Lamb pilaf - general principles of cooking
It would seem that it might be easier to cook pilaf? Fried meat, onions and carrots, cooked rice and mixed everything. In fact, cooking pilaf is a whole art that requires loving hands and an impatient neglect. To begin with, traditionally pilaf is made from rice, lamb and zirvak (meat and vegetable parts). And there it’s like a soul is going around: to experiment means to follow the path of self-improvement. Someone loves more sharply, someone - fatter, someone - more sweet. Please improvise with the ingredients. Our goal is to tell the basics of cooking this pilaf, and, of course, recommend a few recipes for this delicious dish.
Thus, the general principles for preparing pilaf from lamb are reduced to three main stages:
- mandatory overheating of vegetable oil;
- frying meat, vegetables (cooking zirvak);
- laying rice, adding liquid and bringing the dish to readiness.
As soon as the rice boils, do not immediately close it with a lid. Give it a little "bang" first on high, then on medium, and at the end on low heat (here we close our pilaf with a lid for evaporation).
Lamb pilaf - preparation of products
Of great importance for the taste of lamb pilaf is zirvak, which is prepared first of all. According to the classical canons, the preparation of zirvak - the basis for pilaf - includes the frying of meat, onions and carrots. By the way, speaking of carrots, one cannot keep silent about the fact that it is necessarily cut into strips, and does not rub on a grater, as many housewives do. What about other components?
When choosing rice for pilaf, give preference to long-grain varieties. Avoid popular varieties like Indian and Thai. Steamed rice - it will also be quite inappropriate. Although it will not turn into a banal porridge during the cooking process, you should not expect any benefit from it, since this variety has been deprived of everything that is possible. The best aroma of pilaf is given by Tajik (devzira, oshpar) and Uzbek varieties, as well as Italian rice, from which paella is made.
As for lamb, which gives the dish a taste and aroma with oriental notes, it is preferable for pilaf to choose a breast, scapula or back. In addition, the meat should be fresh and have a rich red color. Before preparing pilaf, the meat should be cleaned of fascia and tendons, washed, then cut into small pieces.
When choosing spices, rely only on your taste and imagination. If you wish, you can buy ready-made mixes of seasonings intended for pilaf.
Lamb pilaf - preparation of dishes
In a dish with thin walls and a bottom, it is almost impossible to make a good pilaf, it simply burns and it turns out to be completely unattractive. Therefore, it is necessary to acquire a suitable container - a cauldron or any other deep thick-walled form, preferably made of cast iron. Cast iron pots with straight walls and a rounded bottom allow rice and other ingredients to warm evenly.
Lamb pilaf - best recipes
Recipe 1: Uzbek Lamb Pilaf
The classic version of cooking pilaf without the addition of any complex ingredients. Easy, tasty, and most importantly, affordable! We prepare the zirvak, as usual, first of all, having previously heated the cauldron with a mixture of vegetable oil and lamb fat.
Ingredients:
- rice 500 gr.
- lamb fillet 500 gr.
- carrots 250-300 gr.
- 3-4 onion heads
- 150 gr. sunflower oil
- 50 gr. lamb fat
- a teaspoon of a mixture of spices (azhgon, red pepper, barberry)
Cooking method:
1. Cut the lamb flesh into small pieces, fry them to a varnish crust over high heat. Add onion, diced into the meat, after 2-4 minutes - carrots in strips. All thoroughly fry.
2. Salt, lay the spices. Next, carefully pour in pre-soaked rice, and fill it with hot water (do it very slowly, trying not to damage the integrity of the rice layer). Groats should be covered with water in a layer of 1.5-2 cm.
3. First we cook on high heat from the moment of boiling, after 5-7 minutes we switch to medium heat, close the pilaf with a lid and bring to readiness. You can’t interfere! If necessary, it is allowed to pierce the dish in several places. Stir the prepared pilaf before serving evenly.
Recipe 2: Lamb Pilaf in a Slow Cooker
Pilaf cooked in a slow cooker turns out to be very rich and tasty. In addition, rice during steaming does not lose useful substances. So, for starters, in the traditional way, prepare the zirvak in a separate pan. The dish can be supplemented with barberry, prunes and other favorite elements.
Ingredients:
- 2.5 measuring cups of rice
- lamb 500 grams
- 1 large onion
- one carrot
- 5 table. tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 30-50 gr. butter
- salt, a mixture of seasonings and spices for pilaf, garlic
Cooking method:
We lubricate the capacity of the multicooker with oil, put the cooked zirvak, top with rice, season with spices and seasonings, finely chopped garlic, pour vegetable oil, water (about 5 measuring cups) and set the device to “Pilaf” mode, if there is none, then use - "Extinguishing". Mix the prepared pilaf evenly by adding a piece of butter.
Recipe 3: Lamb Pilaf with Mushrooms
This dish can be made both on the stove and in the oven. For a change, let's consider the option of cooking pilaf in the oven. It is prepared in a cauldron; champignons can be replaced with other mushrooms, for example, porcini or oyster mushrooms.
Ingredients:
- lamb 300 gr.
- 15-20 fresh mushrooms (large)
- 1 glass of rice
- 2 bow heads
- half a glass of sour cream
- 400 ml of lamb broth
- vegetable oil
- black pepper (ground), salt or prepared mixes of seasonings for pilaf
- any greens
Cooking method:
Boiled rice thoroughly boiled in the broth until half cooked. Shred the onion, cut the lamb into small pieces, and the mushrooms into slices. We heat the pan, heat the oil and start frying the onions. After a couple of minutes, put the lamb in the onion, fry until golden brown, after which we add mushrooms, spices to the frying and passé for a few more minutes. Our zirvak is ready.
Next, we transfer fat in a cauldron, put half of the rice there, lay on it a neat even layer of zirvak, and then put the remaining rice, level it, pour it with lamb fat. In a red-hot oven up to 180-200 degrees, we send our dish and bake for forty minutes. Ten, fifteen minutes before cooking, pour the pilaf with sour cream and sprinkle with herbs. It turns out just great!
Lamb pilaf - useful tips
- To prepare this dish, it is advisable to use the meat of a young lamb (from 9 to 14 months). The lamb meat is considered the most valuable (up to 3 months), but you can enjoy such a young creature only in the spring.
- Experienced cooks use not only sunflower oil for pumping. As a rule, they mix it with lamb fat. Vegetable oils are sometimes mixed for pilaf: olive, linseed, sesame, nut, sunflower, etc.
- Small rice varieties must be soaked in salty cold water for 8-12 hours before cooking pilaf. After this procedure, fine-grained rice will not fall apart.
- It is customary to pour rice not with cold but with hot water.
After the pilaf is fully cooked, take your time to mix the ingredients. Turn off the stove and bring the dish to "mind", let it brew for ten minutes, and only then mix rice and zirvak thoroughly and evenly. Enjoy your meal!
