Oriental cuisine has always attracted a huge number of people with its diversity and flavors. Kebab, shurpa, shawarma, and, of course, everyone’s favorite pilaf. It is very difficult to imagine an adult who has never tried this delicious dish in his life. Today it is quite difficult to imagine that the secrets of preparing crumbly pilaf from pork and not only were known in ancient times. We invite you to learn how to cook a delicious and satisfying dish with us. After reading the article, you will learn how to prepare crumbly pork pilaf.
A little history
Let's take a brief excursion into the distant past. Have you ever wondered when people first started eating pilaf? According to some irrefutable facts, the dish appeared in the 2-3rd century BC. There are many legends associated with this. According to one of them, pilaf was invented by the cook of Alexander the Great during the military campaigns of the famous commander in Asian countries. According to another version, it is believed that this dish was first made in India. Only one thing can be said for sure: the spread of pilaf began in the countries of the East and Asia, it was here that it became a national food and from here it conquered European countries. In the 17th century, French ambassadors, visiting Turkey on a diplomatic visit, brought information about the stunning masterpiece of local cuisine. The King of France immediately wanted to try pilaf. French chefs tried to carry out his order, but did not know how to prepare this dish correctly. As a result, they overcooked the rice, which simply turned into porridge with meat and sauce. The real recipe for oriental pilaf was brought to Europe only towards the end of the 19th century, where it quickly won the hearts of many people with its unique taste and enchanting aroma.
Curious facts
Often people don’t even think about the history of the origin and improvement of their favorite dishes. However, much of the information is very interesting and deserves attention. This also applies to pilaf. For lovers of this dish, we have collected interesting information. So:
- Did you know that there are two main options for preparing pilaf: Central Asian and Iranian. In the first version, meat and rice are cooked together. The Iranian version involves preparing the main ingredients separately and serving them on separate plates.
- There are a large number of proverbs and sayings about pilaf.
- In many countries, especially in the East, it is believed that only men can prepare this dish.
- It turns out that in ancient times pilaf could be cooked in specially dressed sheep skin.
Beneficial features
This dish has many advantages. We will just name a few:
- Despite the fact that when preparing pilaf you need a lot of oil, and the dish itself is quite fatty, it is very quickly and easily digested by the stomach. And it does not cause a feeling of discomfort and heaviness after eating.
- Pilaf contains a whole storehouse of useful substances. If you have to do hard physical work, then eat thoroughly with this tasty and healthy dish.
- Even if you are in a completely gloomy mood, do not refuse a portion of the aromatic dish. After all, it can significantly lift your mood.
Required Products
In order to prepare crumbly pilaf with pork, we will need the following ingredients:
- Rice - 700 gr. This is the main component of the dish. It's better to take long grain.
- Pork - 600 gr. With it, pilaf will be very nutritious and healthy.
- Carrots - 2 pieces.
- Onion - 1 pc.
- Oil. You can take sunflower, olive or sesame. In some versions of preparing pilaf, cream is used.
- Paprika, black pepper, turmeric, cumin - to taste. These are special ingredients that give pilaf a spicy taste.
- Garlic - one or two whole heads (depending on the size of the container in which you will cook).
Crumbly pork pilaf: recipe
We present to your attention a fairly easy version of preparing this delicious dish. The pilaf turns out very tender, with an amazing aroma. Most importantly, the necessary products are almost always at hand. Carefully follow the recipe instructions for crumbly pork pilaf (with photos for your convenience), and you will get an excellent result:
- First you need to rinse the rice thoroughly and leave it in a pan of cold water for 5 minutes. Now you can start preparing the meat. Wash the pork, dry it and cut into small pieces. Some housewives ask what kind of water to use for these purposes? Warm is best; cold will not wash the meat completely.
2. Take a special container in which the pilaf will be prepared. Pour a few tablespoons of oil and turn on the stove. You need to warm it up a little.
3. After this, lay out the pork.
4. The meat must be stirred so that it does not burn.
5. You need to prepare vegetables for pilaf. Peel them and chop them finely. Chop carrots and onions into cubes. Tip: if your eyes become watery from this process, moisten them with water.
6. Add the onion to the meat first (you want it to turn golden), then the carrots. Fry the vegetables, stirring constantly. They must not burn, otherwise all our efforts will be in vain.
7. Pour water (so that it completely covers the meat), add all the necessary seasonings and spices. Add salt. Mix well. The meat should simmer for about twenty minutes.
8. Back to rice again. Pour out the water and place it in the cauldron with the meat.
9. Peel the garlic and put it in the rice. It will add a special spiciness and unique aroma to the finished dish.
10. Reduce heat; all water should be absorbed. No need to stir. Then, after the water has evaporated, cover the pilaf with a lid and let it brew for 20 minutes. Then you can put it on plates and invite your family for a delicious dinner!
Crispy pork pilaf: cooking secrets
Many housewives are well aware that the quality of a dish largely depends on three components: certain skills, fresh ingredients and... the mood with which you start cooking. So, if you want to learn how to make aromatic and crumbly pork pilaf, then arm yourself with patience. After all, this dish does not tolerate fuss and irritability at all. Also take into account some recommendations and advice from experienced housewives who have repeatedly spoiled their family and friends with excellent pilaf. So:
- We think that many of you have already heard that special utensils are important for preparing pilaf. Therefore, try to definitely get one. It must meet several requirements: it must have a thick bottom, a tight-fitting lid, and a sufficiently large volume. It is best to cook pilaf in a cast iron cauldron. But, if this is not the case, then take a large Teflon frying pan with a lid.
- Another very important nuance - what kind of rice to use for cooking pilaf? It should be hard and transparent. Options such as long-grain, steamed, Krasnodar and others are perfect.
- For crumbly pork pilaf (and not only) the correct ratio of the parts of cereal and water is very important.
It would seem that there is nothing complicated about it - preparing delicious pilaf with meat, because the recipe is simple and the products are quite affordable! However, for this dish to turn out truly impeccable, you need not only to put a piece of your soul into it, but also to carefully study the cooking technology.
Our detailed recipe with step-by-step photos will help you make delicious crumbly pork pilaf in a cauldron on the stove. Of course, ideally it is better to use lamb for pilaf, but it is not available for sale everywhere, so we offer an affordable and homemade version of this popular dish.
Ingredients: 
- long grain rice - 350 g;
- pork (preferably shoulder or brisket) - 500 g;
- carrots - 1-2 pcs.;
- onion - 1-2 pcs.;
- vegetable oil - about 80 ml;
- garlic (optional) - 3 heads;
- zira - ½ tbsp. spoons;
- turmeric - ½ teaspoon;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
Homemade pork pilaf recipe with photos step by step
How to cook crumbly pilaf in a cauldron on the stove
- Cover the bottom of the cauldron with a thin layer of vegetable oil and heat it up. Load in the peeled and finely chopped onions. Fry over moderate heat until soft.
- Cut the carrots into thin strips and add them to the onion. Stirring, sauté the assorted vegetables for a couple of minutes.
- Let's move on to the meat. After washing and drying, cut the pork into medium-sized pieces, add to the carrot and onion sauté and fry until golden brown, remembering to stir. To prevent the pilaf from turning out dry, it is better to give preference to fairly fatty parts of the pork - in this case, shoulder blade, brisket, neck, etc. are perfect.
- As soon as the meat is browned, sprinkle it with salt, ground pepper, add cumin, turmeric and/or other spices at your discretion, and mix. Pour in about a glass of boiling water (so that the pork is almost completely covered with liquid). We load the heads of garlic into the cauldron, having previously cut off the roots and stem, as well as removing the top layer of husk. Simmer the meat over low heat under the lid for about 30-40 minutes (until soft).
- We thoroughly wash the long grain rice, drain the water and add it to the almost finished pork. Gently level with a spoon.
- Pour in boiling water, being careful not to damage the layer of rice grains. As a result, the water should be 0.5 cm higher than the rice level. Add a little more salt, set the heat to maximum and bring the liquid to a vigorous boil, do not stir! Immediately cover the cauldron with a lid and keep the rice on maximum heat for exactly 7 minutes.
- After the specified time, without opening the lid, reduce the temperature to a minimum and simmer the contents of the cauldron for 12 minutes. To make the pilaf really tasty and crumbly, during the cooking process we do not stir the rice under any circumstances and do not open the lid until the last minute so that all the water has time to evaporate and the rice grains are thoroughly steamed. Freshly prepared pilaf, after removing from the heat, continue to steep for another 10 minutes and only after this time remove the lid and carefully mix the rice with the meat.
- We distribute our crumbly pork pilaf into portioned containers and serve. The dish is completely self-sufficient, so no additions are required!
Pork pilaf in a cauldron on the stove is ready! Enjoy a hearty lunch! Enjoy your meal!
Nowadays, there are no people who would not try crumbly pilaf made from pork or any other meat. There are, of course, still people who prefer not to add meat to this dish, but to make it entirely with vegetables or fruits. It is thanks to its wide range of preparations that pilaf has conquered the whole world. Each family has its own step-by-step recipe for preparing this rice dish.
It is worth noting that the choice of good grain remains important when preparing a dish; it should have a natural color and not be too smooth. It is then that it will be natural and not contain chemical impurities. It is also necessary to approach the choice of meat responsibly; it must be fresh and have a natural shade. If you do everything correctly, you will get delicious pork pilaf. Which will be crumbly and have a pleasant aroma.
Even before cooking, we need to decide where we want to make the rice on the stove or in the slow cooker. On the stove, it is usually done either in a frying pan or in a saucepan (cauldron). Moreover, both the frying pan and the saucepan (cauldron) should be thick. And as a final step, you need to choose a step-by-step recipe with photo cooking instructions. You can find it in this section. And then you can easily prepare the right pilaf with pork.
Step by step preparing delicious pork pilaf
1) We prepare the rice grains; to do this, you need to look through them and remove any debris present there. Then rinse and soak it thoroughly.
2) Take a fresh piece of pork and cut it into not very large pieces. It is desirable that they have approximately the same shape, for example square.
3) Take vegetables: small carrots, fresh garlic and onions. Then they need to be cleaned, washed to remove any remaining dirt and then crushed.
4) Pour oil into a well-heated frying pan and add our pieces of pork. At the same time, add the onion and fry the contents until golden brown.
5) After which you need to turn the heat down, add the carrots and continue to simmer for about 12 minutes.
6) The next step is to add our seasonings, turmeric and salt. Then mix all the contents.
8) Let the rice drain and only then add it to the rest of the ingredients. If necessary, add more fresh water until the rice is covered. And continue to simmer until done.
9) Add garlic cloves to the finished pork pilaf and let the dish sit.
10) And as a final step, we thoroughly stir the contents, then it can be presented to the table.
The most famous dish of Central Asian cuisine is pilaf. It is very popular among residents of the CIS, because during the Soviet brotherhood, representatives of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and other republics worked and studied in Russian-speaking cities and passed on their cooking skills to Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. It is noteworthy that each eastern nation prepares pilaf in its own way: different proportions and spices are used, and different types of meat. The main ingredients remain unchanged: rice, onions and carrots. And, of course, you can choose from lamb, pork or even chicken, without which the pilaf simply wouldn’t be pilaf. How to cook pilaf with pork? This is what we will talk about.
It is worth considering that in this important matter it is necessary to follow the sequence of laying the products and adhere to the time interval when cooking rice. By the way, you need to take a certain type of rice - long and steamed. This wonderful and nutritious dish of oriental cuisine will turn out crumbly and tender if you follow all the rules for its preparation.
Ingredients and proportions:
- half a kilo of pork pulp;
- 400 grams of long grain parboiled rice;
- 3-4 medium-sized onions;
- 2-3 pieces of medium-sized carrots;
- 6-8 cloves of garlic (or 1 head);
- sunflower oil 2/3 cup;
- spices: salt, bay leaf, suneli ear and turmeric.
Pork pilaf preparation technology
1. Wash the meat and cut into small pieces.
2. Cut the onion into half rings. The thickness of the rings is not particularly important, since the onion will have time to stew in any case.
3. Cut the carrots into thin cubes.
4. Take a cauldron, pour about a centimeter of sunflower oil into it and heat it over the fire. Then place the pieces of meat into very hot oil and stir. At the same time, the fire in the burner should be large.
5. At the moment when a golden crust appears on the meat, the onion is lowered into the cauldron and mixed. When the onion becomes soft, you can add carrots.
6. Afterwards, you need to periodically stir the mixture of meat, carrots and onions. By the way, among eastern peoples this mixture is called zirvak. When the carrots are browned, you need to turn up the heat as much as possible. The zirvak should be leveled, rice should be placed on top of it in an even layer and garlic should be added.
8. After this, add salt to taste and spices. You need to take 2-4 leaves of bay leaf, no more, suneli ear and turmeric - 1 teaspoon each. Turn the heat on the burner back to maximum.
10. When the water has completely evaporated from the surface of the rice and so-called “volcanoes” similar to bubbles appear, the fire is reduced again and the cauldron is covered with a lid for 20 minutes.
11. After that, the burner turns off, the lid of the cauldron opens and all the contents are mixed.
12. You need to let the dish sit for 5-10 minutes, during which time the excess moisture will disappear. Then you need to try the pilaf, and if necessary, add salt to it.
This is the recipe for pilaf with pork. Try to do it yourself, you will definitely succeed!
Good day, dear readers of my culinary blog. I would like to share a recipe for homemade pilaf with pork and turmeric. Clear instructions will help you easily cope with the cooking process.
Pilaf is considered a classic oriental dish that is cooked over a fire. At home, you can make a dish as close to ideal as possible, not inferior in taste and aroma to the traditional version.
Ingredients:
1. Pork – 500 gr.
2. Rice – 350 gr.
3. Carrots – 2 pcs.
4. Onions – 2 pcs.
5. Garlic – 3 heads
6. Sunflower oil – 80 ml.
7. Zira – ½ tbsp. spoons
8. Turmeric – ½ tbsp. spoons
9. Salt - to taste
10. Pepper - to taste
Preparation of ingredients:
1. I’ll start cooking by preparing the ingredients. I wash the pork thoroughly under running water. To make the pilaf juicy, it is better to take a fat shoulder, neck or brisket.
I cut the meat into medium-sized pieces that are easy to chew. I peel the onions and carrots and also rinse them. I cut the onion finely, into oblong pieces.
I pour the rice into a bowl and wash it. I choose the long grain option, but you can choose the rice to suit your taste. Simply remove the top husk from the garlic.
How to cook pilaf:
1. The entire cooking process is carried out in a cauldron with thick walls. Pour some vegetable oil into the bottom and heat it over high heat. Add the onion and fry until soft and golden.
2. Add carrots and keep on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Place the meat in the assorted vegetables and fry everything together until golden, remembering to stir.
4. To get real Uzbek pilaf, you need to add seasonings. First of all, sprinkle the meat with salt and ground black pepper. The recipe calls for preparing pilaf with cumin. In addition to this, I add turmeric.
Mix everything and pour in enough boiling water to cover the meat. Place the heads of garlic on top and cover the cauldron with a lid. To keep the pork tender, you need to simmer it for about 30-40 minutes over low heat.
5. When the meat is almost ready, cover it with an even layer of rice.
6. Pour boiling water, trying not to damage the layer. The water should cover the rice layer by ½ centimeter. To get crumbly pilaf, you need to turn on high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Leave it under the lid at a boil for 7 minutes.
Now reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer the contents of the cauldron for another 12 minutes. During this time, all the water will evaporate and homemade pilaf will not look like porridge.
Turn off the stove and leave the pilaf with meat to infuse and soak for another 10 minutes.
7. Now I open the lid and stir the contents, enjoying the bright aroma. The dish can be served in portions in beautiful containers. Bon appetit.
Now you know how to cook pilaf, which will be breathtakingly tasty and bright. When serving, it does not need to be supplemented with anything. Using the same recipe, you can prepare a tender pilaf with chicken, an oriental version that is fattier with lamb, or a dietary version with beef.
Secrets:
Seasonings are considered the secret of pilaf. In addition to the classic ones, you shouldn’t be afraid to add oriental ones. Often pilaf is prepared with barberry, which adds spice and aroma. You can also add some nutrition to the dish with fresh herbs sprinkled on top.
To make it tasty, it is better to chop the carrots coarsely, then they will fit more harmoniously into the dish.
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