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Correct Uzbek pilaf made from pork. Pork pilaf in a cauldron: recipe with photos step by step

This national dish of Central Asia, the East and Transcaucasia has long captivated Russian culinary experts. Many housewives try to reveal the secrets of cooking pilaf, but this is not always possible and not for everyone. How to ensure that the rice turns out crumbly and the meat is soft and tender in taste? What right spices to choose for pilaf to make the dish aromatic and rich? Is it possible to cook pilaf on the stove without leaving your city apartment for the dacha and without starting a fire in the garden? What is the main secret of this aromatic, satisfying and incredibly tasty meat dish? Let's look into these issues.

Pork

Of course, everyone knows that not a single resident of the Caucasus, Uzbekistan and other eastern countries will cook pilaf with pork in a cauldron. Cooks from these countries prefer to add completely different types of meat to the dish. However, it was pilaf with pork that “took root” in our country and became incredibly popular.

To prepare it, try to choose pieces of lean pork. The meat must be fresh, that is, we buy it only from a trusted manufacturer. Ribs or pulp are perfect for pilaf. The better the meat used for the recipe, the richer, tastier, and more satisfying the pilaf will be.

Required Ingredients

So, let's decide exactly what products need to be prepared if you decide to master the recipe for pork pilaf in a cauldron. Firstly, the meat. You will need about 500-600 grams of pork. Secondly, Fig. It is this component that is designed to absorb and then release all the aroma of spices and herbs in the prepared dish. You will need 400 g of rice.

To make the pilaf richer in taste and beautiful in appearance, the recipe contains vegetables. You will need two large carrots, two onions, a couple bell peppers different colors. You can't do without garlic. Experienced cooks advise stocking up on two heads. One is placed entirely in the center of the cauldron, and the second will be cut into a dish.

As for seasonings and spices, you can choose: salt, cumin, ground red or black pepper, coriander, bay leaf, barberry, etc. Stores often sell ready-made sets of spices, which are collected specifically for use in preparing pilaf .

How to cook crumbly pork pilaf in a cauldron on the stove

If you think that for perfect recipe you need a good piece of meat or a set of the right spices, then you are wrong. The main, so to speak, ingredient is a good cauldron pan. Thick walls and bottom will prevent meat and other products from burning, and mixing the ingredients at the initial stage is much easier. In the right container, the pilaf will turn out perfect.

Stage 1. Preparing vegetables

Let's start with vegetables. Peel the carrots, wash them and cut them into large cubes. We also cut into large half rings and onion. Pilaf does not tolerate finely chopped and shredded vegetables. Place the cauldron on the stove, light the fire and pour vegetable oil into the bowl. It should cover the bottom and extend two fingers upward. It is recommended to fry vegetables with the addition of salt, barberry, bay leaf and pepper.

Let us immediately note that pork pilaf cooked on the stove in a cauldron is quite fatty and filling. But if you get rid of the oil and fatty meat, then it will be difficult to call such a dish a classic pilaf. For example, Uzbeks add fat tail fat to their food in addition to butter. Fat literally runs down their hands when they eat pilaf. This, as they say, is the whole point, the whole point of this dish.

Stage 2. Cooking the meat

At the second stage of preparing pork pilaf, the meat is processed in a cauldron on the stove. It should not only be removed from films, but also rinsed well under the tap. After cutting the pork into large pieces, add it to the vegetables. We recommend frying the meat for about ten to fifteen minutes. Pork is not chicken that will “cook” in the process of cooking rice. The pieces should already be well fried and cooked before adding rice. Cut the garlic into small slices and add to the meat at the last stage of frying.

Stage 3. Subtleties of working with rice

When the meat is almost ready, we begin working with the rice. To properly cook pork pilaf in a cauldron on the stove, you need to rinse the cereal in several waters. This is done as follows. Pour a glass of rice into a plate, add water and stir. The water will become cloudy. Drain it and fill the rice again with a new portion of liquid. Stir and drain. We do this until the water becomes clear. By removing gluten from grains, you will end up with excellent crumbly pilaf. In addition, the washed product will better absorb all the aromas of the spices.

Rice is laid out on the meat in an even layer; mixing it is not recommended. Pour water at the rate of one part of the bulk product and 1.5 parts of the liquid. Now the second head of garlic will go into action, which has already been peeled and is waiting for its turn. Place the garlic in the center of the cauldron and cover the dish with a lid.

Pilaf with pork is prepared on the stove in a cauldron for about twenty minutes. Some recipes recommend leaving the heat on high for the first five minutes, then reducing it to low. You can cook for the entire allotted time on low heat. The result will be identical.

You shouldn’t serve pilaf right away. By traditional recipe the dish is given more time to reach and “rest”. This is about 20-30 minutes. Even if the rice did not have time to be well saturated with aromas during cooking, during the allotted “rest” time it will have time to make up for lost time.

Stage 4. Proper serving of pilaf

Serving pilaf is one of important points. Do not pick at the rice with a spoon when placing it on plates. Pilaf is served in a completely different way. First you need to prepare a large wide dish. It covers the cauldron instead of a lid and carefully turns it over. As a result, the rice is on the bottom, like a substrate. All the “beauty” - delicious fried meat, crispy pieces of carrots, sautéed onions and aromatic garlic - appears on top. All that remains is to add a small touch in the form of chopped fresh herbs, and the dish is ready.

  • For cooking, it is better to choose strong, long-grain, non-starchy varieties of rice.
  • Carrots are not grated, but cut into bars. Real Uzbek pilaf does not tolerate carrot mush.
  • Pilaf is not stirred during cooking!
  • As for meat, it is better to give preference to pork, lamb or beef. Chicken, turkey or veal will not add the desired flavor to the dish.
  • In addition to barberry and cumin, you can put quince, dried apricots, raisins, and dried garlic in pilaf.
  • It is better to take vegetable oil that is aromatic. You can replace it with sesame or cotton.
  • An aluminum or cast iron cauldron is considered the ideal cookware.
  • Do not open the lid during cooking!
  • The longer the pilaf “rests” (10, 20, 30 minutes), the tastier and more aromatic the dish will be.
  • It is recommended to salt meat and vegetables, as well as add aromatic seasonings at the last stages of cooking, just before adding rice.

Preparation of Uzbek pork pilaf:

If we asked ourselves the question of how to prepare real Uzbek pilaf, then it would be unforgivable not to use lamb. But this meat, one might say, is not for everyone, and therefore we adapted the recipe to the tastes of the Russian average and use pork instead of lamb.

So, cut the pork into small cubes and fry it together with onions, cut into quarters of rings:

It is better to do this immediately in a cauldron and without sparing oil:

When the meat is browned golden crust, add carrots, grated on a coarse grater, to the cauldron:

And fry everything until the carrots are golden brown:

At the same time, add all the spices except garlic. The meat will be better if it is slightly over-salted, because... Rice will take up half the salt. When the meat and vegetables are fried, fill everything with washed rice and fill it with water just enough so that the water lightly covers the rice:

And only now add the garlic. Turn on the heat to maximum power and bring the water to a boil. The main thing is to make sure that the meat does not burn during this time. By and large, this is the most difficult thing in preparing pilaf. As soon as the water goes under the layer of rice, cover the cauldron with a lid and cook the pilaf over low heat for 15-20 minutes.

After the specified time has passed, listen to the sounds in the cauldron (without opening the lid). If you feel like the water is sizzling, leave it on the fire for another 5-10 minutes. Accordingly, if you can’t hear the hissing, remove the cauldron from the heat, but still do not open the lid. Let the pilaf stand on the table for another 15-20 minutes. During this time he will “rest” and will be ready to surprise you with his unique taste and aroma.

The history of the origin of pilaf dates back to approximately the second century BC. Pilaf means “boiled rice” in Persian. Around that moment, rice appeared in the fields of Central Asian countries and the countries of the Middle East. And it was from the moment the rice fields appeared that people began to prepare pilaf. There is a version that the roots of this wonderful dish lead to China. But the version did not find reliable sources, due to different techniques for preparing pilaf. There is also a version that this dish has Indian roots, but this source is not confirmed either, because Indian pilaf does not contain any type of meat; it is entirely vegetarian. But in the chronicles of Persia such a dish is indicated. Even at that time, the Persians enjoyed coloring pilaf with turmeric, giving the dish an original golden color. Closer to the 10th century, the dish was mentioned in the wonderful Arabian tale “1000 and 1 Night”. Scientists are inclined to believe that pilaf came to us from the countries of the Middle East, and then became widespread in Central Asian countries, and even became their national dish.

For the first time in Europe, some semblance of pilaf appeared in France, when representatives of the royal nobility, returning from a trip to the countries of the Middle East, in particular Turkey, told their cooks with great delight about such an amazing dish as pilaf. They, in turn, according to their masters, tried to bring this dish to life, but their attempts were in vain. The thing is that the cooks initially boiled the rice in milk, and first boiled the meat and then fried it, resulting in rice porrige with meat. The dish was quickly forgotten. And only in the 19th century did it appear in the form in which we know and love it. It was brought to France by civil engineers who were building the Suez Canal in those years.

National dish of Uzbeks

The rice dish has taken root well in the countries of Central Asia, while the rice treat among these peoples has its own division depending on the purpose: for a wedding, the birth of a child, funeral pilaf. For an ordinary everyday lunch or dinner, pilaf is prepared by women, for any event - by men. To prepare for a special occasion, in countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan there are even special chefs for preparing pilaf, which are always in great demand on such an occasion. A national dish Uzbek soup consists of seven ingredients: onions, carrots, meat, fat, salt, water and, of course, rice. Today, pilaf has the same ingredients as many years and centuries ago, but they have been supplemented with spices and seasonings that have already become traditional, such as cumin, barberry, pepper and others. Ultimately, the taste of the finished pilaf is influenced by many details, ranging from the choice of meat, type of rice, type of carrots, temperature and cooking technology, “the hand of the cook” and many other factors.

There are countless options for preparing pilaf. At the same time, in the countries of the Middle East, pilaf is divided into: Central Asian and Iranian. Their main difference lies in the cooking technology, the duration of preparation of certain products, as well as the constituent components. Different peoples of Central Asia may use other cereals instead of rice, such as wheat, turmeric, chickpeas and others. Instead of meat, some peoples put fish, vegetables, game, etc. in pilaf. The Azerbaijani version of preparing pilaf has two main and three additional components. The main components include gara - meat, dairy, fruit components and cereals, mainly rice. Additional ingredients include spices (basil, cilantro, tarragon, mint, garlic and onion), kazmag and sherbet. Kazmag - thin bannock. Sherbet is made from sour fruits and berries, such as barberry, pomegranate, lemon, etc. There are also a great many variations in the preparation of Azerbaijani pilaf; one of the most original, perhaps, can be called cooking rice on a kazmag. Line the bottom of the cauldron with Kazmag and cook the rice until cooked. In Azerbaijani pilaf, all components are prepared separately and served separately, placed on a large plate without mixing. This dish is topped with herbs and served slightly warm. They prefer sherbet as a drink.

In the Central Asian version of preparing pilaf, its components are divided into zirvak, cereal part, various spices and spices, as well as carrots. By the way, the choice of carrots here is taken no less seriously than the choice of meat. These peoples take no less responsibility when choosing the type of rice, meat and cauldron in which this dish will be prepared, as well as oil and fat. This dish is consumed exclusively hot. Pilaf is served with hot tea, preferably green, and various fresh salads from vegetables and various salinities. The Central Asian version of pilaf is prepared mainly by such nationalities as: Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Turkmens.

Pork pilaf in Uzbek style in a cauldron

Increasingly in recent years, Uzbeks prefer pork instead of traditional lamb. The recipe for preparing Uzbek pilaf with pork in a cauldron is incredibly tasty and quite simple. To find out how to properly prepare such pilaf, we will use a traditional cauldron, as well as the necessary basic ingredients: zirvak, rice and spices.

To prepare delicious pork pilaf will be needed following ingredients :

Rice cereal 600 g;

Pork tenderloin 600 g;

Carrots 500 g;

Onion 700 g;

Sunflower or olive oil 200-250 ml;

Water 600-700 ml;

Zira, turmeric, barberry, coriander seeds;

Garlic;

Dried red pepper;

Salt;

To prepare an amazing, incredibly aromatic pilaf, the method of processing the products is extremely important. First you need to learn a few secrets. First, vegetables, meat and rice cereals must be thoroughly washed in cold water. Secondly, all the same ingredients must each go through in their own order. heat treatment. The oil should be well heated, the zirvak should be stewed for a long time, and the rice should be cooked well by literally steaming. Uzbeks have this rule at the heart of every recipe: the longer the zirvak is cooked, the tastier and more crumbly the pilaf with pork will be. It is better to combine two oils or three types, for example: sesame, sunflower and cotton. There must be layers of fat in the meat pulp to give the finished dish a delicate aroma and taste.

If the pulp is lean, you can use fat, for example, lamb. It is also important to take into account the following factor: when preparing pork pilaf at home, you need to choose only rice grains durum varieties, and bring it to readiness by steaming. To do this, at the final stage of preparing the pilaf, cover it with a towel. An important role in the result of preparing delicious pork pilaf the cauldron is playing. It must have thick walls and a corresponding thick bottom. It can be made of copper, cast iron or aluminum. During the cooking process, the dish should simmer, only in this way you will get the very desired pilaf that the Uzbek people are so proud of.

So, in order to cook delicious pilaf from pork, according to the recipe above, we will need to take the following steps. First, you need to thoroughly wash and peel vegetables such as onions and carrots. These are very important ingredients for pilaf, so you should not regret or save on them. After the vegetables have been peeled, the onion should be cut into half rings, and two of them should be left whole; it is preferable not to grate the carrots, but to chop them into long, beautiful strips.

Even in a simple pork pilaf recipe, it is very important to carefully select carrots. It should be sweet medium grade. This will be one of the main collaterals successful cooking pilaf Next we move on to the meat. To make the dish more rich, you can choose two or three types of meat, preferably without bones. So, wash the meat well in cold water, then wipe it dry and cut into small pieces. Let's start with rice.

The recipe for delicious pilaf with pork has been passed down from generation to generation and always involved a careful selection of rice cereals. Rice grains are chosen with a low level of starch, which remains strong during cooking, and the dish turns out crumbly. Uzbeks prefer locally produced varieties of rice, such as barakhat, oshpar, derviza and others. At the same time, leading chefs Uzbek cuisine It is recommended to avoid Indian rice varieties, such as basmati or wild rice. After we have decided on the rice, wash it thoroughly and pour it cold water for 20-25 minutes. This will allow the rice to absorb water.

While the rice is standing, let's start preparing zirvak, without which it is difficult to imagine Uzbek pilaf in principle, including with pork.

And now, finally, after much preparation of all the ingredients, we will proceed to the actual preparation of pork pilaf in a cauldron on the stove. To do this, put the cauldron on the fire and warm it up well. Then pour it into sunflower oil or a mixture of several types of oil and let it heat up well. You can add lamb fat to the butter. Once the oil is heated, we send two whole onions to it. If they are large enough, they should be cut in half, and the heat should be reduced to medium and continue cooking. As soon as the onion acquires a golden hue, add pork cut into medium pieces (you can add lamb to the pork) and reduce the heat to low.

While the pork and onions are roasting, you can enjoy crazy aromas in your kitchen. The pork should not be stirred often; let it lightly fry until crusty. After a golden crust has formed, the meat can be turned over to the other side. Simmer for another 10 minutes and remove it from the cauldron and put it in a convenient container.

After the appearance of a light, characteristic golden color, add chopped carrots to the onion.

Let the vegetables simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. It is important not to miss the moment when the vegetables begin to stick; they should be constantly stirred so that they do not burn under any circumstances. As soon as you see that the vegetables are almost ready, you need to add a little water to them and leave them to simmer for about 5 minutes over low heat. In this case, it is better to cover the cauldron with a lid. After five minutes, pre-fried pork is added to the carrots and onions. Right now, these components, combined together, can be called zirvak. For a traditional zirvak, the only thing missing is herbs and spices.

Here you need to approach the choice of spices with all responsibility. It is difficult to imagine how you can cook pork pilaf in a cauldron without such fragrant herbs and spices as cumin and barberry. Therefore, first of all, we leave the choice to these spices. Then, following them, add coriander seeds and dried red pepper. To give the dish a special note and aroma, you can add quince, as well as traditional raisins, prunes and dried apricots. After adding spices and herbs, season the dish with salt to taste and then mix thoroughly. Now our zirvak is finally ready, and we can move on to the second part of our dish.

After preparing the zirvak, let's start with the rice. To do this, drain the water from under the rice and carefully and evenly spread it on top of the zirvak. After spreading the rice, it is important that the water barely covers it. If this is not observed, water should be added. Place a whole unpeeled head of garlic in the center of the cauldron (you should peel only the top layer) and lightly press it into the rice. After all the manipulations done, cover the cauldron with a lid, reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer for about an hour and a half. The cooking time may increase slightly or, on the contrary, decrease, and this is directly proportional to the type of rice. After the specified time has passed, open the cauldron and carefully mix the resulting dish with a spatula. For the best effect, let the dish steep for another 20-30 minutes, covered. The pilaf turns out very juicy and aromatic. It is served with traditional green tea and vegetable salads.

Original recipe for pork pilaf in a frying pan

But what to do if you don’t have a cauldron at hand? In this case, you can use a frying pan and cook pork pilaf in it.

To prepare pilaf with pork in a frying pan, we offer the following recipe.

We will need:

Rice cereal 500-600 g;

Pork tenderloin 400-450 g;

Onions 2-3 heads;

Carrots 3-4 pcs;

Tomato paste 50-60 g;

Garlic 50-70 gr;

Vegetable oil 50 ml;

Salt, pepper 1-2 pinch;

Zira, barberry.

We will start preparing it by washing the rice. We rinse it thoroughly under running water, then fill it with water, preferably hot, and let the rice steam for about half an hour. Next, clean and wash the vegetables well. We cut the onion finely into cubes, and cut the carrots either into thin cubes or into three strips on a grater. Place a frying pan on the stove and heat it up. After the frying pan has been heated, pour sunflower oil into it and heat it. Then add onion to it and fry until golden brown. Then carrots are added to the onion.

Simmer the carrots for about 7 minutes, but do not forget to stir the vegetables so that they do not burn. In the meantime, let's do the meat. The meat must first be washed and then cut into pieces large pieces. After the vegetables have stewed and acquired a beautiful golden color, add the meat to them. Simmer it until cooked and acquires a characteristic crust. Then add to the meat tomato paste, salt and pepper, add spices and seasonings to taste.

We send steamed rice to the meat and fill our dish hot water, add garlic. Then set the temperature to low, cover with a lid and continue to simmer until done, stirring occasionally so that the pilaf does not burn. It will take about 20-30 more minutes to cook the rice. After the dish is cooked, leave it under closed lid for another 10 minutes, so that the dish steams and acquires the rich aromas of all the spices and herbs.

With such pilaf, no one in your family will remain indifferent. Here is a simple recipe for delicious pork pilaf that you can use to diversify your everyday family dishes. This pilaf recipe is not traditional Uzbek cauldron, and in a frying pan is often used in European countries.

Cooking pilaf with pork in a pan

Many housewives are also concerned with the question: how to cook pork pilaf in a pan? And we also have an answer to this question. The recipe for cooking pilaf in a pan is extremely simple and does not have any intricacies, everything is quite simple. To prepare this pilaf, we need a pan with a thick bottom and a non-stick coating.

For preparing this wonderful and aromatic dish we will need:

Pork meat 0.8 kg;

Rice cereal 0.5 kg;

Carrots 0.4 kg;

Onion 0.4 kg;

Garlic 3-4 cloves;

Salt and pepper to taste;

Zira, turmeric, barberry a pinch;

Sunflower oil 50-70 ml.

So, first we clean and wash the vegetables. Then cut the onion into medium cubes and the carrots into half rings. For this recipe, take lean pork, wash it, remove unnecessary veins and cut into small pieces. Next, put the pan on the fire, pour vegetable oil into it and heat it.

Then add the pork to the oil and fry thoroughly over high heat. As soon as the meat begins to release its juice, we add chopped vegetables to it and season with spices. Simmer the ingredients over medium heat with the lid closed. As soon as the vegetables have become soft, add rice to them.

Salt, pepper, add garlic, add water (you can use meat broth) so that it lightly covers the rice. Cover with a lid, reduce heat and cook until all the water has evaporated. At the same time, do not forget to stir constantly so that the dish does not burn. After preparing such a fragrant and rich dish, we can eat it immediately, or we can let it brew for 10-15 minutes.

It is difficult today to imagine at least one family, be it European or Asian, whose menu at least once did not include such wonderful and delicious dish like pilaf. This dish deserves a special place on the table of certain nationalities of the world, and the most interesting thing is that, despite the fact that this dish is in their diet almost every day, they never get tired of it.

And the reason lies in the fact that there are such a huge number of varieties of pilaf and each has its own flavor, both in the ingredients and in the cooking technology, that it can be cooked almost every day and it will not be repeated for quite a long time.

From this you can conclude that there are a huge number of recipes for preparing pilaf, but how to cook pilaf with pork is, of course, up to you.

Traditional pilaf is made from lamb. However, this tasty dish has become so popular that various versions of pilaf, cooked in a cauldron on the stove - from pork, poultry and other types of meat, have become firmly established on the menu of most people. national cuisines Asia and Europe.

Pilaf recipes were known to the peoples of the Middle East and India back in the 3rd century BC. Mentions of pilaf contain a number of medieval oriental literary sources, among which is the pearl of the Arabian epic “A Thousand and One Nights”. Over time, the dish fell in love with European peoples: pilaf with pork in a cauldron is now often present on the table in every hospitable home.

  • Recipe posted: Alexander Lozier
  • After cooking you will receive: 8-10 servings
  • Preparation: 15 minutes
  • Cooking: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Preparation: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Calorie content: 287 kcal per 100 g

Cooking pork pilaf in a cauldron at home

Although zirvak will be with pork, we take the Uzbek recipe for preparing pilaf in a cauldron as a basis. Pork meat is universal - soft, melting in your mouth. Any meat dish amazing with pork - for example.

Food set for cooking:

  • long grain rice – 4 cups.
  • boiling water – 6 tbsp.
  • pork – 800 g
  • vegetable oil – 0.5 cup.
  • large onion turnip – 1-2 pcs.
  • chickpeas – 100 g
  • carrots – 2-3 pcs.
  • garlic – 1 large head
  • raisins – 50 g
  • hot pepper – 1 stick
  • half a pomegranate seed
  • quince – 1 pc.
  • seasonings – cumin, barberry, pepper to taste
  • rock or sea salt - to taste

Let's look at the step-by-step preparation of pork pilaf in a cauldron at home on a regular kitchen stove.

All attention to zirvak

The beauty of Central Asian pilaf according to the Uzbek recipe with pork in a cauldron lies in two main components - zirvak and the quality of the cereal base.

Zirvak is prepared separately - from meat, carrots, onions, dried and fresh fruit with seasonings and spices. As for cereals, then best variety rice, which will give the dish an unsurpassed taste - red devzira.

Zirvak bookmark:

1. Heat the oil in a cauldron until light smoke appears. We choose a cast iron cauldron with thick walls, which will ensure uniform temperature distribution inside the prepared dish.

2. Cut the washed meat into pieces for delicious pilaf with pork in a cauldron and throw it into a cast iron pot with hot oil. Stirring, fry until half cooked. Salt and pepper while frying.

3. Cut large carrots into little finger-thick pieces, chop the onion into half rings.

4. First add onions to the meat into the cauldron, after a minute - carrots. By this time the meat should be covered with a light golden crust. Stir and wait until the onion turns golden.

5. Peel the quince, cut it into quarters and add to the zirvak. We also send the whole garlic heads and a pod of hot pepper there.

6. Strain the chickpeas soaked overnight in water and put them in a cauldron along with the washed raisins. Add boiling water (half the volume), cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes until the chickpeas soften over medium heat.

The base is ready, and now the task of how to cook pork pilaf in a cauldron is three-quarters completed. The next stage, despite its apparent simplicity, has its own nuances that must be strictly followed, otherwise the end result will be rice porridge.

How to cook pilaf with pork in a cauldron - adding rice

Pilaf is not a cooking for the lazy. For example, cooking a dish is much easier. Therefore, before adding rice to the cauldron, you need to work some magic on it. It is advisable to soak the cereal a couple of hours before cooking – this gives the taste of Uzbek food and its appearance will benefit greatly.

First, the rice must be washed very thoroughly to avoid sticking. Each grain of rice is covered with a layer of starch powder obtained by grinding the grain. If we don’t wash off the powder, all the starch will go into the water and thicken it. This is good for paella, but completely unsuitable for pilaf.

Advice. The famous Uzbek culinary specialist, author of books on Samarkand cuisine - Stalik Khanshikiev - advises not to rub the rice in your hands when you wash it. By erasing the top layer of grain, you will again provoke starch release.

When the water becomes transparent, you can proceed further:

1. strain the water from the rice

2. add seasonings to the zirvak (cumin, barberry, etc.)

3. spread the rice in an even layer in the cauldron

4. add salted water to the container so that it covers the cereal by 2 fingers

5. make indentations in the rice, where we stick the unpeeled garlic cloves

6. We wait about 15 minutes until the water for the pork pilaf in the cauldron on the stove is almost absorbed.

After making sure that almost all the liquid has gone into the cereal, remove the lid, cover the dish with a heated dish, and place a clean waffle towel on top of it. After this, shake off any water droplets from the cauldron lid and cover the container again. Simmer on low heat for another 20 minutes.

Great presentation

Regardless of who you are preparing pork pilaf in a cauldron at home - for yourself or for guests, it must be served in the best traditions of Samarkand chefs.

1. Finally, when the pilaf is ready, remove it from the stove and let it brew for another 15 minutes.

2. When serving, rice and meat are placed in layers: they do not mix. Take a wide dish and place rice on it. A layer of peas, vegetables and meat is placed on top of the rice. Quince, Bell pepper, the garlic must be removed from the pilaf before serving.

3. The dish is decorated with fresh vegetables and pomegranate seeds are sprinkled on top.

4. People eat pilaf, of course, with their hands, but in European realities this rule is not necessary to follow.

The recipe for pilaf with pork in a cauldron seems labor-intensive on the surface, but once you get the hang of it, the cooking procedure is not difficult. The dish will take center stage in a holiday lunch, and a light one is perfect for dinner.

According to legend, the ancient physician and philosopher Avicenna (980-1037), famous in the East and throughout the world, believed so much in the power of pilaf as a panacea for restoring strength that he treated sick and weakened people with it.

For example, it was pilaf, which the Persian crown prince ate daily on Avicenna’s advice, that helped him recover from nervous and physical exhaustion caused by the torments of love.

According to nutritionists, pilaf is 95% digestible and is indicated for anemia and secretory insufficiency. Pilaf is irreplaceable in cold weather, saturating the body and maintaining a feeling of fullness for a long time.

So as not to forget, save the recipe on your wall.

    I tasted the most delicious pilaf in the army. It was a long time ago. It was prepared by Tajiks, great experts in this matter. In Central Asia, preparing pilaf or leading the process is the prerogative of men. In Uzbekistan, such a grandfather (babai) is worth its weight in gold. He has a shovel, with which he mixes zirvak for 300 liters of pilaf in a huge cauldron. Ram, canister vegetable oil, a bag of rice, a bag of onions and a bag of carrots are the usual norms for wedding pilaf. Let's take pork pulp of medium fat content. Cut a piece weighing 300 g.

    Peel and cut the carrots into strips or large pieces.

    Peel and cut the onion into half rings or a little smaller.

    Pour half a glass of vegetable oil into a wok pan and place it over high heat. Place carrots and onions in a frying pan and fry over medium heat. It takes a long time to fry. The carrot and onion pieces should be greatly reduced in size, and the onion should turn brown around the edges. Only after this we put pieces of meat into the frying pan and continue to fry our zirvak. In general, the roasting process takes at least half an hour. The color and taste of rice in pilaf depends on the degree of roasting of the zirvak. Well-fried carrots and onions give the rice a dark color and rich flavor.

    Prepare 3 heads of garlic, a tablespoon of dried barberry and a teaspoon of cumin.

    When preparing pilaf, you should always have a kettle of boiling water on hand. Fill the zirvak with boiling water. The moment has come when you can add salt to the zirvak. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the frying pan and bring the zirvak to a boil. It should taste oversalted. We put barberry and cumin into the zirvak. We continue to cook zirvak. The total cooking time reaches 1 hour. Usually less than 30-40 minutes.

    Now it's time to wash and prepare the rice. Take 2 cups of regular round rice, pour it into a pan and rinse it with the hottest tap water possible. You need to rinse 5-7 times, draining the water each time. Then the rice in the pan is poured with boiling water. It remains in this form until the zirvak is completely ready.

    Zirvak is ready. You can see how much water has boiled out of the frying pan.

    Carefully place the steamed rice into the frying pan. Not a single grain of rice should fall. It is believed that rice is the teeth of Allah. This must be treated with respect.

    We level the rice, trying to evenly place it on top of the zirvak. Immerse 3 heads of garlic in rice. Add a little boiling water and continue cooking the pilaf. This process requires constant monitoring. You can use a spoon to carefully move the rice from the edges to the middle and vice versa. No vertical mixing is allowed. Let's turn down the fire. If the water boils away quickly, use a table knife to make several holes to the very bottom of the frying pan and add boiling water to them. A sign that the pilaf has been removed from the heat is slightly undercooked rice and an almost complete absence of liquid in the pilaf. The frying pan is covered with a lid and removed from the heat. It is precisely removed (especially from an electric stove).

    Uzbek pilaf ready with pork. It is consumed with vegetables and green tea. Bread or lavash is not served with pilaf. Place the pilaf on portioned plates, garnish with sprigs of dill, and add hot pickled tomatoes and peppers.

    More correct serving is done in large deep plates for 2-3 people. Green Fergana radish cut into plastic pieces is laid out in a circle.