We all know that pilaf is a specially prepared rice with meat. The dish is hearty and very tasty. But it turns out that different cereals can serve as the basis of this food. The article will tell you how to cook a delicious pilaf from buckwheat.
A bit of history
Pilaf is a very ancient dish, the principles of preparation of which were formed in India and the Middle East. At the end of the 17th century, envoys of the French royal court, returning from Turkey, enthusiastically talked about a surprisingly delicious dish of rice and meat, seasoned with saffron and turmeric. But the French chefs could not cook a real pilaf. Using traditional techniques of national cuisine, they created porridge with meat and sauce, which was given the name "Mironoton". Only in the 19th century did the original recipe for pilaf get into Western Europe. Since then, this dish has become a constant on the everyday and festive table of Europeans.
The classic dish is prepared from rice, beef, vegetables, seasoned with spices. But the old recipe underwent many changes, the ingredients changed, the technology improved. As a result, about a thousand options for preparing this dish are known today. For example, you can cook a delicious pilaf with buckwheat. Recipe, photo dish presented below.
Ingredients
What will the hostess need:
- buckwheat - 1 kilogram;
- pork ribs - 0.5 kg;
- pork pulp - 0.5 kg;
- large onions - 7 pieces;
- large carrot - 3 pieces;
- garlic - 1 head;
- vegetable oil (best refined sunflower) - 0.5 cups;
- water - 1.5 liters;
- salt to taste;
- allspice - 0.5 teaspoon;
- seasoning for pilaf - 1 teaspoon.
As you can see, all products are affordable, they can be bought at any store and inexpensively. From this amount of ingredients you will get a large cauldron of pilaf. It’s enough for the guests.
Product Preparation
Soak the meat in cold water for about an hour, dry it on a paper towel, cut into portions.
Wash the carrots, peel and cut into large cubes (about 5 cm long).
We sort through the groats, wash them under running cold water, but do not soak them.
Two onion heads are cut into half rings of medium thickness, and the remaining five are cut into large pieces.
Cooking
How to cook real pilaf from buckwheat, and not just tasty porridge with meat? To do this, you must follow a certain technology. So, we are preparing step by step authentic pilaf from buckwheat with meat.
First, heat the cauldron, pour the sunflower oil into it, lay out large pieces of onion and fry them completely. That is, we will fry in oil until the onion becomes dark brown. After that, select all the slices with a slotted spoon so that the oil remains clean (it can be filtered).
Then we send the ribs to the cauldron, fry them over medium heat until they are a beautiful golden crust, put them on a plate. It was the turn of the loin, which is also sent to the cauldron and fried on all sides, and then removed to the plate to the ribs.
Pour the onion into the cauldron, bring it to a golden color, then put the carrots. Cook it until soft: on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the vegetables are ready, you need to return the meat to the cauldron, while putting it in a layer on the onions and carrots.
Now in a separate bowl you need to warm the water well, since you cannot pour cold water into the cauldron so as not to lower the temperature of sunflower oil. Dissolve salt and spices in water, carefully pour on meat with vegetables. In the middle we put the washed, but not peeled garlic (just rinse the whole head under the tap and do not disassemble, cut the roots with a knife) and fill in the dry cereal. At this stage, buckwheat pilaf can no longer be disturbed. Just close the cauldron with a lid, slightly reduce the heat and wait 30-35 minutes. After this time, the cauldron can be removed from the fire. The dish is ready!
Buckwheat pilaf with chicken
Some gourmets prefer buckwheat pilaf with chicken rather than pork. Prepare it exactly as described above. But there are a few subtleties that you should consider in order to get a tasty meal:
- for pilaf, take the fillet without pits and thighs, cut large;
- chicken is fried very quickly over high heat, otherwise it will fall apart in the process of stewing;
- it is recommended to pre-soak the meat in salted water to make it tasty;
- the onions are not pre-fried, that is, only 2 onions are used in the cooking process. Chicken is a gentle dietary meat, and too much culinary stress spoils it.
As a result, you will get a very tasty and fragrant dish, the calorie content of which is much lower than in the previous version.
Pilaf with buckwheat and mushrooms
For a change, you can prepare lean pilaf from buckwheat, replacing the meat in the recipe with any mushrooms - oyster mushrooms, mushrooms, white, oils, honey mushrooms, chanterelles, etc.
Mushrooms per kilogram of cereals will also need about 1-1.5 kilograms. They need to be washed, cleaned, cut large, small mushrooms left intact. Fry over high heat until cooked.
For the rest, cook as described above: fry the onions and carrots, put the prepared mushrooms on them, pour hot water with spices, cover the cereal, add garlic. Simmer for about half an hour without stirring.
Little secrets
According to this recipe, pilaf can be prepared from any cereal: barley, wheat, oat, pearl barley. But barley and wheat groats must first be boiled until half-cooked, and barley must be cooked until cooked (it is cooked for several hours and simply does not have time to "reach" in the allotted 35 minutes).
When the buckwheat pilaf is ready, you can put 100 grams of butter on top, cover and let it melt, but you can’t mix the food!
You can take any meat: beef, poultry, lamb. Only with a rabbit, delicious will not work, since rabbit meat needs to be cooked in a special way.
This dish can be cooked in a slow cooker, but the real pilaf is cooked in a thick-walled cast-iron cauldron.
Bay leaves are not put in pilaf.
It is important to observe the principle of "layering", that is, lay the ingredients in layers: vegetables, meat (mushrooms), cereals.
Now you know how to cook real pilaf with buckwheat. The recipe is simple, even a novice cook can handle it, the main thing is to comply with all the cooking rules.