There are many varieties of rice on store shelves, but not all are suitable for making pilaf. In order for this dish to turn out fragrant, rich and crumbly, you need to choose all the products for it correctly, including cereals.
All types of rice are divided according to two criteria: grain characteristics and processing methods. Rice can be polished (white) and brown. White is the most common and can be found in any store. Brown rice is minimally processed and retains a maximum of beneficial trace elements. Another type of processing method is steamed. It needs to be cooked for at least 30 minutes, and the main advantage is that it always remains crumbly and never sticks together.
More than a hundred varieties of rice are known. Arborio is often added to the first courses, oriental chefs always use Basmati and Jasmine. Also popular are wild rice, a special variety for making sushi, brown, red and red-brown rice. There is also a variety for pilaf - "Devzira". It absorbs water, grease and spices well. The dish with this variety turns out to be aromatic and rich. For pilaf, other types are also suitable: "Sadri", "Basmati". It will not be possible to cook a crumbly dish with short and medium grains "Bomba", "Lazar", "Arborio" and "Nishiki".
And if you can't find a certain type of grain, you can buy brown or parboiled rice. These types never stick together and remain crumbly after any processing.
Choosing the right kind of rice is not enough to make the dish crumbly, you need to prepare it correctly. First, it is washed well so that no starch remains, and then soaked in warm water with saffron for 30 minutes.
And in order for the pilaf to be crumbly, you need to get rid of the paste in the grains during cooking. The dish must be cooked at temperatures above 80 ° C. And to maintain it, pilaf is cooked only in a thick-walled dish with a closed lid.
