Pilaf is cooked in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, but in each of these countries this dish has national characteristics. Although the ingredients remain very similar in many ways, the way rice is cooked, the meat is cut, and the use of different vegetables makes the pilaf of each national cuisine truly unusual.
Azerbaijani pilaf with lamb and flat cakes
You will need:
- 800 g boneless lamb with a small amount of fat;
- 2 onions;
- 4-5 cloves of garlic;
- 100 g of raisins;
- 400 g of long grain rice;
- 100 g butter butter;
- a pinch of saffron;
- a bunch of green onions and cilantro;
- a few mint leaves;
- 100 ml of natural pomegranate juice without sugar;
- 1 egg;
- 300 g flour;
- salt.
In addition to pilaf, you can add barberry and quince fruits.
Prepare the base for the tortillas. Pour the flour into a bowl, break an egg there, add a pinch of salt, a little warm water and knead the dough. Roll out the tortillas thinly and set aside.
Have rice. Pour water into a saucepan, add salt and bring to a boil. Pour rice in there and cook for 7-10 minutes. It should soften a little, but remain firm in the middle. Drain the water. Grease a cauldron or other container with thick walls with melted butter. Place pieces of tortilla dough on the bottom and sides. Place the rice on top, and add a lump of butter and saffron, mix everything. Cover the container with a lid, put on medium heat and simmer the rice until cooked for about 20 minutes.
To prepare the meat dressing, wash the lamb and cut it into cubes with a side of not more than 1.5 cm. Put the meat in the pan and fry for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oil if necessary, although lamb usually cooks well with the melted fat. Chop the onion in half rings, add to the meat and cook for another 5 minutes. After that, pour pomegranate juice, a little water into the pan, add raisins and cook everything together over medium heat for half an hour. Place the chopped garlic in a dish 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
Remove the rice from the saucepan and pour onto a large dish. place the lamb on top. Serve the washed greens, chopped greens and the rice cakes separately.
Uzbek pilaf
You will need:
- 2, 5 tbsp. rice;
- 2-3 small carrots;
- 600 g of lamb;
- 2 onions;
- 100 g of apricots;
- 1 tbsp. mixtures of spices for pilaf;
- vegetable oil;
- salt.
Peel the onion and cut into small cubes, chop the carrots into strips. Divide the meat into 4 parts. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or cauldron and fry the pieces of meat in it for 5-7 minutes. Pour onions to it, cook the same amount, then add carrots and pre-soaked apricots. Season with salt and seasoning for pilaf. Pour 200 ml of water there, cover the container with a lid and simmer at an average temperature for 1.5 hours.
Wash the rice in multiple waters. After 1, 5 hours, pour it over the meat with vegetables, fill it with water so that it covers the rice by 1 finger, salt and cook the pilaf until the rice is cooked. The finished dish can be laid out in portioned plates or served on a large platter.
Tajik pilaf with meatballs
You will need:
- 2, 5 tbsp. rice;
- 500 g boneless lamb;
- 2 eggs;
- 2 onions;
- a mixture of spices for pilaf;
- 2-3 small carrots;
- Red pepper;
- vegetable oil;
- salt.
Pilaf with minced meat wrapped in grape leaves is also popular in Tajikistan.
Prepare the meatballs. To do this, cut the lamb into pieces, peel one onion and scroll everything through a meat grinder. Add 1 tsp. spices for pilaf and a little red pepper. Hard boil the eggs, cut into cubes. Wrap each cube with a layer of minced meat. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet and fry the meat balls in it for 5-7 minutes. Next, cook pilaf according to the Uzbek recipe, using meatballs instead of meat.
