Every culinary specialist should know how Ferghana pilaf is prepared. This is a classic, it gives a complete picture of the Uzbek pilaf, for it has gathered the basic principles of the preparation of the Central Asian dish. Fragrant, ruddy to a reddish-brown hue, oily and at the same time easily assimilated, pilaf in Ferghana style cannot but like. This is the most common option that is offered in every teahouse in Uzbekistan and in every Moscow market where Uzbeks are prepared. Really, it's worth exploring the matter thoroughly!

Classic recipe

Classical cooking implies that the products are used as much as possible selected for the Uzbek recipe.

Important! Pilaf is cooked not in a frying pan or pan with a thick bottom, but in a cast-iron cauldron with a lid and, if possible, on an open fire (although it is possible on the stove).

So, the features of the Ferghana pilaf:

  • the best meat is fat mutton. If meat with a layer of fat, then the oil is taken a third less than normal. Beef is also acceptable, veal is worse in pilaf (Uzbeks traditionally cook pilaf from mature meat). They also put pork, but this is not at all an Uzbek option;
  • fats - fat melted from fat tail fat, and any clarified vegetable oil. Authentic cotton is only exotic. For most, its taste is unusual and can be unpleasant. But adding a little sesame pilaf will be good;
  • carrots should be ripe, juicy, but not young. Ideally, in half, orange and yellow root vegetable, Uzbek;
  • Pilaf prepared from Ferghana rice grown in the Ferghana Valley. This is a classic devzira, reddish rice, unpeeled. For lack of a simple round Krasnodar will do;
  • any onion;
  • spices for Ferghana pilaf are just those - zira, saffron or turmeric in case of emergency. Plus the heads of garlic whole and always a whole pod of pepper.

Tip: You should not buy bags of ready-made store spices for pilaf.The composition includes a variety of seasonings, not quite suitable for pilaf. It is better to buy spices separately, and if in the finished mixture, then from the Uzbeks in the market.

The weight of the products - the amount of rice, 1 kg of carrots, 0.5 kg of onions, 450 g of fat is taken for 1.5 kg of good meat. Spice about 50 g.

Ferghana pilaf is being prepared like this.

  1. Wash and soak the rice well.
  2. The meat is usually not cut too large.
  3. We cut the onion arbitrarily, it will practically not remain in the pilaf, but the carrots - with beautiful cubes or straws.
  4. Heat the cauldron, pour oil into it and wait for the appearance of a faint haze. Pour onion rings, fry over high heat, stirring so that the onion becomes well-fried. The color of pilaf and taste depend on its roasting. But you can’t even overcook, so as not to convey the taste of the fried onion to the dish.
  5. Put the meat in the fried onions and, stirring occasionally, fry a quarter of an hour over high heat until crusty.
  6. Salt (only 2 tablespoons of salt will go to the pilaf), mix, put the carrots and fry again for 10 minutes.
  7. Pour spices, pour boiling water so that only covered vegetables, put a minimum fire and simmer zirvak for another 30 minutes, until half-cooked meat. If it is young, then 15 minutes is enough, mature must be cooked longer.
  8. Before laying the rice, put two or three heads of garlic in the husk, pepper, try again the zirvak on the salt - it must be firmly salty, even salted so that the rice takes excess salt.
  9. Pour rice with a slotted spoon and flatten. Pour boiling water over a centimeter over rice. All at a sufficient boil.
  10. Cook under a lid until the liquid evaporates to the level where rice begins. At this point, the semi-finished rice will be steamed. The liquid remains in the zirvak, and pilaf will reach it. The fire should be reduced to a minimum and, having collected pilaf with a slide to the center, cover it with a bowl slightly less than the diameter of the cauldron. Close the lid on top and leave it on minimum heat for another 10-15 minutes.
  11. Turn off the heat and leave the pilaf under the lid for another quarter hour. To prevent moisture from falling back into the pilaf, you can take out the bowl and cover it with a dry towel and close the lid.
  12. Serve on a flat dish, garnished with whole heads of garlic and pepper taken out of pilaf. It is recommended to additionally prepare a salad of onions and tomatoes.

With barberry

 

Often, some products are added to the Ferghana pilaf that do not significantly affect the taste of the dish, they just give shades. This, for example, raisins or barberry. To add, or not, is a matter of taste. Barberry add a little sourness to the pilaf, but generally do not recommend putting a lot of it - for example, a small handful at the time of laying other spices in zirvak. Everything else is prepared in a classic way.

How to cook with raisins

Raisins are also placed exclusively as an additional decoration, for an amateur.

For this type of cook:

  • 1 kg of carrots, rice and meat (you can both lamb, and beef, chicken);
  • 0.5 kg of onions;
  • 0.3 l of vegetable oil;
  • salt 2 tbsp. liters, including 1 liter for soaking, half a spoon for zirvak and another half for rice during cooking;
  • spices - 2 tsp. zira, 0.5 tsp ground black pepper, turmeric 2 tsp, barberry optionally - 1 tsp;
  • water.

We cook pilaf with raisins like this.

  1. Soak the washed rice in salted water.
  2. In a cauldron we heat oil.
  3. Fry the sliced ​​meat until golden brown and take out. In the cauldron we put half the onion rings, fry until a beautiful tan.
  4. Add the straws of carrots, fry until its volume is reduced.
  5. Pour half the spices, salt, pour cold water to cover the contents of the cauldron, this is a zirvak. Leave to simmer for an hour under the lid over low heat.
  6. In the meantime, drain the rice, rinse again and let it dry a little in a colander. Cooking boiling water.
  7. In the zirvak we add raisins, barberry, if you wish, spread the rice with a slotted spoon and pour boiling water 2 cm or slightly higher. Pour turmeric. We make maximum fire so that the rice gurgles - this is necessary to absorb the liquid.
  8. As soon as water leaves the surface, we reduce the fire, put it under the lid wrapped in a towel and cook for 5 minutes.
  9. We open, we make holes in the rice to the bottom with the end of a long spoon or with the handle of a slotted spoon. Close again for 5 minutes. Ultimately, the languishing time is approximately 25 minutes.

It is interesting:Uzbek pilaf - recipe

Ferghana pilaf from Stalik Khankishiyev

 

Everything that Stalik Khankishiyev prepares has its own peculiarity, a characteristic feature. So the pilaf in his performance has tangible Uzbek notes. For example, he advises to still find at least a piece of fat tail and use mutton fat along with vegetable oil. The second condition is that there should be a lot of carrots, about as much as rice. But meat can be less. Usually take a kilogram of meat and carrots, 1.2 kg of rice, and onions - two large heads, fat, fat tail or mixed with vegetable, - 350 ml.

Of the spices - only zira and saffron, and even generous heads of garlic and pepper. Everything is as in the classic version.

Cooking for Stalik.

  1. In the cauldron, we throw finely chopped kurdyuk and melt them to the cracklings. We remove them, salt and eat with onion and pleasure. If there is no fat tail, just pour 350 g of oil and heat.
  2. Put half the onion rings in the oil and fry until cooked.
  3. At the edges we drop pieces of meat. Let it blush.
  4. Add salt and zira, mix.
  5. Add carrots, then salt and zira. Add barberry and put in a head of garlic and pepper. Now the secret of Stalik: it would be nice to take carrots in half yellow and red. Pour the lower, yellow water, and salt it, and leave the upper, sweet, red, sweet. Half of the water is to let the bottom in the oil fry, stew, and the top is steamed.
  6. We put the rice and fill it with water to barely cover it, it is well soaked, it is better to add it later, if it is not enough. Cook at a high boil so that it gurgles, periodically raising the rice with a slide, so that the sticky mass at the edges of the starch sinks to the bottom, does not mix with rice.
  7. Water boiled, rice is almost ready? We put on a minimum fire and close the lid. Another thirty minutes, and pilaf can be served!

Read also:spices for pilaf

Beef Recipe

Not everyone loves the flavor of lamb, then you can cook with beef. But it is recommended to take not one pulp, but with a bone. For example, a brisket with cartilage and a piece of pulp. In total, 700-80 grams will come out. Plus butter or fat tail fat, only 250 ml. 600 g of rice and carrots, 300 onions, spices and herbs for decoration. Everything else is done in the same way as when cooking pilaf with lamb.

Read also:how to cook pilaf with chicken

Cooking step by step in a slow cooker

Products: one and a half cups of rice, half a kilo of meat, 3 large carrots and a couple of large onions, 200 ml of vegetable oil, spices.

More materials:pilaf in a slow cooker with chicken

Cooking step by step in a slow cooker.

  1. Soak rice for three hours.
  2. In a preheated pan, fry the onion in butter, then the meat with the onion.
  3. Put the zira and put it out under the lid for 10 minutes.
  4. Put the carrots, again zira, salt, barberry and a clove of garlic. Put out another 20 minutes.
  5. We put everything in the multicooker bowl, put the fused rice. Pour boiling water to cover everything, and set the “Pilaf” mode to stew for 40 minutes. Stir before serving.

Similar:More from the author: