How to cook real Uzbek pilaf over the fire. Pilaf on a fire cooking recipes

Do you know how to cook pilaf in a saucepan? Not happy with him? Then listen to my story. Once I was visiting a friend, and her father cooked own recipe in a cauldron on the grill of an amazing deliciousness of pilaf, which the guests, and I among them, simply instantly devoured to the last rice crumb.
After this hearty lunch I pounced on Uncle Seryozha with questions: where did he learn to cook such a bombastic pilaf? It turned out that he, while undergoing military service in Uzbekistan, found out from local one trick, unknown to the inhabitants of the European part of the USSR - only by cooking pilaf on fire, in a real cauldron with thick walls, you can truly enjoy this exceptionally fragrant and hearty dish.
Having rewritten the signature recipe and cooked pilaf for my own family, I realized - now I will never cook this dish on the stove! Join our gourmet community too!

Kitchen tools:

  • a volumetric cauldron or stewpan with a thick bottom with a capacity of 4 liters;
  • deep bowls (several pieces) with a capacity of 270 to 970 ml;
  • teaspoons;
  • tablespoons;
  • linen or cotton towels;
  • measuring cup or kitchen scales;
  • sharp knife;
  • medium and large grater;
  • cutting board;
  • wooden spatula;
  • kitchen potholders;
  • blender or food processor.

Ingredients:

Cooking sequence

Training:

  1. Peel the onion thoroughly, rinse it thoroughly and cut it into small pieces. You can also grind the ingredient with a food processor.
  2. Peel the carrots, cut them at an angle into plates about 5 mm thick. Then we fold the resulting petals and cut them into strips.
  3. Soak the pork in ice water for about seven minutes, then cut into small pieces.
  4. Fill the rice with cold water and rinse until the liquid becomes transparent. Then we leave the component in water for half an hour or even an hour.

First cooking stage:


Second cooking stage:


Ready! From now on, you know exactly how to cook pilaf over a fire in a cauldron to make it truly perfect. Gently arrange hot pilaf in portioned plates, sprinkle it with chopped fresh or dried herbs and bring portions to the table faster!
My friend recommends additionally draw up pork pilaf in a cauldron with olives, white croutons with cheese and boiled chicken eggs- it looks incredibly beautiful, and the aroma makes even very capricious children run to the table.
Store your food in the refrigerator for two to three days, as meat products spoil very quickly and acquire an unpleasant odor.

Video recipe

Step-by-step cooking pilaf in a cauldron over a fire this recipe can be seen in the video below.

In addition to the type of pilaf just described, there is an unthinkable number of different variations of this amazingly tasty dish, and I will now mention the best of them.
Try the rather aromatic, delicious lamb pilaf, which will definitely be incredible for those who value lamb for its low calorie content. Also, pay attention to classic pilaf with chicken or amazingly aromatic, very quick and tasty pilaf Uzbek recipe.
I also heartily recommend original recipe pork pilaf. You can safely use any of the guidelines I have proposed: each recipe has been tested and tried a large number of times by me and my closest friends.
I wish you successful experiments in the kitchen and great mood! Please write me a few reviews about the recipe just described - I really hope that my work was useful to someone.
In addition, if you cook pilaf in a cauldron over a fire in some other way, share your best practices with me.

Cooking pilaf in a cauldron

It is interesting to observe how pilaf is gaining popularity at picnics. Especially if a large company is going, the brazier is replaced with a cauldron. By the way, pilaf is healthier than meat fried on coals, it is better absorbed by the body. There are many ways to prepare pilaf - meat, vegetarian, sweet, fish or seafood.

Pilaf is cooked in a cauldron - a cast-iron hemispherical pan. Cauldrons are available in various sizes of 10, 12, 20, 40 and more liters. There are small cauldrons of 3 and 6 liters, more reminiscent of hiking pots. In shape, there are also cauldrons in the form of ordinary pots. It is better not to take them for picnics, as it will be inconvenient to stir pilaf. The lot of such cauldrons is a gas stove in a city apartment. There are also aluminum cauldrons - they are lighter than cast iron ones, but they quickly lose heat. Pilaf in such a cauldron will not languish.

Ingredients for the basic version of pilaf

  • lamb on the bone - 2 kg;
  • fat tail - 300 g;
  • carrots - 400 g;
  • onions - 300 g;
  • garlic - 5 heads;
  • hot peppers- 1 pod;
  • long grain rice - 1 kg;
  • zira - 1 teaspoon;
  • ground coriander - 0.5 teaspoon;
  • freshly ground black pepper - to taste;
  • salt to taste.

Wash the lamb's back and dry it with paper napkins. Separate the meat from the bone and cut into the size of a walnut.

So, the cauldron needs to be installed over the fire on a tripod or use a special stove for the cauldron. Vegetable oil is poured into a hot cauldron and brought to a boil. To remove the smell and bitterness from the oil, throw a whole peeled onion or bone without meat into the boiling oil. Once the onion or bone is browned, remove and place the meat.

The best option would be to use fat tail fat instead of oil. Cut the fat tail into pieces and place in a hot cauldron. Melt the fat and use a slotted spoon to scoop out the crunchy golden greaves. Here in this fat and fry the meat.

Cut fat tail fat into small cubes. Throw into a cauldron. Once all the fat is melted, fish out the crunchy cracklings.

Pieces of meat are fried in oil until golden brown... And immediately lay the onion, cut into cubes or half rings. The degree of roasting of the onion affects the color of the finished pilaf.

Onions in half rings

It is customary to cut carrots for pilaf into strips. To do this, cut the carrots across into pieces, which are cut into sectors. As soon as the onion is browned in the cauldron, add the carrots. Stir frequently and fry the carrots until soft. Make sure that it does not burn.

This is how carrots are cut into pilaf.

Now boiling water is poured into this fried mass and spices are added - cumin, coriander, ground pepper, barberry, raisins, turmeric, salt. There are no restrictions here, experiment and trust your taste by exploring several options for making pilaf. What we have achieved now is called zirvak. This is the basis of pilaf. The harder the meat, the more water you need to add. And let the zirvak boil over medium heat. Put several whole heads of garlic in a well-boiled zirvak. Hot pepper can be added.

This is what a pilaf zirvak looks like. You can try it. There will be delicious zirvak - there will be delicious pilaf. If you do not know what to do with the bones from the meat, then you could fry them with the meat. Before adding the onions and carrots, remove the bones from the cauldron so that they do not get in the way. And add them to the zirvak again. Let the bones boil in zirvak. Remove the bones before using the rice.

It's time to start rice. For pilaf, special varieties are used that absorb moisture well and at the same time do not boil down into porridge. You can use the widely sold long grain rice - it will not boil down, but it will turn out to be dry.

Rice is washed well in several waters and is neatly laid on top of the zirvak in a spiral from the edges of the cauldron to the middle. Smooth the rice and, through a slotted spoon, pour boiling water into the cauldron 2-4 cm from the rice. Zirvak should not be mixed with rice. On top of the rice, you can add a little salt.

Rice is put into the cauldron on top of the prepared zirvak. From above, carefully, so as not to mix the rice and zirvak, water is poured. And the fire is stronger. The rice should be cooked and soaked in oil.

And we make the fire strong under the cauldron. So that the fat and oil from the zirvak begin to rise up and envelop the rice. To cook the rice.

When done, stir the pilaf and arrange in portions.

The finished pilaf is spread in a large dish. Garlic and pepper are placed on top, decorating the dish. Serve to the table and immediately lay out in portions until the pilaf has cooled down.

Pilaf- a creative dish, there are no solid proportions in it, and the scope for creativity is very large. The main thing is to choose the right rice. Choose good meat, fish or poultry. And don't be afraid to improvise.

Pork pilaf in a cauldron

The recipe for pork pilaf, which I will now write, provides for cooking in a cauldron over a fire, but you can also use it to cook pork pilaf in a cauldron on the stove.

To be honest, the population of Uzbekistan is mainly composed of Muslims who do not eat pork at all. Therefore, cooking Uzbek pilaf with pork is not quite the right expression. I will now describe the recipe for Uzbek pilaf, but for some I will replace the meat of beef or lamb with pork.

Pilaf with pork on a fire in a cauldron

Necessary components of a pilaf recipe.

  • Pork - 1 kg.
  • Onions - 0.5 kg.
  • Carrots - 1 kg.
  • Rice groats (long-grained) - 1 kg.
  • Garlic - 2 heads.
  • Spices for pilaf - 1 tsp.
  • Barberry - a quarter of a glass.
  • Salt to taste.
  • Zira is a handful.

How to cook pork pilaf:

First you need to wash and chop all the ingredients. Cut the meat into medium-sized pieces. Chop the onion into half rings. Cut the carrots into strips.


Wash the rice in a running stream of water several times until the drained water becomes clear. Then soak in salt water for half an hour. Here, all the products for cooking pilaf with pork in a cauldron are ready.


Next, set the cauldron on the tagan, light a large fire and heat up the oil strongly. Throw the meat carefully so that the oil splashes do not burn your hands. Fry the meat with constant stirring for 15 minutes.
Throw in the onion and fry with the meat for another 15 minutes, stirring all the same, over a high flame.

As the carrots are cooked, stick the heads of garlic, previously peeled from dry husks by hand, without damaging the integrity of the heads themselves. Strain the water from the cereal and rinse under the tap cold water... Load into a zirvak, level the surface and top up with boiling water, if necessary, just enough to cover the surface of the rice by 0.5-1 cm with water. Add some firewood to make the flame grow. Wait to rice groats absorbed all the liquid.

And now I present to you another recipe for cooking pilaf with pig meat. Follow this recipe step by step and get the Uzbek grilled saws. Again, I will substitute pork for lamb or beef.

Pork pilaf on the grill


Ingredients:

Pork - 0.5 kg.
Onions - 2 pcs.
Carrots - half a kilo.
Rice groats (long grain) - 2 cups.
Vegetable oil - half a cup.
Garlic - 1-2 heads.
Seasonings for pilaf - 1 h / l.
Salt to taste.

Cut the onion, as always, into half rings, and the carrots into strips. Thickness is not important.

Light coals in the grill so that the temperature of the flame can heat the oil in the cauldron. Install the grill on the grill on which you will place the pot.

Throw meat in butter and fry until crusty. Then add the onion to it and continue frying at the same high temperature for 15 minutes, stirring constantly and after a certain time add carrots to them and fry for another 10 minutes, also stirring.

After the indicated minutes, move the pot aside and do not open for 15 minutes. At this time, prepare salads and set the table. Then mix the contents of the dishes and put the food on the plates. The taste of the food cooked on the grill will delight you. Start eating.

According to these recipes, Uzbek pilaf can be cooked at home in the kitchen on the stove. It is undoubtedly much easier to cook it this way, because there is no need to put firewood or coals and select the right temperature. And the cauldron will remain much cleaner on the stove than when cooking over a fire or charcoal. I have already written how to cook pilaf on a stove or electric stove. I also wrote how to cook it in a slow cooker. On this site you will find many recipes for making saws in any conditions and on all kinds of household appliances. The most important thing is to choose the right cereal. Either red or long grain rice is suitable for the saw. You need to choose orange carrots, it will give color to the dish. If you cook sweet pilaf, then choose yellow carrots or combine with orange. If you chose meat with bones, then first you need to throw bones into the cauldron, only then after 10 minutes of frying, throw the fillet itself. Good luck with your cooking and learning!

The calorie content of pilaf with pork is from 350 to 400 Kcal per 100 grams of the finished dish.

Fragrant pilaf on the grill: tasty and simple

  • Servings: 8
  • Cooking time: 1 minute

Cooking traditional Uzbek pilaf on the grill

To make your friends delicious national dish outdoors, you will need:

large cauldron and barbecue;

- packaging of rice (800 grams);

- four large carrots;

- spices - cumin, barberry, turmeric, black pepper;

- two heads of garlic, two onions;

- 400 grams of fat tail fat.

First you need to rinse the rice and soak it for two to three hours. Then cut the lamb and fat tail into small cubes, and the peeled carrots and onions into strips. Now light the wood in the grill and wait for it to turn into embers. You need to put a cauldron on them and wait until it heats up. Splash a little into it vegetable oil, add fat tail. If it does not melt completely, the greaves must be removed with a slotted spoon. Put the meat in a cauldron and fry it until delicious.

Mix spices, carrots and onions with lamb, salt. Drown a head or two of garlic in the mixture. You do not need to peel and divide into slices. Add water, then simmer for a quarter of an hour. Remove the garlic and set aside. Now you need to add rice, after draining the water. Do not mix! Pour two liters of water into the cauldron with the contents and cover tightly with a lid.

Peel the garlic into slices, open the lid after half an hour (the rice should soak up the water) and gently insert the garlic slices into the rice mass. Close the lid again, remove from the coals and wrap in a warm blanket. Pilaf will “ripen” for another quarter of an hour.

An uncomplicated recipe for pilaf on the grill

Such an appetizing dish is easy to prepare in nature even for a novice cook. You will need:

- a glass of vegetable oil;

- spices - saffron, turmeric, red and black pepper;

- a kilogram of any non-tough meat (including poultry);

We put the cauldron on the grill with hot coals and heat the vegetable oil in it. Put onions, cut into rings, and carrots, chopped into strips. Fry a little while stirring. Add spices and meat cut into small cubes. Fry for about five minutes, salt. Put the rice washed twice on top, gently level the surface. Do not stir!

Fill the pilaf with water so that it covers the rice by a couple of centimeters. We are waiting for the pilaf to absorb all the water. Now collect the rice in a slice and close the lid. By this time, the coals should be warm, but almost extinct. After 40 minutes, the aromatic dish can be served.

Vegetarians can cook pilaf based on vegetables: zucchini, bell pepper, pumpkin, as well as mushrooms. IN traditional recipes experiment with spices, add raisins or dried apricots. Unusual dishes will make a picnic in nature unforgettable!

Cooking pilaf in nature in a cauldron on a fire recipe photo

How to cook pilaf over the fire

Pilaf in the country is prepared, in principle, from what is at hand, there would be only rice. This dish is variable, it must be based on rice, and the rest is at the choice of the owners. This is pilaf with vegetables. And with mushrooms. Even with fruit, because in the homeland of rice, in the East, it does not have to be meat.

You can cook pilaf on the grill, on a camping wood-burning stove in the garden and, of course, on a fire.

But if you decide to surprise the company and feed it hearty, delicious dish, a safe option - pilaf cooked on a cauldron over a fire with meat.


It can be with different varieties and types of meat, but the principle is the same - cooking pilaf includes cooking zirvak, simmering rice on a fire under a lid, using certain seasonings and the correct ratio of rice, meat, vegetables and water. Whatever it is - lamb, beef, chicken or pork - with any meat it will be delicious and crumbly. And, of course, seasoned with delicious smoke from the fire, which distinguishes "free" pilaf, cooked on the street, from pilaf, cooked on a gas stove at home.

We will tell you how to properly cook pilaf in a cauldron over a fire using the classic Uzbek pilaf recipe. If at the same time you have a ready-made barbecue grill, then this is good, it is easier to cook pilaf on the grill with it. And if not, then make a fire, prepare a tripod or even simple bricks to install a cauldron on them. This is not critical. But the cauldron matters. Before talking about how to cook pilaf on a fire, let's briefly talk about a cauldron. Without thick-walled dishes, you shouldn't start cooking on fire at all - everything will burn or burn altogether.

Ingredients

Now about the products. Pilaf with meat on a cauldron on a fire should contain seven ingredients, which in ancient times were defined for "palov osh" (as Uzbeks call pilaf) by the famous ancient healer Abu Ali ibn Sina. In his opinion, pilaf should include meat, onions, carrots, fat (oil), rice, salt and water. Subsequently, red pepper pods, garlic, cumin (required!) And barberry were added to the traditional set to add sourness. And that's it! Nothing else is added! No lavrushkas, black allspice, suneli hops, etc.

About meat

It can be different:

  • lamb - ideal for Uzbek pilaf, the flesh of the hind leg is better, where there is both a bone and a lot of flesh;
  • beef - the best choice is the tenderloin, the softest and most tender part. Add a little fat tail fat to it, and it will turn out very Uzbek;
  • pork - it will also work, it is good with any part, but the neck is most preferable;
  • chicken or duck - both are good. Pilaf with chicken on a fire in a cauldron will require a little more vegetable oil than when cooking fatty duck pilaf.


What kind of rice is needed for pilaf? Again, if you want to do what they do in Samarkand, Fergana or Khorezm, then look for a devzira, a brown-looking variety from Kyrgyzstan and Fergana. If you do not want to think too much about the compliance of food with the canons and just cook a tasty common dish, then do not think about rice at all.

Take any in the store, even a simple round grain. Smoke, a large mass of pilaf on the fire will do their job, it will still be successful.

Carrots need yellow, they are more aromatic, although they taste similar to ordinary ones. In general, carrots in this case should not be too sweet. Onions are desirable spicy varieties - not sweet, not salad, but burning, spicy.


The proportions of food in the East are about the same, with a predominance of rice over meat. In our country, rice and meat usually weigh the same, but we put carrots and onions less than the main products. Although the ratio does not matter much for pilaf on a fire, it will still be tasty.

Campfire pilaf recipe

Now how to do the right dish- recipe with photo step by step.
We prepare the fire with coarse wood (for the heat) and thinner ones to maintain a softer fire. That is, we will chop small firewoods from large logs in advance.
The recipe for cooking on a fire - pilaf in a cauldron:


It is important to try your zirvak for salt again before laying the rice - it should be too salty. The excess will take rice.


Useful tips and features of cooking pilaf on a fire

Cooking pilaf on the grill is no more difficult than cooking a regular one on the stove. The only thing that will require pilaf cooked on a cauldron over a fire is a little more attention. It is important to maintain the intensity of the fire as described above, otherwise the dish will burn.


Ideally, everything is prepared in a cast iron cauldron. In fact, the thicker the walls of the cookware, the better, but if you cook over a fire, and not in a special oven on the fire, then not every tripod can support the weight of a large cast-iron cauldron. If the tripod is not very large, then you can cook in a pot, cast iron or light-alloy-duralumin, the cooking principle is the same.

Real pilaf the light is good in any cauldron, however, the larger the container, the better taste... If there is a question of buying a cauldron, do not hesitate and take at least 10 liters.

You cannot cook pilaf on the grill, like the Uzbeks, if you do not take care of the lid. Without it, after a while you will get porridge or something like that, but crumbly, one to one rice is possible only with a lid tightly attached to the cauldron or at least with a flat dish to cover the cauldron during cooking.


Finally, the coals - the whole sacrament is prepared on coals, the correctness of steaming the rice depends on their heat. The coals give off a delicious aroma - a little wild, smoky. exciting sense of smell. They radiate a gracious warmth, which makes your dish on the fire not just food, but a truly work of culinary art.


When it is almost ready, and the fire has already been dismantled, the time comes for small and dying coals. They bring your creation to perfection. This is the time for slicing a fragrant salad (it is called achi-chuchuk). from tomatoes, onions and ground pepper. Cut thinly, season generously with pepper, pour in arak - a fiery Uzbek wolf or something else. You have great food ahead of you in good company!

Spring and summer are the perfect time to get out into nature with the company of close friends. However, it is quite problematic to feed a large number of people satisfyingly enough, and pork kebab is often boring or does not "go" at all, because there are those who follow their figure and healthy eating. Great alternative fatty pork on the fire - beef dishes.

Cooking pilaf is easy. It is enough to follow our tips with the photo in order to cook it correctly. Firstly, for extinguishing, you need a large cast-iron deep cauldron with a lid. Only in this dish will it be convenient to mix food and it will be possible to cook a sufficient amount of pilaf. Secondly, proportions must be observed for juiciness. Rice and carrots should be exactly the same as meat. Thirdly, the most important thing in correct preparation pilaf on a fire - fire. It must be regulated by a separate person. He will make sure that nothing is burnt. You can learn how to cook a delicious meal at a picnic by watching the video recipe.

Pilaf recipe with beef on the fire

Ingredients

Servings: - + 12

  • beef on the bone 2.5KG
  • rice 2 Kg
  • carrot 8 pcs.
  • onion 5 pieces.
  • vegetable oil 100 g
  • Bay leaf 7 pcs.
  • salt to taste
  • spices (ground black pepper, dry barberry, saffron, coriander, curry) taste
  • garlic 1 head
  • purified water 5 l

Per serving

Calories: 190 kcal

Proteins: 6.7 g

Fats: 7 g

Carbohydrates: 22 g

50 minutes Video Recipe Print

    Cooking in a cauldron on the grill should be done in stages. First, pour oil into a bowl. Let it warm up. You will understand that the temperature is sufficient by the way it starts to “squirt”.

    Throw the onion, peeled and cut into strips or large cubes, into the cauldron. Fry, stirring constantly, until a pleasant golden shade.

    Peel the carrots. Wash off the dirt. Chop the vegetable arbitrarily. However, for pilaf, large straws or circles are welcome. Add to the onion. Simmer until completely softened.

    Place the beef bones next. Choose smaller cuts of meat. On the bone, it is more fatty and juicy, therefore, with such beef, pilaf should turn out to be crumbly and oily. It is very important that when frying meat, the fire under the cauldron is strong. Do not worry, with constant stirring, the product will not burn, but it may decrease in size, as the beef will let out the juice.

    Pour 0.5 liters of water into the cauldron. Simmer the food until all the liquid has evaporated under the lid.

    It's time to add rice. The main condition for delicious pilaf on a fire is not to mix the ingredients. Groats must be placed on top of meat and vegetables. Add rice. Season with salt and pepper, add spices and seasonings.

    Peel the garlic. Drown a few cloves completely in the rice. Pour the cereal with water so that the liquid covers it by 3 cm.

    When the rice has completely swollen and absorbed the water, put out the fire. Leave the pilaf to simmer under the lid on the coals for another 10-15 minutes.

    Delicious should be served with vegetables, fresh bread, feta cheese and tomato juice.

    Advice: quince can be added to the recipe for aroma. And rice is easily replaced or supplemented with Turkish chickpeas. Then the side dish turns out to be rich and satisfying. When buying cereals, be sure to check the expiration date.

    Features of maintaining fire

    As everyone knows experienced chefs, the taste of real pilaf cooked on a fire depends not only on the quality of the products, adherence to the recipe and the practical skills of the cook, but also on the observance of a certain temperature regime throughout the entire cooking process. To get the perfect pilaf in nature from the very first try, read helpful advice on how to properly maintain a fire, below.

    Start cooking so thin oriental dishes should be at maximum flame and large firewood will be needed to ignite it. At the same time, so that the heat does not sleep in any way, the logs must be constantly thrown up, and the fire itself must be closed from the wind.

    When the fat has already been melted, the meat and vegetables are fried and the zirvak is filled with water, the strength of the flame should be reduced by throwing the hot coals aside. It is necessary to maintain such a small soft fire, which will allow the pilaf to be well extinguished, until the very end of the cooking process. To achieve this and prevent the flame from simply extinguishing, throw brushwood and thinner small logs into it from hour to hour.

    The pilaf comes out so wonderful and amazing, you just lick your fingers. Smoky meat is incredibly tasty, it seems that the aroma comes even from the video. Oily and loose rice will delight the whole company and surprise with delicious mouth-watering notes. Pilaf on a fire, cooked according to oriental traditions, the best dish for picnics and relaxation with friends or in a large family circle.

So, for the preparation of pilaf, you need to stock up on the following ingredients (the dosage is indicated based on the volume of a cauldron of 10 liters):

1. meat (lamb, beef, pork) 2.5-3kg - there is never too much meat)) we chose pork, since finding good lamb is a problem, and the beef is somewhat dry.

2.800-900 ml of sunflower oil (you don't have to bother and just take the whole bottle, but it is better to observe the proportions, otherwise the pilaf will turn out to be fatter, but on the other hand, this also has something

3. onion 2 kg

4.carrots 2 kg

5.Rice (long grain not steamed) - 2 bags

6.Drinking water 3.5-4 liters (depending on the amount of rice, but more on that later)

7.spices (red, black pepper, cumin - if there is, if not, then it's not scary)

8.salt

9.garlic 4-5 heads depending on the size

So, the cauldron itself:

1st stage - strong fire

We put it on a strong fire and pour oil

After the oil has heated up, lay the meat (we cut the meat into cubes of a large enough size so that when frying they do not turn into small embers)

regularly stirring the meat, make sure that all the water is gone and only meat and butter remain

lay the onion (cut it into half rings of medium thickness) and fry regularly stirring

how the onion is prepared, lay the carrots (cut the carrots into strips, preferably rather thin, but not transparent) and fry, stirring, until the carrots become soft

After that, salt and pepper to taste. The amount of salt per 10 liters is 10 teaspoons in total, at this stage we fill in half the dosage.

Fry until tender, then add water. I draw your attention to the fact that everything is cooked over high heat and therefore it is advisable to find a campfire who would be engaged in the preparation of firewood, and the chef could completely devote himself to the art of cooking :)

the volume of water is calculated from a ratio of 1: 2 - if you have 900 gram bags, use 3.6 liters of water. I recommend adding slightly less water than normal.

add the rest of the salt, spices and bring to a boil.

2nd stage

close the boiling cauldron with a lid and disassemble the fire. we leave it with the lid closed for 20-30 minutes, periodically glancing so that the coals do not go out at all

3rd stage - final

the timer went off, open the lid and turn on the heat! I recommend checking the water for salinity, adding salt if necessary.

as everything boils thoroughly, we begin to lay the rice. I recommend laying the rice gently spreading it over the entire surface. Do not stir under any circumstances! Rice is laid on top of the meat!

As the water practically boils away and the rice begins to flow, we begin to stick the pre-peeled garlic cloves into the rice - we sink it inside so that they are not visible.

Cover with a lid and disassemble the fire to the minimum.

Periodically we check the rice for readiness, as the rice is ready and all the water is gone, remove the cauldron from the heat and let it cool.

Pilaf is ready - bon appetit!

Pilaf is a truly international dish, as it is certainly present in the menu of almost any oriental cuisine. Each nationality considers this amazing Asian food to be its invention, assures that it is their recipe that is real and brings its own national notes to the cooking process. Uzbeks are also considered recognized virtuosos in pilaf cooking. Them Uzbek pilaf in a cauldron - it is distinguished by a pronounced taste of lamb, which is perfectly combined with cumin, a kind of unique aroma and fat content.

For real Uzbek pilaf, first of all, a full-fledged cauldron is needed. No other utensils, and even a bowler of a similar shape, absolutely do not fit. The process of cooking pilaf itself is so elementary and contains such a minimum of products that it can be easily repeated even in field conditions... However, the main components of successful Uzbek pilaf are the correct selection of products and strict adherence to the order of the ingredients. It should be noted that pilaf on a fire and pilaf, which is prepared at home, have absolutely similar cooking technology for this wonderful dish. The difference will be only in the composition of the ingredients, since there is little sense in complicating the recipe with additional components in field conditions. So consider basic recipe and the method of cooking real Uzbek pilaf, which is excellent at the stake.

Required Ingredients

The following should be emphasized immediately:

  • Uzbeks always take lamb, carrots, rice and onions in equal proportions.
  • In addition, zira must necessarily be included in the components of the dish, since it is in combination with it that lamb acquires a special delicate taste and an amazing smell. Real Uzbek pilaf will not work without cumin.
  • Do not forget about barberry, as it is also included in classic recipe pilaf in Uzbek.
  • It is also a good idea to add ground coriander. Its presence in the classic components of pilaf is highly desirable.
  • Other pilaf ingredients can be added according to your taste preferences.

Consider the features of the choice and preparation of all components of the future dish.

Mutton

Naturally, cooking in field conditions requires the most tender and young meat. Otherwise, all outdoor recreation will turn into an agonizing wait for the readiness of the dish. Ideal option there will be a combination of pulp and a small amount of ribs. The purchased mutton is washed and dried. Next, the ribs are cut, and the pulp is cut. Portion pieces should not be small, as Uzbeks often use rather large ones. portions.

You can prepare the meat in advance, put it in a bag and not bother processing it during the trip. Required amount - 1 kg

Rice

The most popular varieties are: excellent Chungara rice, excellent Dev-Zira. But even such rice is necessarily washed several times, so that in the end the washing water becomes completely transparent. This point should be taken into account and a sufficient amount of water must be taken on the hike. If the preparation of pilaf is envisaged immediately upon arrival at the resting place, then the rice can be washed at home, folded into a bag or other container for transportation. During the trip, the rice will even have time to swell. At home, washed rice is poured with clean water and left alone to swell. The required amount is 1 kg.


For pilaf, only special rice varieties are suitable, that is, with the lowest gluten

Carrot

For pilaf in Uzbek, yellow carrots are most often used, since it is it that grows in Uzbekistan. In the absence of such, you can cook a dish with the usual red variety.


Carrots for pilaf are washed, dried, coarsely chopped into strips or cut into cubes

No grater can be used, as the grated carrots will surely boil down and "get lost" in other components of the pilaf. The required amount is 1 kg.

Onion

IN Uzbek cuisine local varieties of onions are used, and pilaf is prepared with white egg-shaped or pink onions. The most valuable for pilaf is the egg-shaped white onion. The onion pink variety is spicier and takes longer to roast, but it gives the dish a beautiful color and extra special flavor. The onion is cut, as a rule, in half rings. The required amount is 1 kg.

Vegetable oil

Ideally, real Uzbek pilaf requires cottonseed oil. But, unfortunately, its taste is a little unusual for Europeans, so common varieties of vegetable oil - olive, soybean, or plain sunflower oil - will do. If you come across cottonseed oil, its taste can be adjusted. To do this, a peeled onion is placed in hot oil and wait for the moment when it turns brown. The onion will absorb the unusual taste, and the oil will become quite acceptable for cooking pilaf. We need about a glass of vegetable oil.

Additional ingredients:

  • Garlic - a couple of medium-sized heads are enough. It is washed, cleaned and the bottom with roots is cut off.
  • Zira and barberry - one dessert spoon each.
  • Salt - naturally, everyone has different tastes and it is simply pointless to recommend the exact measure.
  • Other seasonings and hot peppers - such additions are not needed for real Uzbek pilaf, but if desired, they can be used at your discretion.

Having decided on the main components of the recipe, their quantity and the necessary preparation for the process of preparing pilaf, you can start practical actions.


They begin to cook pilaf over the fire with the preparation of its base - zirvak

Cooking zirvak

Zirvak is prepared strictly according to the verified practice of technology, and any violation of the sequence will lead to disappointing results. That is, it may well turn out to be a banal rice porridge, and not a full-fledged Uzbek pilaf.

Cooking procedure:

  1. A fire is kindled and the cauldron is securely installed. If there is a brazier, then the cauldron can be installed on it in the future.
  2. The cauldron must be ignited, rubbed with salt and thoroughly cleaned. Then it is heated again and vegetable oil is poured in.
  3. The appearance of a slight haze and the sensation of the smell of heated oil are sure signs that the time has come for laying the meat prepared earlier.
  4. Cook the meat at this stage on high heat, stirring quickly. This method allows you to maximally preserve all the juiciness of the laid pieces. When the meat has a characteristic golden hue, the intensity of the fire is reduced and the onion chopped in half rings is laid.
  5. The contents are again vigorously mixed and a light brown color is expected to appear on the onion.
  6. Then chopped carrots, other spices are laid and some salt is added. Everything is poured with a small amount of boiled water and fried until the carrots are relatively soft.
  7. Now the cauldron can be tightly closed and continue to extinguish the contents for half an hour.
  8. After this time, the "zirvak" is completely ready. You can put garlic in it. Only half of the heads of garlic are put into the "zirvak", and the upper part of them remains free. This old technique allows you to evenly distribute the garlic flavor between the contents of the zirvak and the rice itself.


The final phase of cooking real Uzbek pilaf on a fire does not contain any particular difficulties, but it also has its own nuances.

The final preparation of pilaf in Uzbek

Procedure:

  1. The soaked rice gets rid of water and is evenly placed on the top layer of the finished "zirvak". Then hot water is very carefully added to the cauldron. The main thing is not to break the content layers. The water level should not exceed the top layer of the rice by more than two centimeters or two fingers. At this point, the salt content is adjusted.
  2. The poured pilaf components must be cooked until the water completely evaporates from the entire surface of the rice layer.
  3. Next, a compulsory rice slide is formed. It is necessary for uniform heat treatment of all layers of pilaf and removal of excess water. To speed up these processes, several holes are made in the slide.
  4. After these manipulations with the slide, the cauldron is finally tightly closed and the pilaf is cooked over the fire for about half an hour. At this stage of cooking, as a rule, the cauldron lid is additionally closed with a towel, which prevents the liquid from evaporating from the pilaf.
  5. It should be borne in mind that fully cooked Uzbek pilaf must be “brewed” in the cauldron for a couple of tens of minutes.

It's so easy to cook real and delicious Uzbek pilaf in a cauldron directly on an ordinary tourist fire.

    Get everyone ready first. necessary ingredients... It is convenient to do this while the fire is on. For starters, get busy with meat. For real Uzbek pilaf, you need a young mutton. It is she who will give the dish its characteristic aroma and taste. Wash the meat and pat dry with paper towels. Separate it from the bone, clean it from excess veins and films. Chop the lamb in large pieces about three centimeters wide. Peel and wash the onions and carrots. Cut the onion into rings and leave one whole. Chop the carrots into strips. Rinse the rice thoroughly in several waters, cover with cold water and salt a little.

    Put the cauldron on the fire and heat it up well. Pour a large amount of unscented vegetable oil into it, or melt the fat from the lamb fat. Then put the whole head in the cauldron onions... Saute it until the onion is golden brown. Remove the head from the oil.

    Put the ribs in a cauldron with butter. Fry them until the meat has a nice brownish tint.

    Use a slotted spoon to remove the fried ribs from the butter and place them on a plate.

    Let the oil simmer over the fire to evaporate the moisture that the ribs have lost. Place the chopped onions in the butter and sauté until soft and golden. Then place the diced lamb meat in a cauldron. Fry, stirring occasionally, for five minutes.

    Then add the carrots cut into strips to the meat and onions.

    At first, the carrots should not be touched. It should languish for a while until it becomes soft. After that, stir the carrots with a slotted spoon or spoon and fry all the ingredients for twenty minutes.

    Throw cumin and barberry into the cauldron. Fry, stirring occasionally, for a couple of minutes. Pour boiling water over everything so that it completely covers the meat. Season with salt to taste. Place the fried ribs and whole heads of garlic in a cauldron. Cook everything for about forty minutes.

    After forty minutes, put the whole hot pepper in a cauldron.

    Place the washed rice on top of all the ingredients and smooth it gently. Do not mix the rice with the rest of the ingredients! When it comes to rice, it is important to use a specific variety. Parboiled rice is perfect, as well as long, Thai. Regular round-grain will boil down during cooking, and your pilaf will look like rice porridge... In real Uzbek pilaf, the rice turns out to be soft, but crumbly.

    Gently add liquid to the cauldron so that the ingredients do not mix. She should cover the rice two fingers on top.

    Cover the pilaf with a lid and cook for half an hour. Raise the lid periodically to make sure the water has not completely boiled away. If this happens, the bottom of the ingredients may burn. Therefore, if necessary, add boiling water to the cauldron to the pilaf. At the end of cooking, sprinkle raisins on the dish and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Raisins should be prepared in advance. To do this, rinse it, put it in a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Let the raisins stand to swell. Then it can be added to pilaf, draining water and drying the berries.

    Remove the finished pilaf from the fire and wrap the cauldron with a woolen blanket. Let the pilaf brew. After that, open the lid, mix all the ingredients thoroughly and put the pilaf on the dish in which you will serve it to the table. Separately, chopped fresh or salted vegetables can be served with pilaf. Tomatoes and onions are perfect and can be seasoned. sunflower oil... It is better to eat pilaf hot, since when it cools, a large amount of lamb fat freezes in it.