Pilaf with Chicken and Barberries
Main Dishes • Chinese
Description
For those who enjoy a bit of spice, I recommend not discarding the garlic that was cooked with the pilaf; instead, squeeze it right into your plate — the flavor is amazing! You can do the same with the pepper, but that's a matter of personal taste. Now, let's find a cozy spot and enjoy our light and aromatic pilaf, and let’s keep it a secret from the guys!
Ingredients
- Poultry 20 oz
- Rice 2 glasses
- Carrot 4 pieces
- Onion 1 piece
- Garlic 1 head
- Mild Chili Spice 1 piece
- Vegetable Oil to taste
- Black Cumin (Cumin) a pinch
- Turmeric a pinch
- Dried Barberry a pinch
- Salt to taste
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1
First, rinse the rice and soak it in warm water. Chop the onion and carrot. Traditionally, carrots for pilaf are cut into matchsticks, but I've committed another culinary sin and processed them in a food processor.
Step 2
Preheat a kazan or another pot that we will use to cook the pilaf, pour in a generous amount of vegetable oil, and let it heat up. Then, add the chopped onion.
Step 3
The onion should be sautéed until golden brown, then add the meat, mix it with the onion, and brown it.
Step 4
Then add the carrots and cook everything together, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes.
Step 5
Add a pinch of cumin, which fills our kitchen with a distant aroma of pilaf.
Step 6
Now add 1 to 1.5 cups of hot water, enough to slightly cover the contents. Place a whole head of garlic in the center of the pot, having removed the dry outer skin (there's no need to peel it completely!). Add the barberry berries, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer until most of the water has evaporated. At this stage, also add whole pods of pepper without cutting them, otherwise the pilaf will turn out too spicy.
Step 7
Once the excess water has evaporated and we are left with a small amount of richly colored oily broth, add salt and turmeric to it. The salt is added based on the assumption that we won't be salting the rice later; personally, I needed half a tablespoon.
Step 8
Now, drain the water in which the rice was soaked and carefully lay it on top of the mixture you prepared in the pot (in the East, this is called zirvak). It is important not to mix the rice with this mixture, but to place it on top in an even layer!
Step 9
In the same way, carefully pour boiling water over the rice, taking care not to disturb the surface of the rice layer or mix it. The rice should be slightly covered with water. Turn the heat to maximum, pause, and wait for the water to boil!
Step 10
When the water reduces, add more — the rice should reach a point where it is almost done, and only then do we lower the heat and carefully check if all the water has evaporated underneath (I do this with a spatula, gently pushing the rice away from the edge). As soon as the remaining water has evaporated, we turn on the lowest heat, add a little more cumin, cover with a lid, and let it sit for about 20 minutes. After that, we turn off the heat, remove the garlic clove and, if available, the chili pepper, and mix everything well.
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