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Shah Ash - Royal Pilaf! (Khan-pilaf). Photorecept

The centuries-old traditions of the Azerbaijani people and borrowing from Georgian, Turkish, Persian and Arab cultures gave us original dishes Azerbaijani cuisine. Pilaf in lavash, or, as it is also called, shah-pilaf - the royal Azerbaijani pilaf, is the pride of Azerbaijani cuisine.

Each region of the country has its own peculiarities of its preparation, but the main ingredient remains "gazmakh" - this is the crispy crust of lavash, in which it is cooked. Proportions verified for centuries juicy meat, loose rice, aromatic spices and dried fruits in a crispy lavash crust reveal the hospitality of the East... Such pilaf is prepared for dear guests and for the most solemn occasions. Let us prepare shah pilaf according to a step-by-step recipe with a photo.

Recipe with a photo of shah pilaf in azerbaijani

Kitchenware: cauldron or thick-walled pan, cutting board, brush, knife, frying pan, saucepan, bowl.

Ingredients

Step by step cooking

Preparing the ingredients

Preparation

Put the skillet on fire and add 5-6 tablespoons of melted butter to it. When the pan is hot, saute the onions until caramelized and add 1 teaspoon of turmeric.
Put the meat on the onion and fry it lightly. Salt.
When the meat is fried, add prepared dried fruits to the pan: dried apricots (150 g), raisins (150 g) and fried peeled chestnuts (6-8 pieces). Mix everything and fry a little.
Thin pita bread (4 pieces) with a brush liberally grease with melted butter on both sides and cover the cauldron so that the sheets hang from the edge of the cauldron. This is necessary in order to then cover the pilaf on top.

Put the entire contents of the pan on top: meat with onions, chestnuts and dried fruits and pour out the resulting juice.

Cover the surface with the hanging edges of the pita bread and pour 5-6 tablespoons of melted butter. Cover the cauldron with a lid.
Place the covered cauldron in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 1 hour.
Serve hot on a large platter, cutting the toasted pita bread into petals.

Recipe video

It is only at first glance that the recipe for making shah-pilaf in lavash seems complicated and incomprehensible, but after watching the video, you will be convinced that this is not the case. Watch, cook and surprise dear guests.

Choosing the right ingredients

The main ingredient in pilaf is rice, so pay special attention to its quality. The most suitable is Fergana rice "Devzira", but its absence can be replaced with "Basmati" or "Krasnodar" rice. As a last resort, you can use any steamed rice.

Choose harder rice varieties from long grain varieties. It is not necessary to soak the rice, you just need to sort it out and rinse it well.

To acquire pilaf of a pleasant yellow color, add saffron to the water when boiling rice... Just remember that any spice should be added in small quantities. This is especially true of saffron: if you overdo it, then pilaf will come out bright orange and unpleasant in taste.

The best utensils for cooking pilaf are considered to be a cauldron or a thick-walled deep frying pan with a tight-fitting lid. If you want to be convinced of this, cook it, and if you like chicken meat more, then.

Not so long ago, modern housewives have a new excellent assistant - a multicooker. It makes cooking very easy and saves time, and the pilaf cooked in it turns out to be crumbly and rich. Try to cook or.

I told you how to cook shah-pilaf, and I think you will definitely want to gather your friends, your family and relatives at a large round table and treat them to such a noble and rich treat. Bon Appetit.

Shah pilaf.
1. Boil the rice until half cooked in a large amount of salted water, add a little saffron or turmeric to the water so that the color of the water is yellowish. Take long-grain rice, sort "Basmati" or "Jasmine". Not steamed. It is important. Throw in a colander.
2. Meat (lamb or beef, cut into larger pieces than regular pilaf). You can also use chicken or turkey. Duck and rabbit won't go. Wash the meat, put in a cauldron, add a little salt. On low heat, without seasoning, the meat until cooked, practically in own juice, without water. After cooking, remove from the cauldron and put in a cup.
3. While cooking meat and rice, prepare the most important thing - the sauce. Put 3-4 tablespoons of ghee in a frying pan, add pitted cherries, chopped apples or apricots, currants, etc. Any fruit that will juice. Stew the fruit over low heat until soft, almost mashed potatoes, add sugar, so that the taste is sour-sweet, more sour. Or whatever you like to taste.
4. Prepare the dough for the flatbread - kazmag. Place 1 in a glass egg yolk, without protein, add warm water, salt, a little yeast and knead the elastic dough.
5. If you plan to cook pilaf in a cauldron in the oven, then roll out a large circle of dough. Thickness is about 0.5 cm or less. If you cook pilaf in a cauldron on the stove, then roll out the circle in sizes larger than the bottom of the cauldron by 3-4 cm.
6. Now we collect pilaf, having salted rice and ready-made meat, and dough for kazmag.
7. Pour melted ghee into the bottom of the cauldron, sprinkle with a little cumin (cumin). We put the thinly rolled dough so that the edges hang from the edges of the cauldron or distributes a circle to the bottom if the pilaf is cooked on the top plate.
8. Pour slightly melted butter on the dough - 3-4 tablespoons, sprinkle with cumin (cumin). We put half of the meat.
9. Pour the rice without tamping, not tightly.
10. Sprinkle with raisins generously, barberry at will, cumin and pour 2-3 tablespoons of ghee butter.
11. We put the remaining meat,
12. Pour rice without tamping, not tightly.
13. Sprinkle with raisins generously, barberry if desired, cumin and pour 2-3 tablespoons of ghee butter.
14. Cover with dough, grease with an egg and put in a hot oven, on very low heat for 1-1.5 hours. Check the readiness by the color of the dough.
15. If you cook on the top stove, put the cauldron on the divider and very low heat.
16. When the dough is browned, simply turn the cauldron over a large dish, and you get pilaf baked in the dough, the shape of a cauldron. Cut it like a cake.
17. Served flat cake - kazmag on a plate, and rice with meat from the middle. Water at will fruit sauce immediately on the plate or just on the edge of the plate 2-3 tablespoons of sauce.
Proportion:. 1 kg of meat, for 1 person 1 glass of rice means about 1.5-2 kg of rice, about 200 g of raisins (preferably light royal), melted melted butter about 300-400 grams, 50 g of barberry.
Sauce: 500 g pitted cherries, 5-6 apricots or 2 peaches and 1 apple. (this is the most tasty option sauce in my opinion), You can use any fruits and berries that will give juice.
All the same can be done without meat, with raw pumpkin cut in large pieces 6-8 cm. It tastes better than with meat.
At first glance, a lot of fuss, but in fact, not very much. But very tasty and effective. Good luck!

It is known that cooking is the oldest art, and pilaf is one of the oldest dishes cooked by man. The first recipes for this dish appeared simultaneously with the period when people began to cultivate grain crops. There is a famous saying in Turkey that there are as many recipes for this treat as there are cities in the Muslim world. In the East, there are other proverbs and folk sayings associated with this dish. However, in this variety there are recipes that can rightfully be called the masterpieces of world cuisine. One of these amazing dishes is generally recognized Shah pilaf - a royal dish worthy of the most solemn event.

Baku pilaf with dried fruits has long gained immense popularity all over the world and still remains the main dish of Azerbaijani cuisine. It is impossible to imagine a single solemn event in this eastern country without khan pilaf.

It is prepared for weddings and birthdays, put on the table when meeting close friends.

Incredibly tasty and amazing beautiful treat always takes pride of place in a feast. The peculiarity of this dish is that when served it looks more like a delicious pie than a traditional pilaf. Rice with meat and dried fruit is inside the royal crown of dough.

There are several recipes for Azerbaijani shah pilaf: it can be cooked with meat, with fruit, or with a combined filling. Regardless of the composition and main components in this treat, its form always remains the same. All products are inside thin dough, which is baked until golden brown.

Ingredients

Azerbaijani royal pilaf is usually prepared from the meat of a young lamb. If desired, it can be replaced with any poultry or veal. Shah pilaf can also be cooked in a sweet version, without adding meat at all, but this will no longer be classic recipe, but one of its variations.

To prepare 6 servings you will need:

Lamb - 1 kg;
Devzira or basmati rice - 1 kg;
Butter - 3-4 tbsp. l .;
Onions - 1-2 pcs.;
Carrots - 2 pcs.;
Dried fruits, raisins, chestnuts, dried apricots - 350 g;
Salt to taste.

For the test:

Flour - 2 cups;
Ghee - 150 g;
Water - 1/2 cup;
A pinch of salt.

How to cook shah pilaf

Preheat the oven well before cooking the pilaf, otherwise it may dry out.

The classic shah pilaf is decorated with ruddy gazmah - a thin tender crust of dough, however, in some versions, you can cook this dish using thin pita bread. To make a treat for real Azerbaijani recipe, first of all, gas is prepared from flour, oil and water.

Put the oil in a convenient dish and heat well. When the butter has cooled to room temperature, add salt, flour and water and knead until soft elastic dough... You can find out what consistency the dough for gazmakh should be by looking at the recipe with the photo. Wrap the resulting dough in a plastic bag, set aside for 40 minutes, so that it becomes smooth and pliable. After that, it will be possible to divide it into several small parts, roll it into a thin layer and put it in a pilaf baking dish.

Step by step recipe for shah pilaf

Cooking royal pilaf step by step in the oven will help to make delicious treat even a beginner. Unlike classic options cooking, when using a cast iron cauldron, you can use any baking dish. It is better if it has a round shape, then it will have a traditional appearance big pie or the crown of the shah (king).

For shah pilaf in Azerbaijani style, you do not need to cook zirvak - meat sauce with vegetables and spices.

Cook rice separately in lightly salted water. After the grains are halfway done, carefully drain the water through a strainer or colander, leave the cereal for 10-15 minutes to cool slightly. Can be cooked rice groats in bags, then put it on a plate, in which it will have to cool down to room temperature.

Rice should be boiled in plenty of water to prevent the grains from sticking to each other. Heat the water separately and after cooking, rinse the cereals well and let the excess water drain. Heat some of the melted butter so that it is slightly warmer than room temperature... Spread the rice in an even layer on the prepared dough and pour well with oil.

When making a large portion, you can lay out the rice in several layers, each of which needs to be lightly oiled.

Stirring the groats is not recommended, it should lie in an even, but loose layer. Do not forget to grease the mold in which the dough is placed. If thin pita bread is used for the crust, it should be spread on a table or cutting board and cut into several thin strips, 5-6 centimeters wide.

Cooking the filling for the khan's pilaf

Let's prepare the filling with which we will fill the royal pilaf in pita bread (or in dough).
Cut the meat across the grain in medium slices 3-4 centimeters wide. Put the pieces of fat tail fat in a dry frying pan and melt the fat well (the greaves must be removed so that they do not give the finished treat the taste of burnt meat). Add slice butter and when it warms up well, put the prepared lamb in the fat. You can replace it with young veal. When the meat is fried before golden brown, cover and reduce heat to simmer and soften. Place it on a separate plate.

Peel the onions, chop into thin rings and fry until soft in hot oil. Add cumin, spices and a little salt and mix. Chop the carrots into strips, put them on the onions, stir and let them brown slightly for 1-2 minutes. Add the fried meat, the rest of the dried fruits, spices and seasonings and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, if necessary, you can add a little water. Cook until the liquid evaporates, place the filling on the rice.

This pilaf recipe can be changed by removing meat and vegetables from the ingredients, and instead of salt and spices add a little honey or sugar syrup... This will make another great treat - sweet pilaf from dried fruits.

Smooth the filling over the entire surface and gently roll the edges of the dough so that it completely covers the contents of the mold. Cut off excess dough around the edges if necessary. If using pita bread, wrap the strips clockwise, overlapping them. Place the pilaf in the oven and cook for 50 minutes at a temperature of 150-160 degrees.

When the crust is slightly dry, remove the mold and brush with the remaining piece of butter. For even oiling, it is best to use a cooking brush. Increase the temperature to 180 degrees and bring the treat until cooked through (the top crust should be a nice golden brown).

It is recommended to serve pilaf on a round or oval dish, cutting the dough into 8-12 pieces in a circle into equal sectors (like a cake). Gently peel back the edges of the dough to make it look like a crown and serve the royal treat at the table.

The traditions of the Azerbaijani people are inextricably linked with national cuisine... There are many recipes for khan plov - each city and village has its own specific way of preparing this wonderful treat. However, there are certain rules that every cook adheres to. According to legend, it is thanks to the special subtleties, which only folk cooks know about, that a real cooking masterpiece worthy of a royal table.

Instead of bread, pieces of fried crust are served with pilaf, which can be carefully cut off before serving the dish to the table. If a treat is prepared for a large number of guests, it is cut into equal triangular pieces, after which the filling can be laid out in a heap on a plate, and pieces of fried lavash or dough can be used instead of bread.
You can add a pinch of turmeric or saffron to the water while cooking to give the rice a beautiful yellow hue. If saffron is used, it is enough to add 1 or 2 fine threads. Since the spice has a rather specific taste, it must be added in small quantities, otherwise the aroma of rice will overwhelm the smell and aroma of other components.
A cast-iron cauldron has always been considered the most suitable dish for cooking any pilaf. However, in this case, it is best to cook the treat in a round baking dish (you can use a pan for jellied pies or a biscuit, a cast-iron pan with a removable handle is suitable. ...
At home, you can make a dish for 6-8 servings using a convenient kitchen appliance - a multicooker. Using this modern device, it is best to use ready-made thin pita bread instead of dough. The dish is prepared in the pilaf mode for 40 minutes, after which it is carefully turned over and brought to readiness for another 20 minutes. This will give the treat a beautiful golden brown crust on both sides.
In the homeland of this wonderful treat, in Baku, holiday dish are cooked in a wood-burning oven. In an urban setting, it can be cooked both in an electric and in a gas oven. In order for the dish to turn out ready, but not burn out, it is important to change the temperature regime on time. The first 40 minutes, pilaf is cooked at + 130 ° C- + 150 ° C, after which it is increased to 180 ° C.
Be careful not to press on the rice filling when cutting through the top crust. For convenience, you can take culinary scissors, gently pierce the crust in the middle and move towards the edges. After the entire upper part has been divided into sectors, carefully open the resulting petals also, from the middle to the edge. Before serving, you can add fresh pomegranate seeds on top to make it look even more impressive.
As a filling, you can use not only meat with fruits. Optionally, you can cook sweet pilaf from dried apricots, nuts and prunes. In some cases, it is made with only rice. In this case, all spices and seasonings are added to the water in which the cereal is cooked.
If poultry meat is used for the filling, it is pre-marinated. This makes the meat more juicy and flavorful. The easiest marinade option for chicken or turkey: ripe tomatoes are chopped in mashed potatoes, a few drops of vegetable oil, salt and spices are added. The meat is laid out in the tomato marinade (preferably in a large piece) and left for 3-4 hours. Before frying, the meat is cut portioned pieces... Marinade can be added to stew meat.

Shah pilaf in azerbaijani

A Turkish proverb says "There are as many types of pilaf as there are cities in the Muslim world." Being the main national dish for the cuisines of most eastern countries (Uzbek, Armenian, Tajik, Turkish, Arab, etc.), it is prepared differently everywhere. For example, Azerbaijani pilaf is distinguished by a completely different cooking technology, according to which the cereal is cooked in a separate bowl and only then is combined with the rest of the ingredients.

Shah pilaf is not just rice with meat, but a real culinary masterpiece, the pride of Azerbaijani cuisine! The dish got its name for a reason. In eastern countries, the supreme ruler is called shah, and the shape of the shah-pilaf resembles his crown. The dish is usually prepared for solemn feasts and served to the most dear and respected guests.

The treat not only has unusual name, but also looks completely different than traditional pilaf. Juicy and at the same time crumbly, saturated with aromas of spices and meat juice, rice is hidden inside the "gazmakh" - a crispy lavash crust. Pieces of meat literally melt in your mouth, and dried fruits leave an original sweet and sour aftertaste.

Rice for pilaf

In eastern countries a good cook only those who have friable rice in pilaf are considered. Even if the pilaf turns out to be delicious, but the rice is boiled, the chef's skill will be greatly questioned.

Experienced cooks know that certain types of rice are needed for perfect pilaf. For shah pilaf in Azerbaijani style, ordinary groats are not suitable, preference should be given to basmati rice. It absorbs liquid well, is saturated with the aroma of spices, meat and vegetables and does not stick together during the cooking process.

Extensive plantations of this rice are located in India and Pakistan, and it is these countries that are its main suppliers. Literally translated from Hindi, the name "Basmati" means "full of flavor." Long, slightly curved grains retain their appearance after prolonged languishing, and even having increased 2-3 times, they do not boil down into porridge. The groats have an incomparable, incomparable, light nutty aroma, which makes the taste of pilaf unforgettable.

How to cook rice for Azerbaijani pilaf with dried fruits and meat? Put a pot of water on the stove, bring it to a boil and add rice thoroughly washed and cleaned of all debris. Stir so that the grains do not stick together, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes, not fully cooked. The groats should be soft and soft at the same time. The recommended proportions of water and rice are 1 liter per 250 g of cereal.

Cooking shah pilaf

Ingredients:

Long grain rice - 400 g;
Chicken breast - 700 g;
Lavash - 2 pcs;
Onions - 1 pc;
Carrots - 1 pc;
Dried apricots and raisins - 70 g each;
Figs, dates, prunes - 6-8 pcs each;
Garlic - 5 - 6 cloves;
Spices for pilaf, salt - to taste;
Butter.

You can experiment with dried fruits for pilaf in Azerbaijani style. Cherry plum and pomegranate seeds will help to make the taste more saturated with a slight sourness.

How to cook Azerbaijani pilaf:

Rinse the rice thoroughly using a fine sieve, soak in warm water for half an hour.
Boil water, boil rice with the addition of turmeric.
Wash dried fruits, cut into small cubes, put in a bowl and cover with hot water to get a little soaked.
Prepare saffron infusion, which will give the finished pilaf a more beautiful color and pleasant aroma. To do this, pour 1-2 stigmas with boiling water and, covered with a lid, leave for 10-15 minutes.
Cut sheets of thin pita bread into strips of about 5 cm wide.
Place the pan on the stove and add a little olive oil.
Chicken breast wash, cut into small pieces.
Peel the carrots, cut into thin strips. Remove the husk from the onion and garlic, cut the onion into cubes and chop the garlic.
Without waiting for the oil to get very hot, put the onion in it and fry until a beautiful golden brown.
Remove the onion and fry the chicken in the remaining oil, then add the carrots to it, return the onion and, stirring, keep all the ingredients over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Drain excess water from dried fruits and transfer them to a pan with meat and vegetables. Add chopped garlic and remove from heat.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and grease the walls of the cauldron with it.
Following original recipe Azerbaijani pilaf, it is necessary to line the dishes with strips of lavash so that their ends hang outward, and each strip overlaps the previous one. They need to completely cover the inner surface of the pan. Grease the pita bread with melted butter, so that when baking it becomes golden brown.
Put 1/3 of the rice in a cauldron, level, pour with saffron infusion, put govurma (gravy) on top. And so, layer by layer, alternate rice / saffron chicken infusion / with dried fruits.
Sprinkle the top layer of rice with melted butter and cover with the hanging ends of the pita bread, turning them clockwise. Cut off the excess.
Close the cauldron with a lid and place in an oven preheated to 150 ° C for 40 minutes, then raise the temperature to 180 C and stand for another 15-20 minutes.

The royal Azerbaijani shah-pilaf with dried fruits is served hot, cutting lavash into equal sectors immediately before the start of the meal. Perfectly complement such a treat - light vegetable salad from fresh tomatoes with onions and herbs.

Carefully passed down from generation to generation, the secrets of the national Azerbaijani cuisine have been preserved to this day. And although each region of the country has its own type of Azerbaijani shah pilaf, it can still be distinguished general principles cooking.

In order for the rice to acquire a pleasant yellowish tint, it is worth pouring it with saffron infusion before cooking. You can replace this expensive spice with a more budgetary turmeric by adding a pinch to the water in which the cereal will be cooked.

In Azerbaijan, shah pilaf is mainly made with chicken and turns out to be low-fat and very juicy. In principle, instead of poultry, you can take lamb or veal. The choice depends on personal preference, the main thing is that the product is fresh.

The best utensil for any pilaf is a cauldron, but any round, thick-walled saucepan, cast-iron pan, or a baking dish without a handle that can be placed in a hot oven will do. You can also cook pilaf in Azerbaijani style with meat in a multicooker on the "Pilaf" or "Pastry" mode. To achieve a beautiful golden brown crust, 40 minutes after the start of cooking, the treat should be turned over and left for another 20 minutes.

This recipe for Azerbaijani pilaf is easy to adapt to the requirements of a lean table, and a sweet tooth will definitely appreciate it. By removing meat, onions and carrots from the ingredients, and adding honey or sugar syrup, you can make a sweet pilaf in Azerbaijani style.

Shah pilaf - incredible delicious pilaf which, unlike traditional recipes are prepared using a different technology. In this recipe, I will tell you how to cook shah pilaf in pita bread. There is also a recipe in unleavened dough... All ingredients must be prepared in advance. Boil parboiled rice until tender, fry the meat and mix with spices, sauté vegetables in vegetable oil, soak raisins in tea. Then we pack all this beauty in pita bread and bake in the oven. As you can see, there are no special difficulties in preparing shah-pilaf, I will tell you about some of the nuances and secrets in detailed description to the recipe.

Asians cook shah-pilaf on holidays - in the center of the table on a large platter there is a pilaf in the form of a hat. This dish is specially marinated with various fresh vegetables- onions, tomatoes, cucumbers. Delicious, simply delicious!

Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients for shah-pilaf in lavash

1 thin pita bread;
500 g of meat;
210 g parboiled rice;
120 g onions;
6 cloves of garlic;
150 g carrots;
70 g seedless raisins;
10 g barberry;
5 g sweet smoked paprika;
3 g of ground red pepper;
2 g Imeretian saffron;
120 g butter;
vegetable oil, salt, pepper.

Method of cooking shah-pilaf in lavash

Pour 250 ml of water into a saucepan, add rice, add 30 g of butter and salt. After boiling, close the lid, cook for 12 minutes over low heat, and steam for another 10 minutes, covering the pan with a towel.

Pour 2-3 tablespoons into the pan sunflower oil, throw meat, cut into cubes, into the heated butter. Usually shah-pilaf in pita bread is cooked with lamb or veal. I am of the opinion that the meat that is most popular in your latitudes is appropriate. Nothing terrible will happen to the recipe if pilaf with pork is cooked in central Russia. It will be just as tasty to learn, rest assured!

Chop finely onion and garlic, add to the meat, fry all together for several minutes.

Add raisins soaked in tea, barberry, Imeretian saffron and ground red pepper to the fried meat, salt.

Put the meat out of the pan on a plate. Put the carrots cut into cubes in the same pan, fry until soft for several minutes, sprinkle with salt and sweet paprika.

Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan. Thin lavash cut into wide strips.

Lubricate them with a thin layer of melted butter and fan them into a cast-iron pan.

Divide the finished rice in half, put one part on the bottom of the pan, pour with butter.

Then lay out the browned carrots, spread in an even layer.

We add meat with spices, we also level.

We wrap the edges of the lavash with an overlap, pour with oil. Cover the pot with a lid.

Cooking shah-pilaf in lavash for 50 minutes-1 hour in an oven heated to 170 degrees.

We immediately turn the finished shah-pilaf onto a plate and serve hot.

Bon Appetit! Be sure to pickle the onions in vinegar for a great addition to your meal.