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Uzbek beef pilaf. Authentic Uzbek beef pilaf in a cauldron - step-by-step recipe. Chicken pilaf

Step-by-step recipes for preparing aromatic, tasty beef pilaf in a cauldron at home

2018-10-09 Liana Raimanova

Grade
recipe

1156

Time
(min)

Portions
(persons)

In 100 grams of the finished dish

9 gr.

8 gr.

Carbohydrates

24 gr.

201 kcal.

Option 1. Classic recipe for beef pilaf in a cauldron

A dish that is amazing in taste and aroma is pilaf. There are many options for preparing it: in a regular frying pan, saucepan, slow cooker, but it turns out especially excellent in a thick-walled cauldron. According to Uzbek traditions, lamb and sometimes beef are used for pilaf. Beef makes the dish lighter, more tender, and not so fatty. The cooking process is divided into two stages: preparing zirvak and cooking rice.

Ingredients:

beef - 670 g;
rice cereal (long grain, steamed) - 535 g;
5 small carrots;
4 onions;
ground barberry - 35 g;
zira - 20 g;
turmeric - 30 g;
sunflower oil - 75 ml;
garlic - 8 cloves;
30 g salt;
black pepper - 65 g.

Step-by-step recipe for beef pilaf in a cauldron

Peel the peel (husk) from the vegetables, chop the carrots into medium strips with a knife, and chop the onion into half rings.

We clean the beef fillet from unnecessary films and tendons and cut it into squares about 3 cm thick.

After placing the onion in a thick-walled cauldron, pour in the oil and fry over low heat until lightly golden.

Add the meat to the onion, mix well, fry together until slightly crusted on the meat pieces.

Lastly, add the carrots, immediately add some salt, season with pepper, and fry for 12 minutes.

Add all the spices and spices to the mixture, mix well, heat for 3 minutes.

Pour some water into the cauldron, close the lid and let it simmer over low heat for half an hour.

Wash the cereal thoroughly, place it on top of the finished zirvak, level it and lightly sprinkle it with salt, close the lid, and simmer until the liquid is partially absorbed.

Having opened the lid, use a large spoon to make small holes on the surface of the rice, into which we stick the washed cloves of garlic, and simmer for another 25 minutes under the lid.

Turning off the heat, let the pilaf sit for half an hour, open the lid, take out the garlic and place it on plates, sprinkle with fresh herbs if desired.

If after putting the rice in the cauldron there is too little liquid left, then you need to add about half a glass more.

Option 2. Quick recipe for beef pilaf in a cauldron

According to the following recipe, beef pilaf is also prepared in a thick-walled cauldron, only not on the stove, but in the oven, so there is no need to constantly monitor the process. The technology and composition of the products are identical to the classic version, only the frying is done in a regular frying pan, then everything is transferred to a cauldron and simmered in a hot oven. It turns out delicious, incredibly aromatic, with a pleasant crumbly consistency.

Ingredients:

half a kilogram of beef pulp;
430 g long grain parboiled rice;
3 carrots;
3 onions;
7 cloves of garlic;
60 ml refined oil;
40 g khmeli-suneli seasoning;
45 g salt;
30 g black pepper.

How to cook beef pilaf in a cauldron

After peeling and cutting the vegetables into strips, first fry the onion in a regular frying pan on the stove over medium heat for 3 minutes, then the carrots.

After adding the meat, peeled from films and cut into squares, fry for another 6 minutes.

Add carrots, add some salt, season with suneli hops and black pepper, and fry for the same amount of time.

We transfer the finished meat frying to a cauldron, lay an even layer of rice on top, after rinsing the water until the water is clear.

Stick garlic cloves into the surface of the cereal, pour in no more than half a glass of water and place in a hot oven for 40 minutes. During simmering, do not open the door.

Having taken the cauldron out of the oven, let the pilaf sit for a few minutes and serve, removing the garlic cloves in advance.

If there is no khmeli-suneli seasoning, it is permissible to use a special seasoning for pilaf. And to add a slight spiciness, you can add finely chopped chili pepper.

Option 3. Beef pilaf in a cauldron with raisins

Another amazing recipe for beef pilaf in a cauldron. Of course, due to the pronounced sweetness of the raisins used, the dish will not suit everyone’s taste. But for those who like to combine products and experiment in the kitchen, the recipe is ideal.

Ingredients:

beef pulp - 740 g;
steamed rice - 540 g;
raisins of the “quiche-mish” variety - 3 handfuls;
carrots - 3 pcs.;
4 onions;
refined oil - 55 ml;
black pepper, salt - 45 g each;
ground cumin, turmeric - 50 g each.

Step by step recipe

We wash the rice grains in several waters.

We sort out the raisins from debris, wash them, and soak them in hot water for a quarter of an hour.

We cut out the membranes and tendons from the selected piece of meat and cut it into medium squares.

Remove the peel (husk) from the onion and carrot, cut into strips, place the onion in a cauldron, fry in refined oil for no longer than 3 minutes. Add the meat to the container and fry for another 7 minutes. Add carrots, mix well, fry for 4 minutes.

Sprinkle the zirvak with ground cumin, turmeric, black pepper, add some salt if required, mix well and heat for a couple of minutes, lay out the cereal, cover with a thin layer of raisins.

Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low, and cook for 35-40 minutes.

Let the finished pilaf stand on the stove for 6 minutes.

Stir before serving.

This pilaf turns out delicious with both beef and chicken.

Option 4. Beef pilaf in a cauldron with chickpeas

Chickpeas are a type of pea; they are often used to prepare a variety of Turkish and Uzbek dishes, including pilaf. This ingredient gives the dish an unforgettable taste and aroma, and also makes it attractive and very appetizing.

Ingredients:

a little more than half a kilogram of beef;
chickpeas - 240 g;
steamed rice - 480 g;
carrots - 4 pcs.;
onions - 4 pcs.;
refined oil - 65 ml;
seasoning cumin, turmeric, basil - 45 g each;
salt, black pepper - 35 g each;
water - 175 ml;
garlic - 2 heads.

How to cook

We wash the chickpeas and leave them in a cup of cold water for several hours to swell.

Step 2:
Place the beef, previously cleared of films and tendons, into a cauldron and fry over a high flame with butter until golden brown.

Add the peeled onions, chopped into half rings, to the meat and fry for 3 minutes.

Add processed carrots, cut into thin strips, and fry for 6 minutes.

Drain the water from the chickpeas, pour them into the cauldron, stirring often, and fry for 4 minutes.

Add water, all the seasonings, pepper, add some salt, and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.

Place the washed rice on top, stick in the washed but not peeled garlic cloves, smooth them out, close the lid and cook for a little over half an hour.

After letting the pilaf sit for half an hour, remove the garlic cloves from the dish and serve, placing the dish on a flat, wide plate or tray.

For faster cooking, it is permissible to replace chickpeas with regular canned corn.

Option 5. Beef pilaf in a cauldron with champignons

An interesting version of delicious beef pilaf in a cauldron. Here, champignons are mixed with all the vegetables, which give the dish additional taste and aroma. The sequence of laying out the ingredients differs from other options: first, onions, carrots and mushrooms are fried, then meat pieces are introduced. In the finished dish, plates of champignons in combination with cereals and vegetables look very beautiful and appetizing, giving the pilaf a festive look.

Ingredients:

fresh champignons - 6 pcs.;
beef - 840 g;
steamed rice cereal - 525 g;
onions - 4 pcs.;
carrots - 4 pcs.;
refined oil - 60 ml;
ground barberry, cumin, turmeric - 40 g each;
black pepper - 30 g;
35 g salt;
9 cloves of garlic.

Step by step recipe

We clean the vegetables, cut them into strips, free the champignons from dirt, wash them thoroughly, and chop them into not very thin slices.

Pour some oil into the cauldron, heat it slightly, add the mushrooms, fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add onions and carrots to the cauldron and fry for 8 minutes.

Place the meat, peeled from films and cut into squares, with the fried ingredients and heat over the same heat for about 10 minutes.

Season the mixture in a cauldron with all the spices, pepper, take a sample, add some salt, and heat for 3 minutes.

We rinse the cereal, place it on top of the zirvak, smooth it out, stick in the washed head of garlic, simmer for 5 minutes.

After opening the lid of the cauldron, use a spoon to make small holes in the surface of the rice, pour a little water into them and cook for 35 minutes.

Let the pilaf sit for half an hour and place it on plates, removing the garlic and stirring the dish.

It is permissible to take champignons even frozen, only then it is better to add them after adding the meat, before the rice.

Pilaf is one of several varieties of a wonderful dish masterfully performed by Central Asian chefs. The culinary heritage of Uzbekistan is prepared from ordinary products, but the result is amazing. It turns out that there are little secrets of technology that we want to tell you about.

Although pilaf is considered an international dish, in each country it is prepared differently, with the addition of various spices, using certain types of rice and meat.

There is even a saying in Samarkand: “If the wedding pilaf turned out well, then the holiday was a success.”

Uzbeks usually serve pilaf at the end of the feast, as if signaling that the evening is coming to an end and it’s time to leave. And the more desirable and expensive the guest, the later this hot delicacy is served, as if making it clear that they would like to extend their time together.

Traditionally in Central Asia, this dish is prepared from lamb, but recipes with the addition of beef are also quite common. And for Russians this meat is the most accessible and preferred, so I suggest purchasing it.

For this second dish, it is advisable to choose meat from mature animals, but if you take it too young, during the frying and long stewing process it will turn out to be overdried, tasteless, and will disintegrate into fibers.

You should not spend money on premium cuts - tenderloin or loin. Tenderloin is good for steaks and chops, but it is not suitable for preparing pilaf, as the result is dry. You don’t need to take the knuckle (muscle fibers from the animal’s shin) either, it contains a lot of tendons, and is preferable for cooking broths and jellies. The most successful choice is the juicy flesh of the shoulder blade, or meat from the upper part of the hind leg, or ribs.

Ingredients:

beef meat - 500 g
steamed rice - 2 cups (220 g each)
fresh carrots - 2 pcs.
onion (large) - 1 pc.
garlic - 1 whole head and 3-4 cloves
vegetable oil - 100 ml
bay leaf - 2 pcs.
salt - to taste
spices for pilaf (turmeric, barberry, cumin) - 1 tbsp. l.

How to properly cook beef pilaf

We wash the beef well, cut it into large pieces and lightly dry it with kitchen paper towels.

Peel the onion and chop it large.

Carrots must be cut into large cubes. If you cut it finely, it will simply boil and turn into porridge.

It is better to take carrots and garlic for pilaf when they are ripe, not young.

Young carrots are more tender and watery; when stewed for a long time, as required by the recipe for Uzbek pilaf with beef, they will boil and turn into mush. Ripe carrots have the richest flavor. it retains its shape better during cooking.

Ripe (old) garlic has a distinct taste. which means that the dish with it will turn out richer and more aromatic than with a young vegetable.

It is advisable to cook beef pilaf at home in a thick-walled saucepan, or better yet, in a cast-iron casserole so that the ingredients do not burn when frying and stewing (I cook in it).

Cookware with a non-stick coating in this case is not a very good option, since such a coating does not tolerate high temperatures and begins to crack and fall off. The non-stick coating does not withstand mechanical stress when stirring the dish with a spoon or spatula.

The ideal option is to take a cast iron cauldron. It holds heat perfectly and allows the dish to simmer slowly. In aluminum cookware, on the contrary, heat is poorly retained, so it will not be possible to bring the dish to condition by simmering. To ensure that the pilaf is cooked evenly throughout the entire volume, take a cauldron that is spherical rather than flat. A spherical cauldron is heated evenly by fire from all sides. The lid of a good cauldron should tightly cover the pot.

Choose the size of the cauldron based on the number of servings and taking into account the fact that rice increases in volume when cooked. Our pilaf is designed for 6 servings, so a 7-liter cauldron would be optimal.

Pour vegetable oil into the cauldron and heat it well over high heat.

Carefully place the chopped meat into the bubbling oil and stir immediately. Otherwise it will stick to the walls of the cauldron. In addition, boiling water “seals” the meat fibers, preventing them from losing their juiciness. Fry the meat for about 10 minutes.

Add coarsely chopped onions to the meat. Mix.

After a minute, add the chopped carrots.

Next, lay out all the prepared spices and add salt. In the list of ingredients for the recipe for crumbly pilaf with beef, we indicated the most popular spices used in Asia - turmeric, cumin, barberry. However, you can add other spices that perfectly highlight the taste of beef - red chili pepper, coriander, allspice and black pepper, mustard seeds, ground nutmeg, thyme.

Pour two glasses of water over the meat and vegetables. Cover the cauldron with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer the meat and vegetables for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, put well-washed steamed rice into the cauldron. The better you wash the rice, the more starch you remove from its surface (starch helps the grains stick together when cooked). Starch is ideally washed off if you pour hot water over the grains and immediately drain it. The procedure is repeated several more times (4-5) until the drained liquid becomes clear. Many chefs claim that to properly prepare rice for pilaf, it must be soaked in cold water for 30-40 minutes.

Professional chefs say that the type of rice chosen directly determines how tasty and crumbly the pilaf will be.

The most suitable cereal is one that can well absorb liquid, fats, taste and aroma of the spices used. Real rice for pilaf should hold its shape perfectly, not boil over, and not stick together into a mass. After all, we are not planning to cook risotto; the ideal pilaf is crumbly.

Therefore, chefs advise in this case to purchase long brown rice or red rice, which has undergone minimal processing (steaming, polishing) and retains the maximum of nutrients. It cooks for an average of 25-30 minutes. Known rice varieties are Rubin, Samarkand and Devzira, bred by breeders directly for cooking pilaf. White steamed rice of an elongated shape (such as Jasmine or Basmati), which has a golden-transparent color, is also good.

You can buy a mixture of two types of cereals in the store - steamed and wild rice. As a last resort, take elongated, polished white rice. But keep in mind that it is inferior to brown and golden parboiled rice in terms of the content of valuable substances, and you only need to cook it for 15 minutes.

Make sure that the rice in the package you purchase is whole and not split, so that there are no debris.

In any case, give preference to long-grained cereals, and set aside round (for example, Krasnodar variety) or crushed cereals for cooking porridges, soups, and Italian risotto.

Spread the rice evenly over the surface, add a little more salt. Place a bay leaf, insert a whole head of garlic into the middle, and stick the peeled cloves around the edges. Pour in water, its level should exceed the rice by 2 cm.

According to cookbooks, the optimal ratio should be: 1 part cereal, 3 parts liquid.

Close the cauldron with a lid and cook the pilaf over low heat until done. Typically, direct cooking lasts 20-25 minutes from the start of boiling water (depending on the type of rice). After this time, the rice should completely absorb the water.

Then turn off the fire and leave the dish to simmer in a hot cauldron for another 15-20 minutes. During this time, the slightly harsh grains of the cereal will acquire the desired consistency, but will not boil. If you continue to cook the rice until cooked over the fire, avoiding simmering, the grain may lose its shape and become too soft.

In Uzbekistan there is a word “shavlya”, which disparagingly refers to sticky porridge with rice, which only vaguely resembles real pilaf cooked in a cauldron.

Since the rice cooks faster in the middle than at the edges, every 5-7 minutes you need to open the lid slightly and collect the rice from the edges to the middle. This will ensure the rice cooks evenly. But do not mix the dish too thoroughly, so as not to destroy the integrity of the grains.

That's all, now you know the real recipe for beef pilaf and you can cook it yourself at home. Hurry up and invite your family and guests to the table!

In the homeland of the dish, it is customary to serve it this way: rice with carrots are laid out on the bottom of a large dish, and pieces of meat are placed on top. The garlic is left whole, and very large pieces of meat are cut into portions. You can sprinkle the top of the dish with chopped herbs - dill, parsley, green onions.

In Central Asia, a large plate of greens is always placed on the table next to the pilaf. It is also combined with a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, seasoned with a small amount of vegetable oil.

If the dish turns out to be very fatty (for example, if it was cooked with lamb and fat tail fat), then you should simply serve chopped vegetables without greasing them with oil. Uzbeks eat pilaf with national flatbread.

At the end of the meal, hot green tea (without sweets) is placed on the table - this drink goes optimally with such fatty and filling food as pilaf.

After fatty pilaf (especially with lamb), you should absolutely not drink very cold water. It promotes the solidification of fat, which will lead to poor digestion and heaviness in the stomach (cooled fat is poorly broken down by gastric juice and enzymes, resulting in food stagnation).

Note to the hostess

Delicious pilaf can be prepared not only from beef or lamb, but also from pork or chicken.

In some recipes for this second dish, carrots are replaced with pumpkin, and at the end of cooking, a handful of raisins are added for taste. Sometimes the list of ingredients is expanded by adding chickpeas.

The calorie content of beef pilaf depends on the fat content of the meat pieces, as well as on the type of rice chosen. A brown rice dish has lower calorie content because brown rice contains less starch compared to white grains. On average, the calorie content of a dish is 220 Kcal per 100g.

Gourmets say that real pilaf should be cooked in an oven or in a pot, only in this case can the ideal taste, aroma and structure be achieved.

How to cook tasty beef pilaf if you don’t have a cauldron? Resourceful housewives do a good job using a slow cooker or a thick-walled frying pan (saucepan) with high sides and a lid. The method of preparing lamb pilaf in a slow cooker is described in one of the recipes.

– one of the many variants of pilaf, the most popular dish of Central Asian cuisine, very tasty and filling, not as fatty as lamb, aromatic and appetizing.

We offer you a completely authentic recipe: this is how pilaf with beef is prepared in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. To prepare pilaf, of course, it is advisable to have a cauldron, and not a small one (we have a 7-liter one). If you don’t have a cauldron, a large thick-bottomed pan or stewing pan will do. When choosing rice, remember that only the appearance, but not the taste, depends on the shape of the grains, and the problem of “NOT turning” pilaf into porridge with meat does not depend on the shape of the grains at all. Do not buy steamed rice - this is not an option for pilaf. We prefer medium-grain polished pilaf, but we made it with both short-grain and long-grain rice, so the choice is yours. The quantity of products in the recipe is indicated for a relatively large company; you can feed 8-9 people. You can always make half a batch.

Need to:

Boneless beef – 1.3–1.5 kilograms
Rice – 900 grams (standard pack)
Carrots – 1–1.2 kilograms
Onions – 2 large onions
Vegetable oil (refined, deodorized) – approximately 250 milliliters (tea glass filled to the brim)
Zira (seeds) – 1 level tablespoon, another name for this spice is cumin
Dried barberry – 1 heaped tablespoon
Salt – approximately 1.5 tablespoons (1 heaping tablespoon in meat and 0.5 tablespoon in rice when soaking)
Water (boiling water) – approximately 1.6–1.8 liters in total

Preparation:

The meat should be washed with running cold water, the films should be cut off (if any) and cut into small pieces (we focus on 2-3 cubic centimeters).

Place the chopped meat in a bowl, add salt (about 1 tablespoon of salt), stir and leave to stand aside for now.

Peel the onion and cut into thin half rings.

Place the cauldron on the stove at the maximum heating level, pour vegetable oil into the cauldron, heat the oil, add chopped onions and, stirring, fry the onions until golden brown and even a little stronger, when the onions begin to turn brown.

While the onions are frying, cut the peeled carrots into cubes (not very small and not very thin, up to 4-6 centimeters long and about 4-6 millimeters in cross-section).

When the onions in the cauldron become golden brown, put the chopped meat in the cauldron, mix and fry with the onions for 8-10 minutes, and in the meantime, boil water in a kettle and clean the barberries from the “tails”.

After 8-10 minutes of frying the meat, pour 1 liter of boiling water from the kettle into the cauldron.

Pour barberries into the cauldron and mix everything.

And leave it to boil (do not reduce the heat, do not cover it with a lid), look at the clock. We have 20-25 minutes to prepare the rice.

Place the rice in a bowl, rinse with cold water 3-4 times, drain the water, add salt (about 0.5 tablespoon of salt). Heat the kettle and pour boiling water over the rice in a bowl so that the water completely covers the rice, and above the rice there is a layer of water about a finger (about 1-1.5 cm) thick. Stir until the salt dissolves and leave to stand for 10 minutes.

When the rice has stood and “soaked” for 10 minutes (and by this time the meat has been fried for about 30-35 minutes from the moment it is placed in the cauldron or 20-25 minutes after adding boiling water), place carrots in the cauldron on top of the meat. DO NOT MIX! Just slightly smooth out the layer of carrots.

Place rice on top of the carrots. First, spread it out with a slotted spoon or a spatula with holes, that is, without water. Carefully level the layer of rice. DO NOT MIX!

Let's see: if all the rice is not covered with a layer of water about a centimeter thick (well, at least 7-8 millimeters, we determine it “by eye”, we don’t stick a ruler into the pilaf!), then pour water from the bowl in which the rice was soaked into the cauldron. We wait until the top layer of water boils (our heating is still strong), and let the pilaf boil for 15-20 minutes. About 7-8 minutes after boiling, you need to carefully mix only the top layer of rice, turning it over with a spoon or spatula ( watch our video recipe!). After this mixing, you can cover the cauldron with a lid for 5 minutes.

Then remove the lid, use a spoon to “pierce” the pilaf to the bottom in several places and see if water accumulates in these “punctures”. We leave the cauldron without a lid until no water is visible in the “punctures” (for us this usually happens 15-18 minutes after the top layer of water boils). Then evenly sprinkle the pilaf with cumin seeds and again mix only the top layer (that is, mix rice and cumin) and smooth it again. After this, you need to cover the pilaf with a cauldron or with a flat plate of suitable diameter (the inverted plate is placed directly on the rice), or (which is better) with a clean linen or cotton kitchen towel soaked in cold water and strongly wrung out, which we place directly on the rice. Then cover the cauldron with a lid, reduce the heat to low and leave the pilaf to simmer under the lid for another 20 minutes.

After the specified time has passed, turn off the stove, remove the lid from the cauldron, remove the towel (or plate) and carefully, so as not to crush the already soft rice “into porridge,” stir the finished rice. As you know, you can serve it on the table in two ways: either by immediately laying it out on plates, or by placing the pilaf “in a mountain” on a very large dish, which you solemnly place in the center of the table.

Prize tip for those who read to the end: instead of beef, you can take turkey or chicken fillet and do the same thing. True, chicken pilaf usually turns out a little dry, but almost “dietary” (as far as this is generally possible for such a dish). If you like Central Asian cuisine, you will almost certainly also like (which, however, are “not far removed” from our native dumplings). We highly recommend trying it!

You can also watch our video recipe:

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Pilaf is a rice dish cooked in a special way. There are a huge variety of ways to prepare pilaf.

There is pilaf with lamb, pilaf with pork, pilaf with beef, chicken pilaf, sea pilaf, pilaf without meat, lean pilaf, vegetarian pilaf, vegetable pilaf, fruit pilaf, red pilaf, etc.

There are Uzbek pilaf, Turkmen pilaf, Armenian pilaf, Azerbaijani pilaf, Samarkand pilaf, Italian pilaf, Fergana pilaf, etc.

The composition of classic pilaf includes:

1. Meat (lamb, pork, beef, veal)
2. Carrots (preferably yellow, juicy, ripe)
3. Fat or oil
4. Rice (large)
5. Onions
6. Spices and seasonings for pilaf: cilantro grains, cumin, barberry, saffron, basil, raisins, dried fruits.

To prepare a simple pilaf for ten servings (about 8 liters of pilaf) you need:
1. Meat - 1.5 kg
2. Rice - 1.5 kg
3. Onion - 0.5 kg
4. Carrots - 1 kg
5. Vegetable oil - 450 gr. (for 1 kg of rice - 300 grams of butter).
6. Spices - 50 gr.

There is more than one way to prepare pilaf, but in any case you cannot do without a cauldron.

1. Before cooking pilaf, wash the cauldron with hot water.
Then we set it to heat up at maximum heat (it’s worth noting right away that the intensity level of the fire will not change until a certain stage of cooking the pilaf - see below).

2. Heat the pilaf cauldron over the fire for five to seven minutes, then pour all the prepared oil into it.

3. Continue heating the cauldron over the fire until slight smoke (evaporation) appears. This should take an average of eight to ten minutes.

4. Place the peeled and chopped onion into the cauldron. The thickness of the rings should be half a centimeter. At the same time, we immediately begin to intensively stir the onion.

Attention: Never cover the cauldron with a lid. The lid is lowered onto the cauldron only after rice has been placed in it.

5. Within seven to ten minutes, the onion becomes golden brown. The intensity and duration of frying depends on the intensity of the fire and the initial temperature of the oil.

You will get delicious pilaf if you fry the onions well. Fried onions significantly affect the taste of pilaf and its color. We must adhere to the golden mean: the onion should be fried as much as possible (we get a dark color), but the onion should not burn (turn into embers).

6. The meat is cut into small pieces, in the form of cubes. The average size of the pieces should be 4 centimeters.

As soon as the onion is fried, immediately lower the chopped meat into the cauldron. Stirring the resulting mass, fry over high heat until the meat darkens and gets a colored crust.

The process of frying meat should last about 15 minutes. Don't forget to stir the pilaf every minute.

7. Clean and cut the carrots into strips in advance. After frying the meat, put the carrots in the cauldron. We continue to fry the resulting mass, stirring occasionally, for another 10-15 minutes.

8. After that, boiling water is poured into the cauldron. The water level should hide the contents of the cauldron, but not exceed it. As a result, we get the so-called zirvak.

9. Reduce the heat under the cauldron to a minimum, so as to maintain a boil in it. Add salt - 2 tablespoons, and add selected seasonings and spices for pilaf.

Mix the contents and cook for about 15 - 30 minutes. The meat should be ready. It is worth considering that high-quality and fresh meat cooks much faster than old and stale meat.

10. Now you can taste the resulting zirvak. You should get a bitter-salty, even over-salted taste. Do not be alarmed by the large amount of salt - most of the salt will be absorbed by the rice when cooked. If necessary, add a little more salt to get the salty taste of zirvak.

11. It is necessary to boil water to cook rice. Wash the rice thoroughly. Increase the heat under the cauldron to the maximum level. Place an even layer of rice on top of the resulting zirvak, leveling it with a slotted spoon. After which boiling water is poured into the cauldron. The water level should exceed the rice by 1.5 centimeters.

12. Without changing the intensity of the fire under the cauldron, cook until the water evaporates below the level of the rice.

Attention: Under no circumstances should you stir the contents of the cauldron.

13. Taste the resulting rice. If the rice is hard and not cooked, you need to add boiling water to the cauldron. You need to pour boiling water very carefully so as not to destroy the resulting structure of the rice.

14. Now comes one of the most responsible and important moments in preparing real pilaf. It is necessary to catch the moment when the water from the surface of the rice has almost evaporated, and the rice itself is in a state of half-cookedness. The rice should be half ready, as it will steam with the cauldron closed for another 15-20 minutes. If the rice is already ready by this time, you run the risk of overcooking the rice and ruining the entire taste of the pilaf.

15. Now reduce the fire under the cauldron to a minimum. We begin to collect the rice using a slotted spoon in a neat mound in the center of the cauldron. Cover the rice with a plate so that it falls into the cauldron. We select the plate in such a way that there is a distance of 1 or 2 centimeters between the plate and the walls of the cauldron. Press the plate down, then close the cauldron tightly with the lid.

16. Simmer the pilaf for 10-15 minutes over low heat.

17. Turn off the fire under the cauldron.

18. Without removing the lid from the cauldron, let the pilaf stand for 10-15 minutes without fire.

19. Remove the lid from the cauldron and take out a plate.

20. Gently mix the finished pilaf with a slotted spoon. It is necessary to mix the rice evenly with onions, carrots and meat. If you have met all the above conditions for preparing real pilaf, you will end up with ready-made and crumbly rice. This is properly prepared pilaf. If you are unlucky, the rice will be raw or overcooked.

21. Place the resulting pilaf on the lyagan. Lyagan is a special flat and wide dish.

22. The pilaf is finally ready. Now you can gather family and friends around the table. We wish you bon appetit and delicious pilaf. Prepare pilaf at home.

Some features of the real pilaf recipe:

1. To obtain a pleasant aroma, garlic cloves are usually used. Garlic cloves, well washed and peeled from coarse husks, are not cut, but placed directly whole into the zirvak, before adding rice, after which the rice is added. After cooking the pilaf, the cloves are removed and placed on top of the cooked rice (but this is a matter of taste). For the indicated volume of products used, you can use approximately four medium heads of garlic.

2. To obtain pilaf with a bright red-brown color, while heating the oil, place a small bone in it, fry the bone until black, then discard it. You can also use a joint or rib.

3. For real pilaf, you need to use meat with fat (the presence of layers in the meat). But it is worth considering that in the case of using meat with a large amount of fat, the volume of oil used should be reduced by one third.

4. Pilaf is usually eaten from a common dish (one lyagan), by the whole family or company. They eat with their hands or spoons. After a hearty meal, drink unsweetened green tea.

Pilaf: recipes

How to cook beef pilaf at home. Cook in a cauldron, frying pan or over a fire. Tips for choosing beef and rice, as well as video recipes.

1 hour 30 minutes

220 kcal

5/5 (1)

I don't know a single person who doesn't like pilaf. This aromatic, hearty hot dish of Uzbek cuisine has long been a frequent guest on our table. It’s easy to prepare real pilaf, and not just rice porridge with meat! You just need to stick to the basic recipe proportions and cooking steps. Of the variety of recipes for preparing pilaf with beef in a cauldron, we offer the simplest one, and the pilaf turns out very tasty. See for yourself!

Beef pilaf in a cauldron on the stove

Kitchen appliances: cast iron cauldron (you can use a thick frying pan with high sides), cutting board, knife, spoon, bowl.

Ingredients

How to choose the right ingredients for beef pilaf

Rice. This is a very important point, since the success of preparing real pilaf will depend on the choice of rice variety. The ideal, specially bred variety of rice for pilaf is dev-jeera rice. If this rice is not available, take any steamed rice, for example, Basmati or Jasmine varieties. This rice will be crumbly and will well absorb the fats and aromas of the spices in the pilaf.
Meat. What part of beef is good for pilaf? For pilaf, beef from the hind leg or shoulder blade is perfect. Tenderloin will also work, you can also add ribs.

Preparation

Food preparation

It is necessary to immediately pre-prepare all the products so that cooking goes faster and easier. So, we need:

Cooking pilaf

At home, following this recipe, you will prepare delicious pilaf with beef.

Melt butter in a cauldron or frying pan. You can add vegetable oil 50:50. It is the butter that will give the meat a golden crust.
Place the onion in a well-heated cauldron with oil and fry it until golden brown for 2-3 minutes.
Add beef pieces and fry for 5-7 minutes. The meat should also be browned.
Add carrots, stir and fry until they become soft. Stir occasionally.
Pour boiling water so that the water covers the roast.
Cover with a lid and simmer for 40 minutes over low heat.
After 40 minutes, pour the washed rice into the cauldron, distributing it evenly throughout the container.
Pour in hot water so that the water covers the rice by 2 fingers. Bring to a boil and cook until the water has evaporated.
When the water has evaporated, collect the rice in a mound and close the cauldron with a lid. Leave to simmer over low heat for another 20 minutes.

Pilaf is ready! Can be served with fresh summer salad or in winter with pickles. Using the same recipe, you can cook pilaf with beef in a frying pan. Perhaps in this case you will end up with less pilaf, but this will not affect the taste. Just use fewer ingredients.

Video recipe

Watch in our video how to deliciously cook beef pilaf in a cauldron.

Beef pilaf on fire

When going on a picnic, with friends, or on an outing with tents, you want to prepare a dish for the whole large company. We suggest cooking real pilaf over a fire. You will like not only the result, but also the cooking process itself. Take care of the fire in advance - you will need dry firewood and a stand for the boiler, for example, a tripod.

Cooking time: 2 hours.
Number of servings: 8-10.
Kitchen appliances: cast iron cauldron, slotted spoon.

Ingredients

rice – 1 kg;
beef – 1 kg;
carrots – 1 kg;
onion – 800 g;
butter – 150 g;

sunflower oil – 500 ml;
garlic – 4 heads;
spices – salt, pepper, cumin, cloves. You can add seasoning for pilaf.

Take the ingredients in a 1:1 ratio. If you have 1 kilogram of rice, you need to cook 1 kg of meat, 1 kg of carrots and onions. You can use a little less onion, if desired.

Preparation

Food preparation

Meat, in our case beef, cut into large pieces.
Onion, cut into half rings.
Carrots, cut into large strips.
Garlic, peeled from the top peel, do not separate the garlic into cloves, leave the heads whole.
Rice, well washed, can be pre-soaked in salted water for an hour.

Cooking pilaf over a fire

We install a cauldron and make a fire. The fire must be strong; there is no need to wait for coals to form.
Melt butter in a cauldron. Add vegetable oil. The oil should warm up well, only then can you start frying.

and fry for 3 minutes until golden brown.
Add beef pieces and fry for 10 minutes. The meat should also be browned.
Add carrots, stir and fry until they become soft.

Put the heads of garlic, add spices: salt, pepper, grind in your hands and add cumin. You need to give more salt than usual, then the rice will absorb all the excess salt.
We are waiting for the frying to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring several times.
Pour the washed rice into the cauldron, distributing it evenly throughout the entire container.
Do not stir the rice, you can only pierce it with a slotted spoon or a spoon in several places so that the water is evenly distributed during cooking.
Pour in enough water to cover the rice by two fingers. Bring to a boil and cook until the water has evaporated.
When the water has evaporated, collect the rice in a mound
Close the cauldron with a lid.
Remove burning wood from the fire, leaving only the coals. Let the pilaf sit for another 20-25 minutes.

Video recipe

We invite you to see the original recipe for delicious pilaf with beef, cooked over a fire.