Pilaf is a national dish of Uzbek cuisine. Although my family has nothing to do with Uzbekistan, we have been preparing pilaf all our adult lives. I remember it from childhood and learned to cook it myself very early. The dish is one of my favorites. I make one recipe every week. Sometimes I experiment with different types of rice, but I almost always cook it with turkey fillet, at least for the last 2 - 3 years.
The main condition in our family is that the pilaf be crumbly and not sticky like porridge; this will definitely not be appreciated.
And before, I did everything almost according to technology, first I burned the onion, then took it out... But now I decided to get rid of these unnecessary, harmful methods. Boiling vegetable oil itself already carries certain harm. But it’s impossible without him! Therefore, we make pilaf rarely, but accurately, at least once a week.
In order to prepare it according to our recipe, you will need the following products.
In general, the ideal would be to have the same proportions of meat, rice, carrots and onions. But I have a little less vegetables. This is because the cauldron for preparing this dish is now small and I wouldn’t say it’s convenient, but I don’t have anything else yet.
It is advisable, and even necessary, to cook this Uzbek dish in a special cauldron so that the pilaf does not burn. But it can also be done in a thick-walled saucepan or frying pan - a wok.
At the very beginning of cooking, you need to rinse the rice and leave it in slightly salted water.
At the moment I have chosen steamed rice, regular, short grain, but you can make it more interesting. Use a special one for pilaf or a long-grain one.
Now let's move on to the longest and most important task: cutting all the ingredients.
I like to cut carrots larger, then they absorb the taste of the pilaf and become better than if they are cut finely and grated.
You can cut the onion as you like, I do it in half rings, it still won’t be visible. Well, I cut the meat into medium sizes, about 2 x 2.
Everything else is simple and easy.
We heat the cauldron, if you decide to cook in it, heat it up, then pour in vegetable oil and also heat it well.
Throw the chopped onion into the boiling oil and fry it until golden brown.
After this, when the onion is fried, place the meat in it.
After lightly frying it, add carrots.
Stir and let cook with the lid open for 15 minutes.
Next, add boiling water in such an amount that it slightly covers the first three ingredients, put salt, cumin, turmeric, barberries (I always buy them at the market) and a head of garlic into the cauldron.
You can add ground black pepper.
Then we reduce the heat and cover our zirvak with a lid, that’s the name of this broth.
If you cook from chicken, then it will take a little time for everything to stew properly; if you cook from turkey, then you need at least 30 minutes for the meat to become soft.
While our pilaf is being cooked in a closed cauldron, we do not forget about the time, we boil more water in advance, it will come in handy.
It’s a pity that I didn’t have bell peppers and tomatoes at home; we could have added them to our broth right now, it would have been even tastier and more interesting. But it will also be very good!
After the set time has passed, add rice to the cauldron, which has been lying in salt water.
Fill it with boiling water to about 1.5 - 2 centimeters. Close the cauldron with a lid again and give the process another 5 minutes.
After this short time, the rice will swell sufficiently and absorb most of the poured water. The IMPORTANT thing is not to mix anything!
Right now we need to take a large plate and, having picked up a pile of rice, cover our pilaf with it. And cover the cauldron again with a lid, slightly moving its edge.
It will take a few minutes to leave our dish like this, then you need to turn it off and let it brew with the lid closed. Don't overdo it! Otherwise you will end up with boiled porridge.
When you remove the plate, the pilaf should be thoroughly mixed,
We have everything delicious downstairs.
I prepared it late in the evening and the photos turned out to be not very good, in my opinion. The pilaf turned out just as I wanted, crumbly, the rice didn’t stick together even the next day when I reheated it for lunch.
Tasty, satisfying and nutritious.
It took me almost 2 hours to prepare. Of these, the pilaf itself took 70 minutes to prepare, it infused for 10 minutes, and the preparation itself took almost half an hour.
Bon appetit!
Cooking time: PT01H50M 1 h 50 min.
Good afternoon, dear readers!
Uzbek pilaf is a frequent dish on our table. To be honest, cooking pilaf is not difficult for me. It is more difficult to cook borscht. Probably because of the amount of vegetables that go into borscht. And pilaf requires meat, rice, onions and carrots. Today I added garlic to the recipe. But I didn’t even peel it, I just washed 2 heads of garlic for pilaf.
I cook Uzbek pilaf in different ways and with different meats. So that you don't get bored. But you will never get tired of this dish. You can cook it at least every 2-3 days. The dish always turns out so tasty and satisfying.
We have already cooked with you. I advise you to look at this recipe, because there I indicated the secrets of preparing Uzbek crumbly pilaf.
And today we will cook pilaf with another bird - turkey. Turkey is a delicious, dietary meat. It is easily absorbed and quickly digested in the human body. Therefore, our pilaf will turn out to be not only tasty, but also a healthy dish for lunch.
Authentic Uzbek turkey pilaf in a cauldron with garlic - recipe with photos
We will need:
- Turkey – 700-800 gr.;
- Rice - 1 kg;
- Onions – 3-4 large heads;
- Carrots - 7 medium pieces;
- Vegetable oil – 250 ml;
- Spices: black and red pepper, coriander, cumin, barberry, salt;
- Garlic - 2-3 heads.
For pilaf, first of all we prepare zirvak - the basis of pilaf from meat, seasonings and vegetables.
Cut the turkey flesh into pieces 4-5 cm in size. Rinse in running water and place in a colander to drain.
We put a large cauldron on the fire. Throw in pieces of turkey and simmer until the liquid from the meat has completely evaporated.
While the turkey is stewing, prepare the vegetables. Peel the onions and carrots and rinse in water.
Cut the onion into quarters of rings.
Cut the carrots into long strips.
For real Uzbek pilaf, carrots are cut only in this way. And no other.
The water from the turkey and cauldron has evaporated. Pour vegetable oil into the cauldron. Add onion and fry over high heat with the lid open.
Periodically stir the meat and onions using a large slotted spoon. A slotted spoon is a very convenient and indispensable thing when preparing pilaf.
When the onion becomes soft and golden, add the carrots. Stir with a slotted spoon and continue frying in the cauldron with the lid open.
Preparing seasonings for pilaf. Mandatory seasonings are cumin (cumin), coriander and barberry.
We place the barberry whole in the zirvak. And knead the coriander grains and cumin in a mortar.
Spices and seasonings, including ground black and red pepper, salt, are added to the cauldron with meat and vegetables. We don't fry much yet.
We wash the rice for pilaf in a deep container several times. Until the water becomes light.
Boil a kettle of water.
Place rice on top of the zirvak and carefully level it over the surface. Pour 1.5-2 cm of boiling water over the top of the rice and set the heat to high until the water evaporates.
Under no circumstances should we mix rice with zirvak!
The water should evaporate completely. To find out whether the water from the rice has evaporated well, use a slotted spoon to move it away from the wall of the cauldron. The oil should be boiling at the bottom. And the rice easily piles up and does not move to the sides.
Let's turn down the fire.
Using a slotted spoon, carefully form a mound of rice.
In the center of the slide we make a passage to the very bottom of the cauldron.
We wash the heads of garlic and insert them on the sides of the rice mound. Cover the top tightly with a lid and leave to simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
If the lid does not fit very tightly to the cauldron, wrap it in a towel.
After the time has passed, check the readiness of the rice to taste. If the rice is soft, the pilaf is ready.
The garlic steamed well, became soft and its pungency went away. You can eat several heads of this garlic at a time.
The pilaf can be stirred immediately in the cauldron or thrown completely onto a large Uzbek dish - lyagan.
This is how Uzbeks serve it at the table - rice on a platter below, and zirvak on top. Garlic is placed on top of everything.
Enjoy your meal!
If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer you below in the comments.
For many years, pilaf has been a favorite dish. Thanks to the different variations of its preparation, it can satisfy a wide range of people's tastes. Today we will tell you how to cook delicious and appetizing turkey pilaf.
Traditional Uzbek pilaf is made from lamb, but not everyone likes this kind of meat. Therefore, many people use beef, pork, and recently they have begun to pay special attention to turkey.
Pilaf with turkey and spices really turns out very tasty and aromatic. It is better to prepare the dish in a cauldron; it is in such a utensil that Uzbek pilaf should simmer.
Cooking method:
- For pilaf you will need 500 g of turkey. Cut the meat randomly, not into too large pieces.
- Let's move on to vegetables. We take one carrot, cut it into cubes, but under no circumstances use a grater. And also two heads of onions, which we chop into half rings.
- Pour oil into the cauldron, approximately 2-3 cm, heat it and add the onion, sauté until golden brown.
- Now add the turkey to the onion, fry for five minutes, add carrots and spices. Here you can get barberry, cumin, hot pepper and other seasonings for pilaf. And of course, don’t forget about salt and black pepper.
- Pour rice over the seasoned vegetables, level the grains and press in two heads of garlic without the husks.
- Pour hot water two cm above the grain level. Reduce the heat, cover the cauldron with a lid and simmer until the rice is ready.
How to cook a poultry fillet dish
Turkey is considered a healthy dietary meat. Many dishes are prepared from it, the meat is stewed, baked, and today they even prepare real Uzbek pilaf. Turkey meat is very tender, it has little fat, so the pilaf turns out rich, but low in calories, which makes it attractive to those who do not like fatty foods. So, how to cook turkey fillet pilaf?
Cooking method:
- For pilaf, take half a kilo of turkey fillet, cut it into small pieces and fry in a cauldron with butter until golden brown.
- As soon as the meat is browned, add chopped onion to it, and then thin slices of carrots.
- After five minutes, sprinkle the ingredients with salt and pilaf seasonings. Stir, add a little water and simmer the turkey and vegetables for about 20 minutes.
- We wash the rice cereal and place it on top of the meat, add a little more spices, add water so that it is 2 cm higher than the rice. Add the garlic, not in slices, but in the whole head.
- Cover with a lid and simmer the pilaf for another 20 minutes. We give the finished dish time to rest and garnish with sprigs of cilantro or parsley before serving.
Cooking with bulgur
Before we tell you how to cook bulgur pilaf with turkey, we’ll tell you what this interesting ingredient is. In fact, there is nothing exotic here - this is ordinary wheat cereal, which is especially loved in the countries of the Middle East and the Mediterranean. After the wheat is subjected to special treatment with water, it is dried, cleared of bran, and the finished yellow grains are simply crushed and packaged. If you compare bulgur with other cereals, it has a more golden color and rich taste.
Cooking method:
- The recipe for making pilaf with bulgur is practically no different from the classic version. Here we also take one onion and one carrot each and chop them into cubes.
- Pour oil into a cauldron, first sauté the onion, and then fry it along with the carrots. We take out the vegetables and put them in a separate bowl.
- Cut the turkey into pieces and fry until golden brown, then combine it with vegetables, season with spices, salt, cook for five minutes.
- We wash the bulgur and put it in a cauldron, pour in water so that it covers the grain by 1.5 cm. Stir and simmer under the lid over low heat for 20 minutes.
- Serve the finished dish with chopped parsley or dill.
Turkey pilaf in a slow cooker
Many housewives know that pilaf is nourishing and always tasty. True, many of them deny themselves the pleasure of enjoying an appetizing dish because of its high calorie content. But today you don’t have to worry about your figure, but simply cook pilaf with diet turkey. As the main ingredient, you can take any part of the carcass, from the neck to the wings and fillet.
Cooking method:
- The first step is to prepare the composition of the components. Let's take half a kilo of turkey pulp, carrots and onions, and also prepare seasonings and two cups of rice.
- We cut the meat into pieces, chop the onion, chop the carrots into cubes or cubes, wash the rice, and take cumin, curry, and allspice as seasonings. Don't forget about classic salt.
- Turn on the multicooker, set the “Frying” mode, pour oil into the bowl and fry the vegetables for five minutes.
- Now add the meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, mix, pour in a little water and simmer for 15 minutes.
- All that remains is to lay out the rice and the rest of the spices, smooth it out, press a head of garlic into the grain, add water and cook the dish in the “Pilaf” mode for an hour.
Step-by-step cooking in a saucepan
As a rule, classic Uzbek pilaf is cooked in a cauldron, but if you move away from tradition, then the same tasty dish can be prepared in an ordinary pan. We will tell you a recipe for making pilaf with tender turkey.
Cooking method:
- To prepare a delicious pilaf, take two carrots and onions, cut the carrots into cubes and the onion into small cubes.
- Cut the turkey fillet into arbitrary cubes.
- Crack the sunflower oil in a saucepan and add the onions first, then the carrots and meat. Fry the turkey with vegetables over high heat for 6-7 minutes. Then season the ingredients with salt, pepper and other pilaf spices. Fry for a couple more minutes.
- Place the rice on the zirvak, stick a head of garlic in the middle, pour water to a level 2 cm above the grain, cover with a lid and simmer the dish for half an hour.
- Mix the finished pilaf and serve.
A simple recipe in a frying pan
Any housewife wants to please her household with delicious food. True, sometimes you have to rack your brains to cook something so original. And this is where rice comes to the rescue, because thanks to it and various additives you can prepare a wide variety of pilaf. We suggest preparing a hearty dish in a regular frying pan.
Cooking method:
- Pour oil into a frying pan, heat and fry the pieces of turkey fillet until golden brown.
- Take two or three carrots, cut into strips, and also finely chop two onions.
- We add onions to the meat, and then carrots and seasonings for pilaf - saffron, turmeric, cumin.
- For half a kilo of meat we need 300 g of rice. We add it to the turkey with vegetables, add cloves of garlic, pour water and simmer under a closed lid for 45 minutes.
What to add to pilaf to make it golden
Pilaf is a dish that has found fans all over the world. But how did ordinary rice conquer us with the addition of simple vegetables and meat, probably spices and aromatic seasonings? Recently, pilaf with turkey has begun to be cooked more often, and many are interested in what spices should be used in cooking?
Since white pilaf can hardly be called pilaf, it is more reminiscent of rice porridge, seasonings are used in its preparation, thanks to which the grains acquire a beautiful golden hue. This color can be achieved with the help of seasonings such as turmeric - the crushed root of the plant perfectly colors rice a bright yellow color. Another natural dye is saffron, however, if it is real, then it must be used very carefully. Curry also has the property of coloring rice grains, but not everyone likes this seasoning because of its specific taste.
In stores you can purchase ready-made sets of spices specifically for pilaf from different manufacturers. They contain dried vegetables and spices, including curry, turmeric, barberry and cumin, which will imbue the dish with a subtle oriental aroma.
Hello, dear readers! Let's start cooking pilaf with turkey right away. First of all, to prepare crumbly “correct” pilaf you will need a cast iron pot. This recipe uses a 3 quart cauldron. It is impossible to cook pilaf correctly in a regular pan. Because the heat in the boiler is distributed in a special way and mainly in the center. And the bottom of the pan gets hottest. Therefore, the pilaf will burn.
It is best to take steamed long grain rice. It is this type of rice that looks most advantageous in pilaf and never overcooks.
Required:
- 2 cups steamed rice;
- large strong onion;
- one medium-sized carrot root;
- 500 gr. turkey breast fillet;
- half a glass of vegetable oil (preferably refined sunflower oil);
- salt, purified water and spices.
Spices for preparing pilaf, like pilaf, must be approached with great responsibility. After all, they influence the taste and aroma of the finished dish as strongly as possible. You will need 1 tablespoon of homemade ready-made ground mixture (turmeric, coriander, paprika, black and red peppers, dried garlic, curry, suneli hops, thyme in equal quantities). But a mixture bought in a store and approximately corresponding in composition to that described will also work. Additionally, you will need dried barberry berries (1 tablespoon) and cumin seeds (cumin, 1 tablespoon).
Preparing pilaf according to this recipe will take approximately 1 hour.
How to cook pilaf with turkey
Pre-soak rice in boiling water.
Pre-preparation of rice - extremely important stage and it must not be neglected under any circumstances. Rice should be placed in any deep container (bowl, pan) and pour boiling water so that the rice is completely covered with water.
Stir with a spoon. The water will immediately become cloudy and the rice will begin to stick together, releasing excess starch into the water. The container with soaked rice should stand for at least 15 minutes (more is possible) before cooking.
We will still need boiling water in the process of cooking pilaf, so at this moment it would be good to fill the kettle and put it back on the stove.
Frying meat with onions and carrots in a cauldron
The next stage of preparing pilaf is frying the turkey meat. We wash the fillet and cut it into large pieces, approximately 2.5 x 2.5 cm.
Place the pot on high heat and heat it well.
Pour half a glass of oil into the bottom of the boiler and wait for it to warm up and begin to hiss.
Place chopped turkey fillet into boiling oil, add salt and mix thoroughly. Cover with a lid and continue frying for at least 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the onion into thin half rings.
Stir the fried meat with a spoon one last time.
Place the prepared onion on the meat, distribute it evenly over the surface, add salt and do not stir.
You should have layers: meat, onions, carrots. Cover with a lid and simmer. Only when the onion becomes transparent should you add the next layer to the cauldron - carrots.
Carrots for pilaf are best chopped coarsely by hand using a sharp kitchen knife. Grated carrots are boiled in pilaf until mushy and dissolved. Therefore, it is better not to use a grater in this case. Pieces of carrots, cut by hand, retain their shape and therefore look very appetizing in the finished pilaf.
The onions in the cauldron have become transparent. After this, put a layer of chopped carrots on top, distribute, and add salt.
If there is very little liquid left in the pot, you can carefully add 2 tablespoons of boiling water. But there is no need to mix anything.
Close the lid tightly and simmer the carrots until medium soft.
Washing rice in cold water
It's time to rinse the rice soaked in boiling water. By this time it has usually cooled down. Drain the cloudy starchy water from the container.
And then pour another full container of cold water (room temperature, from the tap). Wash the rice thoroughly in water by hand and drain the water again.
And we repeat this until the water becomes clear. At least 4 times. Clear water will indicate that excess starch has left the pan and will ensure that the rice in the pot will not stick together.
Adding rice and spices to the cauldron
The washed rice should be placed evenly on a layer of stewed carrots so that nothing gets mixed up in the cauldron.
The rice should form the top, fourth layer.
Place a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of a mixture of spices, cumin and barberry on top of the rice.
Carefully, placing a spoon under running water, pour boiling water over the rice. Approximately 3 cm (two fingers' width) above the level of the rice. Slowly spread the spices over the surface of the rice with a spoon.
We do not actively stir anything, under any circumstances.
Take a clean tablespoon and use the handle to pierce all the layers in the cauldron. Strictly vertical.
The purpose of this manipulation is to gently pass water to the lower layers of meat and vegetables.
The final stage of cooking turkey pilaf
Some of the water will go down. And most of it will remain on the surface. Our task is to wait until the rice absorbs water over low heat. The water level will be equal to the level of rice in the boiler. Typically the process takes 10 to 15 minutes.
And only after this can (and should) tightly close the cauldron with a lid. Pilaf should simmer on the lowest heat for at least 20 minutes.
After this time, the lid can be opened. Ideally, there should be no large drops of water on the inside of the lid - this means that the rice has steamed exactly as needed. It is not recommended to open and check earlier so that steam does not escape from the boiler prematurely.
Rice grains are cooked perfectly in this way.
And very fragrant. Place the entire contents of the cauldron in a large deep dish.
This is the only way to finally mix the pilaf well.
Place the dish with pilaf in the center of the table. Be sure to serve the pilaf with sliced fresh or pickled vegetables.
Bon appetit!
The recipe is not classic, highly adapted to my tastes and preferences. I always make it with chicken or turkey thigh fillet. The rice comes out fluffy, the taste is rich, in general, try it, you will like it. So,- Category: Main courses / Poultry dishes
- Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- Rice – 1 cup
- Turkey thigh fillet – 0.5 kg
- Carrots – 2 pcs or 1 large
- Onion – 1 pc.
- Tomato paste – 1 tablespoon
- Vegetable oil - for frying
- Ground black pepper
- Bay leaf
Cooking method
Pour cold water over the rice and rinse thoroughly 3-4 times.
Fry finely chopped onion in vegetable oil until slightly golden, add carrots (grated on a coarse grater), lightly fry. 
Cut the meat into small pieces and add to the onion and carrots, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. 
Then add a full glass of hot boiled water to the meat, add salt and pepper, add bay leaf, tomato paste, 
mix everything and pour in the rice. 
Mix everything well, cover with a lid and leave on medium heat for about 20 minutes, do not stir anymore! Check the readiness of the rice; if it turns out that the rice is still a little dry and all the liquid has evaporated, just add a little boiling water, do not stir. 
We try, if the rice is ready, turn off the heat, and leave to simmer under the lid for another 10 minutes. You can serve with pickled cucumber, cut it into slices, top with thin half rings of sweet onion and pour vegetable oil over everything, it goes very well with pilaf)) Bon appetit!
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