Pilaf or, in other words, pilaf is an oriental dish made from rice and meat. This dish has existed for many centuries and deserves one of the leading places in popularity not only in the East, but also throughout the world. There is no doubt that Muslims are best able to cook it. It is served at weddings, family parties, funerals. The host, receiving guests, always treats them to pilaf, which is traditionally eaten with hands, washed down with water or green tea.
The preparation of such a dish is most often done by men who regard this as an art. In the East, they believe that only the stronger sex can correctly choose seasonings for pilaf, so that it becomes a real oriental dish. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan have their own recipes for cooking, but seasonings for pilaf are always and always added, which give not only aroma, but also delicious taste. Spices, along with giving the dish taste, contribute to improving metabolism and digestion.
Seasonings for pilaf are very different, but, for example, it is customary for Uzbeks to add turmeric, saffron, barberry or cornel and zira, which is called Indian caraway seeds, only it is much smaller and is laid whole. Turmeric will give pilaf a golden color, barberry - a slightly sour taste, saffron - a delicate aroma and pungency, zira - a peculiar taste.
Europeans also prepare this tasty and satisfying dish, but use other seasonings for pilaf. This is paprika and black pepper, which add spice. Caraway, garlic, bay leaf are also placed in the pilaf. Europeans also add saffron, that is, dried stigmas of saffron seed, giving the dish a rich yellow color and a spicy taste. It is quite hot, so it must be put with care. Spices can be purchased individually or already ground in the form of mixtures intended for certain dishes. True gourmets prefer to manually grind fragrant dried plants themselves before each preparation, but this is quite laborious.
You need to know that there are also special seasonings for meat. They can be in mixtures, for example, for chicken, roast, minced meat, pork, lamb, beef, and differ in quality and composition. Most often, black pepper (allspice or burning), paprika, coriander, curry, sumy (dried pomegranate seeds), bay leaf, and garlic are used for meat. Spicy herbs are equally popular : basil and thyme, oregano and fenugreek, saffron and many others. Rosemary, thyme, marjoram, ginger will also give meat a special taste and exquisite aroma.
Seasonings for meat should be added little by little so that they improve the taste, and not interrupt it. Each dish requires a certain set of spices, and you need to carefully familiarize yourself with the ingredients that make up the composition before starting cooking. Spicy food lovers prefer Indian condiments. The most famous of this category are bay leaves, mustard, black pepper, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. In Russia, they began to use them for a long time, and sometimes we can not imagine food without them.
Today, our mistresses have discovered for themselves and such Indian seasonings, which were previously almost never used. These include curry and cardamom, cumin and fennel, fenugreek and sumac, colonies and ajwan, tamarid and many others. Some of them are used to spice up, others soften meat dishes, and others give an unforgettable aroma. Spices improve appetite and cheer up, but the main thing is not to overdo it! A sense of proportion in the kitchen often plays a decisive role in the preparation of tasty and healthy food, and its absence can lead to the fact that the expected taste will not be achieved.