Bukhara pilaf - a traditional dish of Uzbek national cuisine. It can be meat or vegetarian. Most often it is made on the basis of not too fatty mutton and long-grain rice. But sometimes in its composition add dried apricots, prunes, raisins, pumpkin or chickpeas. In today's article you will find the simplest and most interesting recipes for such dishes.
Lean option
In Bukhara pilaf with dried fruits, prepared according to the technology described below, there is not a gram of meat. Therefore, it will become a real find for those who, for one reason or another, adhere to a vegetarian diet. It has an interesting sweet and sour taste and a pleasant aroma. To prepare it, you will need:
- A pair of glasses of long rice.
- 2/3 teaspoon of spices for pilaf (zira, turmeric, barberry and a mixture of peppers).
- Large carrots.
- A tablespoon of dried dill.
- Onion.
- 3 full tablespoons of raisins.
- Head of garlic.
- 6-7 pieces of dried apricots.
- Salt and any vegetable oil.
If desired, several prunes can be added to the vegetarian pilaf of Bukhara Jews. Due to the presence of this product, the dish you cook will have a special taste and aroma.
Process description
Vegetables are peeled, washed and chopped. Onions are cut into a quarter rings, carrots - in strips. Garlic is left as it is. The only thing that is removed from it is the upper thin husk.
In a thick-bottomed cauldron, in which there is already a little warmed vegetable oil, put onions with carrots and fry them. As soon as the vegetables are lightly browned, dried greens and spices are sent to them. Top with raisins, chopped dried apricots, prunes and pre-washed rice. A whole head of garlic is stuck in the middle and pour it all with filtered water.
The future pilaf is salted and sent to the stove. Cook it until rice is cooked. As a rule, this takes from thirty to fifty minutes. Ready Bukhara pilaf, a recipe with a photo of which can be found in today's article, is removed from the burner, wrapped in a thick towel and left for half an hour. After this time, it is laid out on plates and served for dinner.
Lamb variant
This simple and hearty dish is ideal not only for a family dinner, but also for a festive dinner. It is being prepared using an extremely simple technology that any beginner can easily master. This recipe for Bukhara pilaf implies the presence of a certain set of components. Therefore, make sure in advance that at the right moment you find at your fingertips:
- A kilo of lamb.
- 900 grams of carrots.
- Kilo of rice.
- 150 grams of raisins and onions.
- 300 milliliters of cottonseed oil.
- Salt and spices.
Saffron, ground pepper and turmeric are ideal as seasonings used to make the Bukhara pilaf. As for rice, it is advisable to purchase long-grain soft varieties that allow you to achieve a sweet taste.
Sequencing
Rice is poured with cold water and left for a couple of hours. Then it is thoroughly washed, changing the liquid several times, and boiled until half ready. Then he is thrown back into a colander and waiting for excess moisture to drain.
Cut lamb is placed in a separate pan and sent to the stove. Shortly before the end of cooking, you can slightly salt the broth. Then the mutton pieces are transferred to a cold thick-walled cauldron and cover it with a layer of chopped onion. Put chopped carrots on top and fill it all with meat broth. After the liquid boils, the fire is reduced to a minimum and the future Bukhara pilaf is extinguished for a quarter of an hour. Fifteen minutes later, rice, spices are poured into the cauldron and the heated oil is poured. All this is pierced in several places with a wooden torch, covered with a lid and left on the stove. After five minutes, turn off the burner and leave the pilaf to heat. Before serving, you can mix the finished dish. But most often it is laid out on a plate in layers - rice below, and on top - carrots and pieces of meat.
Pea Option
This recipe is slightly different from the previous ones. Therefore, before preparing Bukhara pilaf with raisins and chickpeas, make sure that you have all the necessary products in your home. In this case, you will need:
- 500-800 grams of meat.
- 600-700 milliliters of linseed oil.
- 200 grams of mutton fat tail.
- A pair of onions.
- A kilo of carrots.
- A pair of heads of garlic.
- 1.5 kilograms of rice.
- A teaspoon of zira.
- 100-200 grams of round peas.
- 4 tablespoons of salt.
- 100 grams of yellow raisins.
Cooking algorithm
A few hours before the start of the process, you need to soak the peas in cold water and leave it at room temperature. This little trick allows you to achieve a significant reduction in the cooking time of this product.
Rice is combined with two tablespoons of salt, poured with hot water and left for half an hour. While the cereal is soaked, you can do the rest of the components necessary for cooking pilaf.
The washed meat is cut into large pieces so that they retain juiciness during the heat treatment. Then it is fried along with fat tail until a light golden hue appears. As soon as the lamb is slightly browned, chopped onions are spread to it. All mix well, cover and simmer over minimal heat. Just five minutes later, finely chopped carrots are sent there and continue to cook. After about half an hour, garlic, steamed raisins, zira and well-washed peas, previously aged in cold water, are added to the meat with vegetables. All this is languishing under the lid for about ten minutes.
Then washed rice is sent to the same cauldron, a little more zira and a couple of tablespoons of salt. The future pilaf is poured with boiling water and simmered until all the ingredients are cooked.
Option in a slow cooker
This recipe is interesting in that it involves the use of not a conventional stove, but a modern kitchen appliance. Before you start cooking the Bukhara pilaf, be sure to have at your fingertips:
- A kilo of lean beef or lamb.
- 500 grams of long rice.
- A couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil.
- Large carrots.
- Head of garlic.
- Onion.
- 800 milliliters of water.
- A couple of tablespoons of spices for pilaf.
- Salt and dried dill.
In the bowl of the device, into which a little vegetable oil has already been poured, put half onion rings, strips of carrots and pieces of meat. All this is cooked in the “Frying” mode for ten minutes. Then pre-washed rice, spices and whole cloves of garlic are sent to the slow cooker. All this is filled with water, covered with a lid and left in the “Pilaf” mode. After completion of the program, the appliance is not opened for half an hour, and only thirty minutes after the signal, the infused pilaf is gently mixed, laid out on plates and served for dinner. Enjoy your meal!