To cook a real Uzbek pilaf with barberry, you need to fulfill several conditions. First of all, choose a good cauldron, prepare the right ingredients, observe the technology and the order of bookmarking products. It would not hurt to heed the advice of seasoned chefs familiar with the secrets of oriental cuisine.
Cauldron
It is believed that the best cauldron is cast iron, but there are options in aluminum. They are lightweight, it’s convenient to take them on a camping trip, but they quickly cool down, and the food does not stomp enough, and due to the rapid heating of aluminum, it can burn out.
The shape of the boiler is important. A classic cauldron has a hemispherical bottom, but this can only be used on a bonfire; you can’t put it on a stove at home. But on the other hand, the round bottom provides uniform heating of both the walls and the bottom, and, of course, the pilaf in it will turn out to be really real.
And one more distinctive quality of a good cauldron: there should not be any dents, dents, scratches on its bottom.
Products
Uzbek pilaf with barberry is prepared from lamb. Suitable pieces are the back (ham), scapula and dorsal.
It is important to remember about rice: any will not work, you need a variety of devzira.
An essential ingredient in pilaf is onion. You need to choose the usual one, since red and white change the taste of the dish, making it sweetish.
Carrots are needed not orange, familiar to us, but yellow, which is grown in Central Asia.
What spices are added to pilaf
Barberry is a classic ingredient in Uzbek pilaf. There are also a few secrets here:
- it is better to take the Uzbek black barberry;
- add it to the pilaf before laying the rice;
- it is important not to shift, otherwise pilaf will be sour.
Sometimes the question arises as to whether barberry can be replaced and with what. There are two opinions. The first says that if there is no barberry, it is better not to put anything. According to the second, you can experiment and try replacing. What spices are added to pilaf instead of barberry? These are cornel berries, pomegranate seeds, cranberries, quince, cherry plum, prunes.
In addition to barberry, a real Uzbek pilaf is added:
- saffron;
- Zira
- turmeric;
- garlic;
- hot peppers.
Pilaf with Barberry Recipe
Ingredients:
- kilogram of lamb;
- kilogram of rice of a variety of devzira;
- four bulbs of onions;
- 0.3 l of vegetable oil;
- two carrots;
- two heads of garlic;
- two hot peppers in pods;
- two tablespoons of barberry;
- two tablespoons of zira seeds (she is cumin);
- a teaspoon of ground coriander;
- a teaspoon of turmeric;
- salt.
Step cooking:
- Rinse and pour cold water.
- Cut carrots into strips, half a centimeter thick, onions - into small cubes. Peel the garlic, but do not separate it into slices.
- Chop the lamb into medium sized pieces.
- Pour vegetable oil into the cauldron (layer thickness - about 1 cm) and heat.
- Put two onions in the hot oil and fry them until black. Then remove the bulbs and discard.
- Lay onions in a cauldron and pass it until transparent. Next, send the meat and fry until golden brown. Then put the carrots.
- When the onions turn golden, add cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Fry for about 10 minutes with constant stirring.
- Pour the contents of the cauldron with cold water so that it is completely covered. Bring to a boil, put barberry, pods of hot pepper on it, press into the head of garlic. In no case do not interfere, otherwise hot pepper will be damaged, and the dish will become inedible. Cook for about 30 minutes over moderate heat.
- Carefully remove the pepper pods and garlic heads from the cauldron. Pour rice, add water so that it covers the contents by 1 cm.
- Cook over medium heat. You need to monitor the rice and, if necessary, transfer it from places without drilling to where there is drilling.
- As soon as water begins to soak into the rice, take samples. If rice is not ready, pour in a little water. When the rice is ready, mix the pilaf, put the whole heads of garlic and pepper pods on top. Cover the cauldron with a lid, turn off the heat and leave to insist.
- When the pilaf is infused, remove the garlic and pepper.
Pilaf with barberry and zira is ready.
In a slow cooker
To name a dish cooked in a multicooker as Uzbek pilaf - the language will not turn, but it has the right to exist in modern conditions, and it also saves time. Some even argue that it turns out no worse than in the cauldron. To find out for sure, you need to cook pilaf with a barberry crock-pot.
Ingredients for pilaf:
- meat (lamb or beef) - 500 grams;
- rice - 500 grams;
- onions - 2 medium-sized onions;
- carrots - 500 grams;
- garlic - 1 head;
- seasonings for pilaf (zira, barberry, turmeric) - to taste;
- vegetable oil - ½ cup;
- hot pepper - 1 pod;
- salt.
Step-by-step cooking in a slow cooker:
- Pour vegetable oil into the bowl and heat it in the baking or frying mode.
- Cut the meat into medium pieces, onion - finely, carrots - into bars.
- When the oil is ready, fry the onion in it, then pieces of meat and, finally, carrots.
- Add turmeric, zira, barberry, salt and mix everything.
- Put the rice on top and flatten without stirring.
- In the center, stick a head of garlic, put pepper on top with a pod, pour boiling water so that it is 1 cm higher than rice, close the cooker lid. Turn on the Pilaf program. The name of the mode may differ depending on the model of the device. If there is no “Pilaf” program, you need to cook in the “Porridge” or “Croup” mode.
- When the program time runs out, set the heating mode to 20 minutes.
- When the dish is ready, remove the garlic and pepper.
Put the prepared pilaf with barberry on a flat plate with a slide, decorate with sprigs of greenery.
Secrets of pilaf
- The law of pilaf preparation: meat, onions, carrots are taken in equal amounts.
- A frying of onions, meat and carrots with seasoning is called zirvak. When preparing it, it is important to observe the order of the bookmark: onions, lamb, carrots.
- After cooking zirvak lay zira, coriander, saffron, kurukma. Barberry, salt, pepper, garlic are added after they fill in the water and let it boil. Rice should be put when zirvak with spices is extinguished within 30-40 minutes.
- Before laying the rice, pilaf is cooked open, after laying it, the cauldron is covered with a lid.
- After the cauldron is removed from the fire, you need to wrap a towel around the lid so that condensation does not get into the pilaf.
- For pilaf, it is better to take the meat of old animals - it will give the dish a richer taste. Pieces do not need to be made too small, they should be quite large - 5 x 5 cm.
- For pilaf use refined vegetable oil or fat tail fat. You can take both.
- In addition to traditional ingredients, you can put dried fruits and chickpeas.
- It is better to choose a thick-walled cauldron from dishes, at home you can replace it with a lingonberry.
Uzbek pilaf with barberry is an independent dish, only fresh vegetables and greens can be served with it.