Pilaf is a favorite dish of Uzbeks, they cook it for all occasions: anniversaries, weddings, tragic events. About 130 recipes for its preparation are counted. This is a fairly satisfying dish, but not too heavy for the stomach. The traditional classic Uzbek pilaf is cooked with lamb in a cauldron, over an open fire. But lamb is not to everyone's taste, and pork meat is quite fatty, so the best option is pilaf with chicken meat. It is dietary, it can be eaten for various diseases of the stomach, well, and at the price it is the most inexpensive. Therefore, everyone can afford to cook pilaf from chicken.
Pilaf with chicken. Classic Uzbek Recipe
In the modern world, it is far from always possible to cook pilaf at the stake, and because of this you should not refuse such a wonderful dish. And on a regular stove, at home, it turns out to be very tasty, if you properly observe the proportions and know the subtleties of cooking. As you know, pilaf does not happen much, and if all is not eaten at a time, then because the dish is in the refrigerator, it will not lose its taste, so you can safely cook it in large volumes. How to cook Uzbek pilaf with chicken? The recipe will be presented to your attention below. It is designed for 8-10 servings.
Ingredients
The recipe for Uzbek pilaf with chicken is quite simple. For cooking, we need such products:
- Chicken meat - 1 kilogram (it is advisable to take leaner meat so that the pilaf does not turn out dry, legs are perfect, it is not recommended to use only chicken breasts).
- Rice is half a kilogram (use exclusively hard varieties of long-grain rice, ideally, if it is a variety of devzira, it can be purchased on the market without problems).
- Vegetable oil - not less than half a glass.
- Carrots - half a kilogram.
- Onions - a little less than half a kilogram.
- Garlic - 2 heads (it is undesirable to take young garlic).
- Salt, pepper and spices for pilaf on request.
Cooking
So, how is chicken pilaf prepared? According to (Uzbek recipe) technology, you must adhere to the following instructions:
- We clean the onion, cut it into two halves and leave it in a container with cold water. In the meantime, wash and cut the meat in medium slices, about the same size. Set the meat aside, take out the onion and cut it into very thin half rings. Then chop the carrots. In order to get a real Uzbek pilaf, vegetables need to be cut into thin long strips, and not rubbed on a coarse grater. The color depends on the amount of carrots laid in pilaf. In Uzbekistan, there is a recipe without carrots, pilaf turns white, it is called wedding, and they prepare it for this solemn celebration.
- We put an empty container for cooking on medium heat, pour vegetable oil. After it has warmed up enough, gently toss the onion into it, stirring, bring it to medium fry and add the meat to the pan. It is not necessary to bring to full readiness, it is enough to fry slightly, about 5-7 minutes. Then add the carrots. No need to wait until all the ingredients reach readiness. The required readiness of carrots can be determined by their appearance: when stirring, it should bend well. Add salt, pepper and other spices. When the carrots are ready, you need to add boiling water, so that the water covers all the ingredients. Simmer on low heat for at least 20 minutes. Be sure to try the salt. The broth should be brackish. Rice in the process of cooking absorbs part of the salt. Such a broth is called zirvak. It can be prepared in advance so that the process of cooking pilaf does not drag out. There is a belief that the longer the zirvak stews, the tastier the pilaf.
- We add rice to the zirvak, after washing it well. Next, we cook pilaf until rice absorbs almost all the water.
- My garlic, but do not cut. We make a small depression in the almost finished rice and put the garlic in it. Tightly close the lid, reduce the heat to a minimum and wait about 15 minutes. After that, remove the container from the fire, wrap the saucepan with pilaf in a towel and let it brew for 20 minutes.
- The dish is ready. You can serve to the table and delight guests.

Uzbek pilaf. Recipe in a slow cooker (with chicken)
A slow cooker is a very convenient invention, which greatly facilitates the cooking process, and most importantly, saves valuable time.
In the slow cooker, you can cook anything from simple cereals to unsurpassed biscuits. You can also make a real pilaf in it, which will not differ much from the famous national Uzbek dish.
Slow cookers come in different sizes, but they are mostly not designed to prepare a large volume of one dish, so the following recipe is not designed for a large number of servings. In addition, if when cooking pilaf in a pan or a cauldron, it is recommended to take more fat parts of the chicken, then in the slow cooker you can make excellent dishes with chicken.
Required Components
So, to cook Uzbek pilaf with chicken (the recipe with a photo is in the article), you will need the following products:
- Two medium chicken breasts.
- Hard rice - 1 cup.
- Vegetable oil - about half a glass (you can use butter).
- Onion - 1 pc.
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Drinking water - about two and a half glasses.
- Salt, pepper, seasonings.
Cooking Instructions
The recipe for Uzbek pilaf with chicken involves the following actions:
- Turn the slow cooker on frying mode, add oil. While it is warming, cut the meat into small pieces. When the oil is heated, add meat to it and fry for 10 minutes.
- While the meat is being fried, it is necessary to chop the onions in half rings and carrots in thin strips. Add to the slow cooker and continue to fry for another 10 minutes.
- Add well-washed rice, spices and salt to the appliance bowl, fry for another 5 minutes in the same program. This is necessary so that the rice is saturated with oil and the pilaf is not dry.
- Add water to the slow cooker, turn on the โPilafโ or โRiceโ program. Time is usually set automatically. After the end of the program, let it brew for 20 minutes, after which it can be served.
Secrets of cooking Uzbek pilaf in a cauldron
If there is an opportunity to go on nature, on vacation, in addition to traditional barbecue, you can make a real Uzbek pilaf at the stake and in a cauldron, as expected. To prepare such a dish, you will need the following products (all the main ingredients must be taken at a rate of one to one, except for onions, it is slightly less):
- Hard rice.
- Chicken meat.
- Carrots (the same amount as rice).
- Bow.
- Garlic.
- Vegetable oil.
- Salt, pepper, spices, barberry.
How to cook?
The recipe for an Uzbek pilaf with chicken in a cauldron is quite simple. The following instructions must be followed:
- Cut meat, onion rings and carrots into strips. Rinse rice and garlic well without peeling it.
- Heat oil in a cauldron, fry onions, add meat, a little later - carrots, salt and spices. After a little frying, pour boiling water and simmer over low heat, the longer, the better, as long as time allows, but not less than half an hour.
- When the zirvak is ready, it is necessary to pour rice into it, add water if necessary. It is advisable to check for salt.
- Cook on low heat until fully cooked, then add whole heads of garlic and simmer another 15 minutes, then remove the cauldron from the fire and let the pilaf infuse.
Now you know the recipe for Uzbek pilaf with chicken, and not one. Please your friends and relatives. Enjoy your meal!