Chicken fillet pilaf
Description
The recipe won't take much time. Since childhood, pilaf has been my favorite dish because my mom always made it on weekends. Now I cook it quite often too, though I've made a few changes to the recipe—now I usually prepare it with chicken fillet, as it's a lean and lighter meat. Otherwise, this simple chicken pilaf recipe follows all the traditional rules, resulting in an incredibly delicious dish—perfect for a family dinner. And if you don't mind spending an hour or an hour and a half preparing an excellent meal, let me tell you how to make chicken pilaf. Serve hot.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
First of all, we need to rinse the rice several times and soak it in water for 3-4 hours. While it is soaking, we can prepare the remaining ingredients. Peel the chicken fillet, rinse and dry it, then cut into small pieces.
- 2
Step 2
Peel the onion and slice three heads into half-rings, leaving one head whole for now. Similarly, peel the carrots and cut them into julienne strips.
- 3
Step 3
We remove the garlic heads from the husk, but do not separate them into cloves, and carefully remove the roots.
- 4
Step 4
Now we can proceed to cooking the pilaf itself. Pour vegetable oil into a cauldron and place it over the heat. When the oil is hot, add a whole onion and fry it until it darkens (this will remove unwanted odors). Now discard the onion and begin frying the onion cut into half-rings in the same oil. Fry until golden, then add the chicken fillet.
- 5
Step 5
Sear the meat until it turns white, then add carrots to the cauldron along with the spices. Simmer over medium heat, stirring, until the carrots become soft (about 10 minutes).
- 6
Step 6
Next, pour boiling water over the vegetables so that it is 2-3 cm above their level. Generously season with salt, place garlic heads and a whole hot pepper in the center. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes.
- 7
Step 7
When the cooking time is almost up, we drain the water from the rice and rinse it once again. Remove the hot pepper from the cauldron, add the rice, and spread it evenly. Add more boiling water so that the liquid level is 2–3 cm above the rice. Now taste for salt and add more if needed.
- 8
Step 8
Turn the heat to maximum, and once the liquid starts boiling, reduce it to medium. Simmer until the liquid evaporates down to the level of the rice, then cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat to the lowest setting. Cook for approximately 25–30 minutes. When the rice is soft, turn off the heat, wrap the pot in a towel, and let it sit, covered, for another half hour.
- 9
Step 9
Now the pilaf needs to be mixed and portioned out onto individual plates. Your lunch is ready.