Tashkent Pilaf

⏳ Time

3 hours

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

On top of the mound and along its sides, you can also place not just garlic, but slices of apples, quince, pears, pomegranate seeds, etc. When cooking, the rice absorbs a lot of water and salt, so after setting the stove to level 2, you need to take a little rice with a spoon and taste it. If it lacks salt, sprinkle it on top and mix, while periodically leveling the mound, as the rice settles.

Ingredients

Rice - 14.1 oz
Carrot - 0.1 oz
Onion - 0.1 oz
Garlic - 10 cloves
Salt - 1 tablespoon
Vegetable Oil - 7 fl oz
Serviceberries - 1 teaspoon
Toasted Cumin Seeds - 0.2 oz
Ground Dried Garlic - 1 teaspoon
Parsley - 0.2 oz
Dill - 0.2 oz
Ground Black Pepper - ½ teaspoon
Green peppercorns - ½ teaspoon
Orange Bell Peppers - 1 piece
Meat - 17.6 oz
Red Long Chili Peppers - ½ teaspoon

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Cut the meat (lamb, veal, or chicken) into small pieces.

Step 2

In a cauldron (pot, frying pan), pour a little vegetable oil and fry the meat over high heat.

Step 3

Peel the carrot and onion, finely chop the onion, cut the carrot into short strips, and fry for 3–5 minutes (until the onion shrivels and is covered with a light brown crust) before frying the meat. Place on a separate plate.

Step 4

Fry the meat, sprinkled with dried garlic, parsley, onion, black and red pepper on top.

Step 5

Pour water over the fried meat so that it lies 1–2 cm under the water layer. Add the thoroughly washed rice (wash 4–5 times under cold water) to the pot, pouring water over it so that the water completely covers the rice and is 1.5–2 cm above it. Sprinkle barberry and cumin on top, add 2–3 pinches each of ground bell pepper, black pepper, and red pepper, and 10–12 black peppercorns. Initially, increase the heat to maximum, without covering the pot, and cook over high heat until all the water evaporates. As the water evaporates, use a slotted spoon to gather the rice from the edges to the center of the pot into a mound. You will see oil and water gradually evaporating around the edges. After the water has evaporated, add the fried onion and carrot from the plate to the top of the mound, mix the rice with them using a slotted spoon, and form the mound again, placing unpeeled garlic on top.

Step 6

Cover with a lid and set the stove to level 2, keeping it there for 10–15 minutes, then lower to minimum (level 1) and keep for another 10–15 minutes. Do not remove the lid, but slightly shift it to create a small gap. After 15 minutes, use a slotted spoon to gently push the rice from the edge to the center and check for water at the bottom. If a little remains, cover with the lid and turn off the stove. You can place a warm towel on top and let the pilaf rest for about 30 minutes.