Pilaf is one of the most popular Central Asian dishes in Russia. It is served in cafes and restaurants and is prepared in home kitchens. Although lamb is added to the dish according to the classic recipe, delicious pilaf can be made without meat, based on vegetables.
It is necessary
-
- 500 g of rice;
- 300 g carrots;
- 1 onion;
- 1 bell pepper;
- 300 g of mushrooms;
- 100 g dried peas (optional);
- 100 g of apricots or quince (optional);
- 2 tsp mixtures of spices for pilaf;
- vegetable oil;
- salt.
Instructions
Step 1
Prepare your vegetables. Cut the carrots into strips and cut the onions into half rings or cubes. Chop the bell pepper, chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
Step 2
Pour vegetable oil at least 1 cm high into a saucepan or a thick-bottomed kettle. Heat it without boiling. Pour the onion into the cauldron and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the mushrooms, followed by the peppers and carrots. Salt the mixture, add pilaf spices. They can be bought ready-made, for example, on the market, or you can make a mixture yourself from equal parts of barberry, red pepper and cumin. Mix everything again. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat.
Step 3
Rinse the rice in running water and place on top of a layer of vegetables. Then fill it with water so that it covers the contents of the boiler by about a centimeter. You don't need to mix rice with vegetables at this stage. Top with turmeric for a beautiful color and salt. Cook the dish until the water has completely evaporated from the surface of the pilaf. This takes about 20 minutes. The finished rice should be crumbly. After finishing cooking, remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid and let the dish brew for 10-15 minutes. Then stir the bottom vegetables with the rice and serve.
Step 4
Change the recipe by making tontarma pilaf. To do this, first fry the rice in hot vegetable oil until golden brown, and then add to the fried vegetables, cover with water and simmer.
Step 5
Add quince or apricot to pilaf. They should be put at the end of cooking the vegetable mass and simmer for no more than 2-3 minutes, after which a layer of rice should be laid on them. First remove the seeds from the quince and cut the fruits into small cubes.
Step 6
Peas will be an interesting addition to vegetarian pilaf. It should be soaked in water and then added after browning the vegetables. Pour the finished mixture with one or two glasses of water and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Then flatten and place the rice on top.
