he would like to achieve in life. Usually this is what happens, you meet a person completely by chance, and you have so much in common with him. After our “garage”, he may have gone to work at another facility, build a house and cook real Uzbek pilaf for another owner!

But it was interesting for us to make pilaf with meat every evening. To do this, we first prepared the ingredients. I combined my story about meeting a man from Uzbekistan with real cooking of pilaf. For pilaf, you need to prepare the following components in advance, this includes a 5-liter cauldron and portions for 6-7 people.

Classic pilaf recipe

Pilaf gets its special taste from seasonings, so you shouldn’t give them less importance during cooking. Don't forget about carrots, of which there should be a lot. This vegetable gives a special aroma, softness and taste.

What ingredients will you need?

Pilaf (the classic Uzbek recipe for this dish is designed to be cooked in an 8-liter cauldron) is prepared in large quantities. If the container differs in volume, then all components are reduced in appropriate proportions: meat and rice in a 1:1 ratio, 1 carrot per 1 kg of each product.

It is important to follow these guidelines:

Step-by-step cooking process

Pilaf (the classic Uzbek recipe has a special order for adding each product and working with them) is prepared strictly in order.

Improper preparation of ingredients can affect the taste of the dish:

1. First, the fat is punctured. When it is hot, lay out pieces of meat. Stir them with a spatula until they acquire a golden hue. Salt and pepper.

2. Reduce heat, add vegetables. Fry until the onion turns golden, then add the remaining carrots. Use a spatula to smooth out the layer of vegetables.
3. Garlic is deepened in the center along with pepper pods. Gently lay the chickpeas on top, leveling them with a spatula.
4. When the chickpeas become soft, add rice and spices and level them.
5. Pour water in a thin stream until the water begins to hide all components by 1.5-2 cm.
6. Under a closed lid, cook over high heat until the water boils.
7. Reduce the heat to low and wait until all the liquid has evaporated.
8. Make holes with a stick, cover with a lid, keep for another 30-40 minutes.
9. Remove the finished pilaf from the heat and let it brew for 20 minutes without stirring. The cauldron is turned over so that the top layer is meat.

What can I add?

In some parts of Uzbekistan, prunes, quince, and raisins are added when preparing pilaf. These ingredients give the dish color, aroma, and a sweet and sour taste. In addition to fruits or dried fruits, pilaf requires the addition of seasonings. The standard set of seasonings for pilaf includes 3 types of spices: coriander, cumin and barberry. If desired, housewives can add other spices to the pilaf: turmeric, saffron, cumin.

Rules for serving dishes, decoration

Pilaf (the classic Uzbek recipe for this dish includes not only a description of the preparation process, but also the correct serving) is traditionally eaten with hands, without the help of cutlery. Pilaf is served on one large dish that can accommodate several servings at once. The dish can be made of porcelain, earthenware or clay. Pilaf is placed on a plate in the form of a slide, where the bottom layer consists of rice, and vegetables and meat are on top. Previously, pilaf was served to each guest, where the plate was a bread flatbread with a wide edge.

This serving option is rare today, but deep bowls are used instead of flatbreads. One such serving contains 300-500 g. The dish is usually served with fresh salads, vegetable plates and bunches of greens.

During celebrations, pilaf is placed on the table with fruit plates, flatbreads and pickled vegetables. In Uzbekistan, pilaf is often eaten with the addition of pomegranate seeds, but the proximity of all these products does not oblige one to eat pilaf together with them. Pilaf is served with drinks such as green tea or compote made from dried fruits. Sometimes they serve black tea. After this, cold drinking water is served.

Preparing to cook pilaf

Real Uzbek pilaf is prepared in thick-walled cast-iron dishes. A Tatar cauldron with a lid, a kettle, or a saucepan will do. The size of the dish depends on the amount of pilaf being prepared; it should be twice the volume of the finished dish.

The taste of the finished pilaf is closely related to the quality of the products used, especially meat.

The set of products is simple: rice, onions, carrots, meat, vegetable oil, water, salt, seasonings. For 2 kg of meat, take 1 kg of onions, 0.5 kg of carrots.

Lamb is considered the best meat; pork and beef are also suitable. Poultry meat is not suitable for real pilaf, as it softens too quickly. The meat is taken on the bone, from the soft parts of the carcass: the cervical or rib region. The bone will release juice, which will add additional flavor to the dish.

Vegetable oil is suitable: cottonseed or sunflower, always refined. Professionals use fat tail instead of butter, but this will give the pilaf a very specific taste and smell, to which residents of the European part of the country are not accustomed. Women especially do not like fat tail; it is also quite fatty and high in calories.

The onion is cut into large pieces. During the cooking process, it will completely dissolve in the pilaf and will not be visible. Carrots add sweetness and bright color to the dish. According to your desire and taste, you can put more or less of it by grating it on a standard grater.

Seasonings include cumin, barberry, a set of spices for pilaf, garlic and hot pepper. All seasonings and salt should be added to taste. For 1 kg of rice, take 1 pod of pepper and 5 medium-sized heads of garlic.

Rice can be chosen as desired; steamed rice is most suitable. It must be thoroughly washed so that the starchy top film does not stick the dish together later. Rice is soaked in boiling water for 1.5 - 2 hours before cooking.

On a regular home stove you can only cook rice porridge with meat, but not pilaf. There it is impossible to obtain the required high heating temperature. Therefore, real pilaf is made at the stake. You need to stock up firewood with a diameter of 5-7 cm in advance to regulate the heating temperature.

Fergana pilaf

The dish takes its name from the valley in which the long variety rice is grown. It is this variety that is used to prepare pilaf according to most recipes. The finished dish has a brown tint, which is acquired due to the fact that all components are fried one by one in a large amount of oil. This pilaf does not contain any ingredients that may give a sweet taste. Only garlic and pepper are added, avoiding any sweet additives.

This type of pilaf is considered the heaviest, so it is meant to be served together with a tomato and onion salad.

What ingredients will you need?

The amount of ingredients included in the composition is enough for 8-10 servings.

If it is necessary to reduce the number of servings, then reduce the number of products:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. Place all the fat and butter in a cauldron and wait until everything melts. Then add the onion to fry and after 5 minutes. add meat.
2. When the golden color begins to appear, add carrots and sprinkle with seasonings.
3. Unpeeled heads of garlic and pepper pods are placed on top.
4. Fill the contents with water so that it covers all the components and simmer for 1 hour.
5. Remove the garlic and add rice. Reduce the heat, remove the lid and continue to simmer until the liquid has completely evaporated.
6. Put the garlic back, cover the cauldron with a lid and leave the dish to simmer for half an hour.

Pork pilaf step by step photo recipe

Ingredients:

• Pork pulp -1.5 kg.
• Onions - 1 kg.
• Carrots - 1 kg.
• Rice - 1kg.
• Garlic - 2 heads.
• Sunflower oil - 300 gr.
• Tomato - 2 pcs.
• Tomato paste - 100 grams.
• Seasoning for pilaf with barberry (take only at the market!)
• Salt, black pepper,

Like any great dish, preparing pilaf begins with peeling vegetables. We peel all the carrots and all the onions. We wash one head of garlic and do not peel it, we peel one head and put the cloves aside.

We wash the meat, cut off fat, oils, all kinds of films, and other parts. Then we cut our meat into 3-4 cm cubes. Continuing to cut off all the unappetizing things mentioned above from the meat. The goal of preparing pork is to ensure that only meat remains and nothing extra. We put all the trimmings aside, since we will need them very soon.

The next stage of preparing pilaf begins with installing the cauldron, since real pilaf is cooked in the cauldron! Looking ahead a little, I would like to immediately warn you that in the last stages of preparing pilaf you will need boiling water, so I recommend immediately putting a pot of water on the fire along with the cauldron! So, set up a cauldron, light a fire under it and pour about 300 grams of vegetable oil into the cauldron. While our oil is heating up and calcining...

We prepare products for calcining the oil, for which we take out our pork trimmings (fat, oils and all kinds of films, and other joint parts). We cut off the butt of our thickest carrots, and prepare half an onion (it needs to be cut in half along the fibers). Vegetables are specially cut so large for this stage, then I will simply remove them from the boiling oil...

When the oil in the cauldron is hot, throw in the butt of a carrot and half an onion, cut in half.

When both the onions and carrots acquire a beautiful golden color (slight charring along the edges of the vegetables is allowed, but do not burn them!!!), we throw our meat trimmings into our hot oil.

Periodically stirring the lard - trimmings - carrot-onion mixture

We bring it to approximately this browned state, after which we carefully remove all the resulting cracklings from the cauldron with a slotted spoon, so that our already calcined oil remains in the cauldron.

We pour our prepared meat into this very oil and immediately begin to mix it, otherwise it may burn to the bottom of the cauldron, then as they say, you can’t scrape it off!

While our meat is frying in hot oil, it should fry there for about 20 minutes (do not forget to stir it periodically!)

We chop all our onions not very finely

First, cut the carrots into pieces like this:

And then these dies are cut into strips like this. Separately, I would like to note that the carrots for real pilaf are cut by hand and with just such strips, and the method of cutting carrots for pilaf is the most important secret of real pilaf!!!

Cutting such a pile of carrots into strips is a very hemorrhoidal process, and therefore, if you do not have much experience in cutting vegetables, it is better to cut the carrots in advance, otherwise you simply will not meet the 20 minutes in which the meat is fried and your pilaf will be in danger.

So, after about 20 minutes of frying, your meat should already look something like this.

Place chopped onion on top

Mix thoroughly and while the meat is stewed with onions (about 15 minutes),

Let's start washing the rice. In this pilaf recipe, I used a mixture of long rice and wild (black) rice as an experiment. I liked the result. Although ideally, you need to use Uzbek rice, you can buy it on the market, but it’s really not very cheap... So, we need to wash the rice very thoroughly, at least 4 times, then fill it with water 5 times and set the pan aside.

As soon as you finish with the rice, thoroughly mix the meat and onions again, and pour our carrot sticks into the cauldron, which do not need to be stirred for another 7 minutes.

While the carrots are on top during these 7 minutes, they will soften a little from the steam, and then they will be...

It’s easier to mix in a cauldron. While your pilaf is stewing over low heat...

Drain the water from the pot with rice

And while our pilaf is still stewing...

We cut our two tomatoes into cubes like this

Throw the tomatoes into the cauldron and simmer for another 5 minutes. Just at this moment, you should already have boiling water ready!!!

Because the time has come to pour it into our cauldron. Boiling water needs to be poured in such a way that all our vegetables and meat “drown” by about a centimeter. Don’t overfill, this is very important, otherwise you’ll be tormented later by evaporating the excess water!!!

So, you have filled the contents of the cauldron to 1 cm, and at this moment you can add our tomato paste, salt and black pepper, after which we thoroughly mix the contents of the cauldron and cook our pilaf for 10 - 15 minutes

We prepare garlic and spices for pilaf with barberry, cumin, and something else (any Caucasian at the market will make you a set for pilaf if you ask him “spices for pilaf”, and believe me, he will do it well).

Pour pilaf spices and garlic cloves into the cauldron

We simmer the pilaf with spices for about 5 minutes, after which we need to reduce the heat in this place, mix everything thoroughly (for the last time) and then...

Carefully pour our rice into the middle of the cauldron, after which...

be very careful not to mix the rice with the lower layers of meat and vegetables - distribute it evenly over the entire surface of the cauldron. Unfortunately, I didn’t film the most crucial moment of leveling and pouring the rice, so I’m describing this stage in more detail. So, the rice is leveled evenly and does not mix. If the rice after leveling is under water (remember the boiling water we poured?) - leave it to steam and absorb water, but if you have leveled the rice and it turns out to be not covered with water - you need to use our boiling water again and pour it with a thin layer of no more than 1 centimeter In both the first and second cases, the rice must absorb all the water that was above it, after which you can begin the final stage of preparing the pilaf, namely...

Also, carefully, so as not to mix the rice with vegetables and meat, we make a mound out of it (rice) in the middle of the cauldron, in the middle of the mound we make a depression with a knife or spoon and place the whole second unpeeled head of garlic there, then add a little more boiling water (so as to fill the base piles of rice), after which

close the cauldron with a lid, set it aside for 40 minutes and, without ever lifting the lid, bring the pilaf to full readiness

after which you can pour it into deep bowls and eat it greedily, always hot!!!

Samarkand pilaf

The peculiarity of the preparation is that the yellow variety of carrots is used.

In the finished dish, the carrots practically remain unheated.

What ingredients will you need?

The amount of components is enough for 6-8 servings:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. Heat the fat tail, remove the cracklings, pour in vegetable oil.
2. Fry the butter, stirring constantly for several minutes, until a crust appears.
3. Add the onion and cook until transparent.
4. Pour in 2 tbsp. boiling water, simmer all the ingredients under the lid until the liquid evaporates.
5. When there is no water left, add carrots and sprinkle with spices.
6. Pour in water, wait for it to boil, reduce the heat and simmer the dish for 10 minutes. under a covered lid.
7. Then dig in the garlic cloves and lay an even layer of rice on top.
8. Fill with water so that it covers all the components. Cook until the liquid evaporates over high heat.
9. To allow any remaining liquid to escape, make several holes in the rice layer with a stick. Cover again for 15 minutes.

Real Uzbek pilaf - step-by-step recipe with photos

Ugh! I’ve already written so much and only just got to the recipe itself. I hope all this is not in vain. So, let's look at cooking pilaf using the example of ordinary, classic products for our latitudes.

• Rice – 600 g (more is possible);
• Veal pulp – 600 g;
• Sunflower oil – 125-175 g;
• Pork lard – 150 g;
• Carrots – at least 600 g;
• Onions – half a kilo (3 medium);
• Garlic – 3 medium heads;
• Small hot pepper;
• Zira – 2 teaspoons;
• Dried barberry - a handful;
• Raisins, dried cranberries - a handful;
• Saffron, turmeric, paprika or a mixture of them – 2 tsp;
• Coriander, black pepper, ground cardamom, salt - to taste.

Equipment - a thick-walled saucepan, a duck pot, a kettle, ideally a cauldron. Any iron, cast iron or aluminum vessel will do - the main thing is that the walls are thick, so the heat will be distributed evenly. It is not recommended to cook pilaf in enamel dishes.

1. First, take the rice, pour it into a saucepan and place cold water under a thin stream. We rinse, periodically stirring the rice with our hands or even rubbing with our palms until the water becomes completely clear. This may take an hour or more, depending on the quality of the cereal used, but it must be removed from excess starch, otherwise the pilaf will be sticky.
2. Take the oil and pour it into a heated cauldron. Pour finely chopped lard or fat trimmed from meat there. Fry until the pieces turn into cracklings - remove them with a slotted spoon and continue heating until smoke stops coming from the fat. Any unrefined fat should be calcined in the same way. It’s easy to check if it’s ready – if you throw a couple of grains of salt into the oil, it will “shoot”.
3. We cut the meat into large pieces, preferably the size of half a cigarette pack. Place in boiling oil so that there is at least a couple of centimeters of space between the pieces - otherwise the meat will begin to release juice. Fry over maximum heat until golden brown on all sides. If the bottom area of ​​your saucepan does not allow you to fry all the meat in this way at once, do it in portions, putting the finished pieces on a plate.

Don't have a cauldron suitable for frying? You can do everything separately - heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the meat, onions and carrots in it in turn, then transfer everything to a suitable saucepan. Then cook according to the recipe. You can always get out, the main thing is desire!

1. Cut large onions into half rings, medium and small ones into rings, 2-3 mm thick, fry them in fat until golden brown. It is better to cook the onion separately from the meat so that it does not burn and the veal does not leak juice.
2. Carrots are cut into cubes 4-6 mm thick. The thickness depends on how tough your meat is and how long it needs to simmer - the longer, the thicker. Carrots can be fried, or you can throw them straight into the cauldron, depending on your preference. If you fry it, do it a little and separately, so that it forms a separate layer on top of the meat and onions.

1. With a generous hand, throw spices, herbs, dried fruits, additives and salt, two whole heads of garlic, a whole red pepper into the pot, reduce the heat and add a little water - so that it covers the bottom and our entire mass stops frying. At this point, the zirvak needs to be over-salted - because there will still be a lot of rice in the dish, which will absorb the salt.

What to do next depends on what kind of meat you are using. If it is veal or beef, tough parts of lamb or pork, poultry - you need to pour water over the meat with vegetables and spices, cover with a lid and simmer until cooked - the recipe for making classic pilaf allows you to simmer zirvak for up to 2-3 hours. If it is a tender pork neck, chicken, or lamb tenderloin, then the zirvak can be immediately covered with rice - it will be simmered while the rice is cooking.

1. Place the washed rice in an even layer on the surface of the future pilaf and level it with a spatula. Add cold water on top - about 2 centimeters, the amount of water depends on the type of grain and how long it has been in the water, if anything - then you can add a little water to the dish. Close the cauldron with a lid. After boiling, the fire can be reduced to a minimum.

1. During cooking, you need to sometimes look into the pilaf being prepared. If the rice has already absorbed all the water, but still remains raw, several grooves are made in the pilaf with a wooden stick, a knife or the handle of a spoon - through them the broth and oil will circulate in the rice, soaking the grain. It is into these grooves that water should be added, and through them the dish can be added with salt if necessary. You can add water to pilaf no more than 2-3 times.

1. About 10-15 minutes before it’s ready, you need to stick a dozen to one and a half peeled garlic cloves into the surface of the pilaf - they turn out very tasty and additionally flavor the rice.
2. The fire should be turned off when there is no more water in the pilaf; ideally, the rice should be just a little undercooked. After this, the cauldron must stand under the lid for 15-20 minutes - rest, cool down and “rest”.

This is it, the recipe for real Uzbek pilaf - step by step and from the photo it all doesn’t look so scary. You can serve pilaf either by stirring it and sprinkling it with herbs, or by pouring it onto a large dish in layers in the reverse order - rice on the bottom, then carrots, then meat, with beautiful heads of stewed garlic from zirvak on top. This dish is usually eaten with unleavened flatbread, vegetables, herbs, and is usually washed down with tea or ayran. And “Rum Diary” will recommend personally prepared spicy liqueurs for pilaf - for example, coriander, “ Okhotnichya ” , “Starka”, and as a digestif - liqueurs made from basil, cilantro or barberry! Eat deliciously, drink in moderation and be healthy!

The article uses information from the books “Uzbek Pilaf” by Karim Makhmudov, “Culinary Dictionary”, “National Cuisines of Our Peoples” by V.V. Pokhlebkin, a dozen culinary sites of varying degrees of lousiness, the TV show “Spice” and other sources.

Tashkent pilaf

During the cooking process, many ingredients are added, such as raisins, chickpeas, etc.

Some ingredients, like rice or chickpeas, begin to be prepared a day in advance.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare Tashkent-style pilaf you need the following components:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. The meat is fried in melted fat and butter until golden brown.
2. Add onions and carrots to fry until golden brown.
3. Pour water 2 cm above the level of all components, add garlic, pepper on top and sprinkle with spices.
4. Add chickpeas and simmer all ingredients for 45 minutes. over low heat.
5. In 20 minutes. From the beginning of stewing, the pepper and garlic are removed, and rice is added instead. Continue to simmer until all the liquid has evaporated.
6. Place garlic, pepper and raisins on top again, make several holes in the layers of rice and chickpeas. Cover the dish with a lid and simmer over low heat for another 20 minutes.

Khorezm pilaf

The recipe requires only the most basic ingredients, with no special ingredients added.

It is believed that such pilaf is saturated with the taste of the ingredients, without spices, and therefore is considered a classic cooking option.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare pilaf in Khorezm style you need the following components:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. The meat is fried in oil until golden brown.
2. Pour in water, reduce the heat and simmer the meat in it for 30 minutes.
3. After the liquid has evaporated, add salt, then vegetables. Cook everything together for 20 minutes. under a covered lid.
4. Pour in the rice, smooth out the layer, salt again and pour in water. The water should hide all layers.

5. Increase the heat and cook until the liquid evaporates.
6. Using a spatula, scoop the rice from the sides to the center and cook for another 20 minutes. under a covered lid.
7. For the finished dish, all layers are mixed.

Khorezm tui pilaf

This recipe is used to prepare dishes for celebrations.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare 10 servings of Khorezm tui pilaf you need the following components:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. Pour some of the oil into the pan, and when it gets hot, fry the meat and vegetables in it.
2. Pour in water and simmer the ingredients until the liquid evaporates.
3. Add spices and rice.
4. In a separate bowl, heat the remaining oil and pour it over a layer of rice.

5. Cover the dish with a lid and cook for 20 minutes. over high heat, stirring constantly.

Bukhara pilaf

This recipe is traditionally used in Bukhara to celebrate special events. During the cooking process, ingredients such as raisins and nuts are added, which gives the finished dish a sweet aftertaste.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare Bukhara-style pilaf you need the following components:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. Fry the meat in hot oil and add onions to it when a golden crust appears.
2. After 2 min. pour in a little water and simmer the ingredients over low heat until all components soften.
3. Add chopped herbs and spices. Pour water over everything and continue cooking for 30 minutes.

4. Pour in the rice and fill it with water so that it covers all the ingredients. Raisins and nuts are added on top. Cover the dish with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid evaporates.

Pork pilaf in a slow cooker

The owners of these miracle machines are terribly lucky. After all, you can cook absolutely any dish in them, including delicious pilaf. Let's start with the right selection of ingredients:

• pork neck - about half a kg;
• a couple of carrots;
• a couple of onions;
• garlic clove;
• rice (special for multicooker and pilaf);
• spices, herbs to taste.

1 step. We rinse our cereal a couple of times. Then, placing it in a container, fill it with water (it should swell over time). At this time, cut the pork into medium pieces, chop the onions finely, and chop the carrots into small strips. Pour oil into the multicooker itself and wait until it heats up. As soon as it is hot, lay out the workpiece. Set it to frying mode. Do not cover with a lid (important!).

Step 2. Our onions are browned, so it’s time to add the pork, stirring gradually.

Step 3. The meat is browned, it’s time to add the prepared carrots to the bowl. Stirring everything together, fry for about another 15 minutes.

Step 4 At the end of the specified time, pour in hot water so that it is just above the meat. We also sprinkle everything with spices and salt. If desired, add garlic cloves to add spice.

Step 5 When the entire composition has been stewed for 10 minutes, we add the last ingredient - rice. Pour a little more boiling water so that the rice is covered by 10 mm on top.

Step 6 We close our products with a lid. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes. At the very end, turn off the appliance and let the dish sit for at least half an hour (important!). Your pork pilaf is ready!

We've looked at just one step-by-step recipe for cooking pilaf, let's move on to the next ones!

Kashkadarya pilaf

The cooking recipe differs in the process of preparing the meat - it is marinated in advance.

What ingredients will you need?

For Kashkadarya-style pilaf for 8 servings, the following components are required:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. For the marinade: mix the meat with spices and onions and leave for 2 hours.

2. The meat is fried in hot oil and carrots are added when the first crust appears.
3. Pour in enough water to cover all the components. Cook over high heat for half an hour.
4. Add rice and water again. Add spices and cook for 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until all the liquid has evaporated.
5. The finished dish is allowed to brew under a closed lid for another 20 minutes.

How to cook “Classic pilaf”

Fry small pieces of lamb in hot oil in a cauldron until golden brown.

Peel and wash the onions and carrots. Chop the carrots into cubes and cut the onion into half rings.

Add onion to the meat, 1 tsp. salt and pepper. Pour in a little water to cover the ingredients. Simmer the lamb over low heat for 15 minutes.

Then add the onion. Simmer the dish for another 15 minutes.

Then add barberry, curry and cumin. Cook for another 4 minutes.

Distribute the rice in a cauldron. Add salt and turmeric. Turn the heat up to maximum.

Next, pour in water. Place a whole head of peeled garlic in the middle of the rice. As the water evaporates, reduce the heat. Cover the pilaf with a lid wrapped in a towel. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Place the pilaf in layers on serving plates. Bon appetit!

Chaikhansky pilaf

Added chickpeas and raisins make this dish more filling than the classic version.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare chaikhana pilaf you need the following components:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. Fry the onion and meat in hot fat and oil until golden brown. Then add carrots and cook for another 5 minutes.
2. Pour boiling water so that it hides the contents of the cauldron. Add spices, garlic, chickpeas and nuts. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
3. Pour in rice and add water again, add salt. Cover with a lid and cook under the lid until the liquid evaporates.

4. Using a spatula, the rice is raked to the center of the dish, garlic is placed on top and several holes are made so that the remaining water from the graves escapes in the form of steam. Cover with a lid and cook for another half hour under the lid.

Pre-preparing zirvak

We start cooking pilaf with traditional zirvak. Pour oil into the cauldron and bring to a boil. You need to put a lot of wood into the fire, the boil should be very strong. For 1 kg of rice, 0.5 liters of oil is enough, according to desire and taste, it will add fat to the dish. Then we lower the pieces of meat.

Meat at this temperature is not just fried, it is sealed with a crust on top and all the juices remain in the middle. After frying the meat, add onions and carrots. Stir constantly until a golden crust appears. Then add water and begin to simmer everything. The water should slightly cover the level of the meat; you don’t need a lot of it.

After 20 minutes of strong boiling, add cumin, salt, barberry, seasonings, add a whole pepper pod. Barberry adds sourness to the pilaf. Wash the garlic and peel it from the top peel, do not divide it into slices. Add whole heads of garlic to the dish. Simmer until the meat is done and taste. Ready-made zirvak is the basis for many dishes; it can also be eaten separately, as a side dish.

Wedding pilaf

Pilaf is prepared in a large cauldron so that there is enough for all guests. Usually it is enough for more than 10 servings.

What ingredients will you need?

The following components are used for preparation:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. Meat and vegetables are fried in hot fat and oil until they have a golden hue.
2. Pour in water so that it hides the contents of the dish, and add chickpeas and spices. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
3. Add rice, raisins and sugar on top. Fill with water to the level of the rice and cook until the liquid evaporates.

4. Using a spatula, the rice is raked to the middle of the dish and several holes are made so that the remaining water can evaporate. Leave to simmer for half an hour covered with a lid over low heat.

How to cook pork pilaf in Uzbek style?

We strongly recommend that all housewives try to cook this unique pork pilaf! Although many people believe that only the Uzbeks themselves can prepare such pilaf, it is worth making an effort for tasty pilaf.

To prepare a delicious dish we take:

• half a kilogram of pork;
• carrots - 2 pcs.;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• rice - half kg;
• salt, spices (to taste);
• bouquet of herbs for pilaf;
• oil.

The main feature of Uzbek pilaf is that it is cooked in a cauldron (important!). Cooking time will take approximately 2 hours.

Step 1. First, clean all the necessary vegetables. We wash the meat under water and remove excess fat. Be sure to wash vegetables too.

Step 2. We will be as careful as possible with rice. Separately, we rinse it several times, then pour it into containers and leave for a while.

Step 3. Take our pork and chop it into large cubes.

Step 4. Next, cut the vegetables into large pieces. We cut the onion into rings and cut the carrots into strips.

Step 5. Pour oil into the cauldron, bring the oil over high heat until hot. Add some salt and throw in one whole onion.

Step 6. Stirring a little, wait until the onion is fried in the cauldron. This will alert you that the oil has completely warmed up. We can throw out the onion.

Step 7. Carefully place the meat preparation into the prepared oil, stirring occasionally so that it does not stick to the bottom and walls (important!). Fry our meat for 20 minutes on maximum heat. Add the crushed Zira. Continue the process until the pork is crusty.

Step 8. Leave the fire at the same power, add the onion slices. Continue stirring the mixture for another 10-15 minutes.

Step 9. After the specified time, add carrot sticks to the cauldron. Fry everything together for about 10 minutes.

Step 10: Fill everything with enough water to cover the roast. Add the remaining Zira, salt and barberry. Once the roast is cooked, continue to simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add turmeric at the end. In a place where the water is boiling strongly, you need to taste it - it should be a little salty.

Step 11: Reduce heat to low. Add the rice, distributing it evenly throughout the pan. We place the heads of garlic on the surface of the rice and crush them. Increase the heat to high and simmer until the water evaporates from the surface of the rice (important!).

Step 12. To check if our pilaf and pork are ready, we must form a small hill of rice. In the center, in a circle, we make recesses to the bottom of the cauldron, so that unnecessary water evaporates.

Step 13. Now cover everything with a lid and let it brew for at least 10 minutes. Your delicious Uzbek pilaf with pork is ready!

There is only one homemade pilaf recipe left in our collection, and you will definitely like it!

Kazili pilaf

Instead of lamb, horse meat sausage (kazy) is used, which must be boiled to use. It is served in the same way as regular pilaf - in layers, but instead of pieces of meat they are laid out with sausage circles.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare horse sausage pilaf you will need the following ingredients:

Step-by-step cooking process

Preparation occurs in the following order:

1. Horse sausage is boiled for 2 hours. At the moment the water boils, the sausage is pierced with a knife several times so that it does not burst in the future.

2. Vegetables with spices are fried in hot oil.
3. Add the sausage and immediately pour in the rice. Fill all ingredients with water to the level of rice and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated. Then cover with a lid and let it brew on low heat for another 20 minutes.

Useful tips and tricks

To ensure that the dish turns out perfectly from the first cooking, you can follow several useful tips:

• Rice. It is best to give preference to the traditional variety of rice (“devzira”), from which pilaf is prepared in Uzbekistan. Cooking from other varieties (Chungara, Lazar) is acceptable, but the classic recipe requires this type of rice.
• Meat. Old meat will be too tough and lamb will be too tender. It is also not recommended to choose pieces with yellow and loose fat. If you don’t like the smell of lamb, you can choose sheep meat; it has an identical taste, but without a characteristic smell.
• Meat alternative. It is acceptable to replace lamb with beef, pork, chicken and even fish, but then the dish cannot be called “Uzbek pilaf”.
• Preparation of products. Traditional pilaf is cooked in a mixture of fat and vegetable oil used for frying onions. Carrots should not be grated, otherwise they will quickly boil. Do not chop the onion too finely so that it does not burn. Seasonings may vary, but the use of cumin, barberry and coriander is mandatory. Rice quickly absorbs salt, so you can add more.
• Dishes. A cauldron is chosen for cooking because this thick-walled cookware is capable of frying ingredients to the required degree and does not allow moisture to escape from under the lid. Unlike modern frying pans or saucepans.

Interesting facts about Uzbek pilaf

It is believed that pilaf first appeared in India, but then it was a meatless dish that began to be added in Persia. Historians agree on the origin of this dish because of the spices that were originally added - turmeric and saffron.

Because of these spices, the dish may take on a yellow color. It is traditionally believed that it is a man who can create real pilaf, but in everyday life women also cook it. In eastern countries, pilaf is prepared for different occasions - as an everyday meal or as a treat for a celebration, but the cooking process remains the same.

Pilaf is cooked outdoors in a cauldron with thick walls.

Pilaf, the classic recipe of which includes lamb, is a national Uzbek dish that is cooked in large cauldrons. Modern cooking variations allow the replacement of lamb with horse meat, chicken, fat tail, or even fish. Eastern peoples have dozens of options for preparing pilaf, which are associated with different moments of preparation or the use of ingredients. Pilaf is also prepared in European countries, where they try to use classic recipes from Eastern countries, but sometimes they add something of their own (spices, simmering methods).

According to one legend, pilaf first appeared in Europe as a diet prescribed by one of the sages. A young man of noble origin fell in love with a girl and, exhausted from love, fell ill. The eastern sage examined him and ordered him to feed the young man pilaf, the recipe for which he left to the cooks.

The young man soon grew stronger, won the favor of his beloved and married her. This story also tells us that pilaf has nutritional qualities. This dish provides the supply of useful substances to the body: protein, fiber, beta-carotene, vitamins.

Pilaf is an easily digestible and high-calorie food that contains about 150 kcal per 100 g of dish. The classic recipe for preparing Uzbek pilaf may differ in different regions. In the process of long frying, boiling and stewing, the result is a hearty, tasty dish that is easily absorbed by the body. This is not a heavy food that can be included in a person’s diet at any age.

Selection of products for pilaf

To cook Uzbek pilaf in an average-sized cauldron you will need:

• 1 kg lamb;
• 200 g fat tail fat;
• 1 kg of grain rice;
• 1 kg carrots;
• 500 g onions;
• 3 heads of garlic;
• 2 hot red peppers;
• pilaf seasoning mixture;
• salt to taste.

To prepare real Uzbek pilaf in a cauldron, you should carefully select rice, meat and spices. The rice in the recipe uses exclusively long-grain durum varieties, ideally the devzira variety. But since it is not easy to find in our area, any other long-grained, preferably steamed, one that does not stick together during the cooking process will do. Our task is to get crumbly pilaf, and not sticky rice porridge.

You can also use Basmati rice in the recipe, which perfectly absorbs the flavors of meat and spices.

In terms of meat selection, Uzbek pilaf is not so pretentious, so there is no urgent need to select the best pieces of lamb. It is important that the meat is mature, but not old or dry. Dry meat will not give the flavor that is expected from cooking Uzbek pilaf in a cauldron. Even supporters of dietary nutrition will have to give up their principles and buy meat with fat for the recipe. High-quality lamb has a beautiful red color, with white fat that is slightly springy when pressed. You can take any part of the carcass, except for the drumsticks - they require special cooking skills. But shoulder blade, neck, tenderloin and even ribs are quite suitable for pilaf.

An important point is the use of seasonings, without which Uzbek pilaf loses all its flavor. You can purchase a ready-made set of spices, or stock up on them separately. The set must contain dried barberry, cumin, coriander, and ground pepper. Many people also add turmeric - it will give the Uzbek pilaf a pleasant yellowish color in the cauldron.