Pilaf
Description
The recipe won't take much time. Just like borscht, every housewife has her own version of pilaf. Mine is not too fatty, very tasty, and so fluffy that it's hard to gather into a pile. To achieve separate grains of rice, you need to know one rule: rinse the rice very thoroughly to remove the starch, which causes the rice to clump together. That's the whole secret. And here's one more tip: don't skimp on onions and carrots, as these vegetables give the dish its sweetness. As for spices, follow your personal preferences. You can make it even easier by using a ready-made pilaf seasoning mix. Serve hot.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Take all the ingredients for preparing pilaf.
- 2
Step 2
Rinse the chicken and place it in a heavy-bottomed pot.
- 3
Step 3
Pour 20 ml of refined sunflower oil and fry the chicken in a cauldron for 10-12 minutes.
- 4
Step 4
Then add 300-350 ml of water, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer the chicken until almost cooked, for 20-25 minutes.
- 5
Step 5
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice. Rinse it thoroughly to remove the starch in 8–10 changes of water. Soak it in hot water for 20–25 minutes.
- 6
Step 6
Take the cooked chicken, remove the skin and bones, and place the meat back into the cauldron.
- 7
Step 7
Peel and wash the onion and carrots. Cut the carrots into strips and the onion into half-rings. Add to the pot with the chicken. Pour in another 30 ml of sunflower oil.
- 8
Step 8
Simmer the vegetables with chicken for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and spices, mix well.
- 9
Step 9
Evenly spread rice over the meat and vegetables. Lightly season the rice with salt and pour in hot water so that it is 1-1.5 finger-widths above the rice. Cook the pilaf over medium-high heat uncovered until the water on top evaporates, but some remains around the sides and bottom of the pot. This will take 15-20 minutes.
- 10
Step 10
Then, gather the rice into a mound towards the center from the edges of the pot. Using a wooden stick, make holes in the rice all the way down to the bottom of the pot.
- 11
Step 11
Cover the cauldron with a lid and reduce the heat to the lowest setting. I also place a flame diffuser on the burner. Cook the pilaf for another 20 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated. Then turn off the heat, let the pilaf rest for 20 minutes, and then mix the rice with the chicken and vegetables.
- 12
Step 12
The "Grain by Grain" pilaf is ready. Fragrant, fluffy, moderately rich, and incredibly delicious.