Uzbek pilaf with beef - recipe. Recipe: Uzbek pilaf with beef - according to my own recipe Recipe for real Uzbek beef pilaf

I once read on one of the culinary sites that “only an Uzbek can cook real Uzbek pilaf.” In my opinion, this is a very dubious statement. We cook pizza, lasagna, goulash, chakhokhbili, rolls..., while we are neither Italians, nor Hungarians, nor Georgians, and certainly not Japanese. Why can’t you cook Uzbek pilaf?

It’s just that when preparing any dish you need to have certain knowledge and some experience. And as you know, experience can only be gained by trying to cook this or that dish repeatedly.

So with this dish, you need to know certain cooking rules and some subtleties, thanks to which you can get a real Uzbek dish. And then it doesn’t matter at all what nationality you are. In any case, the dish will turn out the way it should be - tasty, aromatic, crumbly and, most importantly, healthy.

You say, “what’s the difference, Samarkand, Fergana...”. And maybe you'll be right. But if you ate real Uzbek pilaf somewhere, and not only ate it, but also cooked it yourself, then the difference in preparation will be useful for you.

You can prepare one first, then the other, then compare and draw a conclusion. Although only one conclusion can be drawn - cook them one by one, since it will be impossible to choose which one is tastier!

We will need:

beef - 700-800 gr
fat tail fat or vegetable oil - 200-250 ml
onion - 400-500 gr
carrots - 600 gr
rice - 500-600 gr
cumin - 1 teaspoon
spices -
garlic - 2 heads (optional)
salt - 1 tbsp. spoon
pepper - to taste
greens - for sprinkling

Preparation

1. It is necessary to take care in advance about choosing meat. Of course, ideally, it is better to buy lamb for this occasion. But for some reason, not everyone likes this type of meat, and therefore they ask how to prepare a dish from beef or pork. It must be said right away that in Uzbekistan it is not prepared from pork. Therefore, we will not cook from it. Let's make it from young veal.

For Fergana pilaf, pulp and meat on the bone are usually taken in approximately equal proportions. I used brisket and shoulder. It should be said that meat on the bone must be present to prepare the dish. Pulp alone will not make a tasty dish.

2. Cut the brisket into large pieces along the cartilage line. Cut the pulp into pieces of approximately 2x2 cm. If you have fat tail fat, also cut it into cubes 1.5x1.5 cm.

I still have a small piece of fat tail fat, about a gram. 100-150, I will use it for the taste that the lamb gives.

3. Peel the onion, leaving the “tails”, cut into two halves and place briefly in cold water.

To prepare Fergana pilaf, take a little less onion than indicated in the recipe. But onions add juiciness and flavor to the dish, so I add a little more of it than I should.

My grandfather, who lived his whole life in Uzbekistan, always talked about this rule.. “Take onions, carrots, rice - in equal proportions, meat - the same amount, or more.” I follow his advice, and he never told me let me down

4. Cut the onion into half rings no more than 0.5 cm thick. We left the tails so that holding on to them would make the cutting process easier. Of course, after cutting the onion, we throw out the tail.

You need to use a sharp knife. Although we kept the onion in water for a while, and now we can cut it without tears, but if the knife turns out to be dull, then we cannot do without tears. In addition, cutting the onion thinly will also not work.

5. Cut the carrots into long thin strips.

It should not be grated; this is a mistake that many who prepare pilaf make. Only by hand, and not in cubes, not in cubes, but in straws.

Do not skimp on carrots; they give not only taste, but also color to the finished dish.

6. Soak the rice for half an hour in warm water, then rinse until the water runs clear. And if you use steamed rice, then you only need to rinse it.

Krasnodar round rice is not suitable for its preparation; it has a high degree of stickiness, and our dish risks being like porridge. Or as “shavlya” - that’s what they call it in Uzbekistan.

Uzbeks attach great importance to the choice of rice for preparing their famous dish. At the huge Samarkand market, large counters are completely covered with piles of rice. What kind of thing is there? And white, and red, and brown, and brown... What kind of experience and knowledge do you need to have in order to choose it correctly.

We don’t have such rice markets, so we had to look for a suitable one in our stores. I tried different varieties, and through testing I determined that the rice should be long. And when steamed long rice appeared on sale, I began to cook only from it, and it has never let me down.

7. If you decide to cook pilaf with garlic, then wash the whole heads and remove the top layer of peel from them. Using a sharp knife, cut off the remaining small roots to the very base, this is where particles of earth may be located.

In Uzbekistan, the host himself peels cloves of garlic for the guest of honor and treats him to it. This is a special sign of respect.

8. And of course we will need a cauldron. Of course, you can cook the famous Uzbek dish in other dishes, but it will be more difficult. If you need to tell me how to do this, ask questions and I’ll tell you.

Cooking beef pilaf in a cauldron

1. And so, when we have everything prepared, we begin to cook Fergana pilaf. Place fat tail fat in a cauldron and melt it until it turns into cracklings. The cauldron must be dry so that the oil does not “shoot”. Then remove the cracklings using a slotted spoon and add vegetable oil. If we do not use fat tail fat, then immediately pour in the oil. We heat it until it smokes lightly.

Don’t look at the fact that such a large amount of oil is indicated. Look at how many products we have, and we need to make sure that every little part of the future dish gets at least a little bit!

It won't be felt at all. Therefore, we pour as much as indicated in the recipe.

2. When smoke appears, we lower the meat on the bone into it along the edge of the cauldron. If you throw meat on top, you can get burned by the splashes of oil. After a minute or two, turn the meat over using a slotted spoon. Let the slotted spoon lie nearby; we will need it from the beginning to the end of cooking. Fry the meat, stirring occasionally until the bones turn red and the meat is browned.

3. Add onion.

Fry it until golden brown. We do all this over high heat.

Pour water and cook the meat for 30 - 40 minutes, during which time it should all have time to evaporate.

4. Now you should fry the chopped pulp. Place it in a cauldron and do not stir for 4-5 minutes so that the oil does not cool. It is important for us to “seal” the juice in the meat so that in the end it turns out juicy.

And for this you only need hot oil and high heat. Fry the pulp until beautifully golden brown.

5. Place the carrots in the cauldron, do not stir immediately, but give them a little time to warm up.

Then mix everything and lightly fry it. Now you need to stir more often so that the onions and meat do not burn.

When the carrots are well softened and lightly fried, pour in enough hot water to cover all the ingredients.

6. Add cumin, spices to taste and salt. There is no need to pour in the entire amount of salt at once; add only half of it first, then add more salt.

Regarding spices, the main spice among Uzbeks is cumin; in many dishes it is the only seasoning. As a rule, I add another spice mixture, which includes chopped coriander, rosemary, dried herbs with basil, and paprika.

Barberry is also added. If I have it, I always add it to the dish I'm preparing. I add another teaspoon of these spices. But this is at your discretion.

But you definitely need to add cumin! Of course you can cook without this seasoning, but you won’t get the right flavor.

7. Let it boil, mix everything, reduce the heat to minimum, cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes. What is now languishing under the lid is called “zirvak” in Uzbekistan. The taste of the future dish depends on how we prepare it.

8. After 30 minutes, you need to check the meat for doneness. If you are preparing pilaf from young veal, then usually by this stage the meat has already come off the bone and is chewed quite well for testing, that is, it is almost completely ready. At this stage there are two options. The first is to get all the bones, the second is to leave everything as is. I choose the second one, although it is believed that the first one is more correct!

If you add garlic to a dish, the whole heads need to be inserted directly into the zirvak.

9. It's time to put rice in the cauldron. We distribute it in an even layer, trying to completely cover the “zirvak”. Do not mix the layers, just rice and water on top.

The water should cover the entire rice by 1.5 cm. If there is not enough of it, then carefully pour it through the holes in the slotted spoon so as not to damage the layers with the jet of water. It is better to use hot water. Turn up the heat.

10. When the water boils again, add the rest of the salt and pepper to taste. Taste, the broth should be moderately salty. Try to set the cauldron in such a way that the water boils in it evenly and the rice cooks evenly. Do not let it boil too much, adjust the heat so that it only gurgles slightly.

11. Do not touch the rice until all the water has evaporated. When there is no water left, try the rice; it should be almost ready. If for some reason it is still hard, then add a little more boiling water through the holes in the oven. Just a little bit, maybe half a glass. Add another pinch of cumin, rubbing it in your palms.

If everything goes according to plan, and there is no need to add boiling water, we collect the rice in a heap. If you took out the bones, then put them again on top of the rice, and only then make a mound. To do this, carefully, using a slotted spoon, collect the rice from the edge to the center.

As before, we do not mix anything and do not disturb the layers. We make several holes in the pot from the very bottom. Holes can be made using a Chinese stick, or, in extreme cases, with the handle of a slotted spoon.

12. The water remaining at the bottom will come out through the holes made, and the rice will “reach” completely. Reduce heat to very low. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

13. After this time, turn off the heat, cover the top with a towel and leave to simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

14. When you open the lid, try to prevent drops of condensation from the lid from falling back into the cauldron.

15. While the contents are simmering under the lid, prepare a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers and onions. Or simply cut a juicy, fleshy tomato into slices with onions cut into half rings. Vegetables will help break down fats faster and improve digestion.

16. Before placing the pilaf in a large flat dish, you need to carefully mix it directly in the cauldron using a slotted spoon. At the same time, remove all the bones.

17. Place in a dish and decorate it with chopped parsley, dill, basil and green onions. Eat while it's hot. And it will be difficult to find a dish tastier than this!

Video on how to cook Uzbek beef pilaf with devzira rice

Pilaf turns out very tasty with pink devzira rice. It is, of course, not literally pink, but only has a layer of brownish-pink powder on the grain, which is washed off when the grain is washed. But the characteristic groove remains on it.

The advantage of this variety is that such grain is able to absorb all the juices and fats from the zirvak. This means it turns out not dry, but nourished, and incredibly tasty.

True, it can be difficult to buy a devzira, although if you set a goal, it is possible. I saw this variety in an expensive supermarket. And I myself order it at the market for Uzbeks who sell vegetables. They always bring the best. They understand this a lot. I couldn't even choose better than them.

The difference between this pilaf and the previous one is not only in the type of grain. if we prepared the last recipe according to the “Fergana” recipe. Then we will have this pilaf in Samarkand style.

What is the difference, see the chapter below, and all the nuances are told and shown in the video.

What is the difference between Samarkand pilaf and Fergana pilaf

in Samarkand pilaf, all the meat used is taken on the bone, cut quite coarsely, and when serving, the bones are removed and the meat is cut into small pieces. In Fergana - part of the meat is taken on the bones, and part is the pulp, cut immediately into portions
in the Samarkand version the carrots are not fried, but in the Fergana version they are fried
this is why in the first version the rice is white, and in the second it is slightly brownish
in the Samarkand version, after cooking, the rice is not mixed with the rest of the ingredients, but is laid out in layers in the dish in the same order as it was cooked - first the rice, then the carrots, and finally the meat. In Fergana, all the contents are mixed directly in the cauldron.

Of course, all these manipulations result in different tastes for these two different dishes. But as noted above, both are delicious, it’s impossible to choose which one tastes better!

The Ferghana dish is considered the basis for all other varieties of this delicious dish. Knowing these basics, you can prepare absolutely any pilaf, and it is believed that there are more than 100 recipes. I cook on the same basis.

An interesting fact is that in Uzbekistan they believe that cooking pilaf is a purely male activity, and that it does not tolerate female hands. And in fact, for all holidays and celebrations, for all other occasions, men prepare it there. And although I ate a lot of pilaf prepared by women, and their cooking was no worse than men’s, such a judgment is still alive and well!

I believe that in any case, whoever prepares this magnificent dish should approach its preparation in a good mood, without fuss and haste. It requires attention and respect, and that is why the finished dish is sometimes perceived as some kind of “special”, and it is always said Pilaf! - with a capital letter and an exclamation mark.

I really hope that you and your family and friends will like the dish prepared according to this recipe if you cook for them! And if something is not clear, ask, I will always be happy to answer all your questions regarding the preparation of this dish.

Bon appetit!

Pilaf: recipes

How to cook beef pilaf at home. Cook in a cauldron, frying pan or over a fire. Tips for choosing beef and rice, as well as video recipes.

1 hour 30 minutes

220 kcal

5/5 (1)

I don't know a single person who doesn't like pilaf. This aromatic, hearty hot dish of Uzbek cuisine has long been a frequent guest on our table. It’s easy to prepare real pilaf, and not just rice porridge with meat! You just need to stick to the basic recipe proportions and cooking steps. Of the variety of recipes for preparing pilaf with beef in a cauldron, we offer the simplest one, and the pilaf turns out very tasty. See for yourself!

Beef pilaf in a cauldron on the stove

Kitchen appliances: cast iron cauldron (you can use a thick frying pan with high sides), cutting board, knife, spoon, bowl.

Ingredients

How to choose the right ingredients for beef pilaf

Rice. This is a very important point, since the success of preparing real pilaf will depend on the choice of rice variety. The ideal, specially bred variety of rice for pilaf is dev-jeera rice. If this rice is not available, take any steamed rice, for example, Basmati or Jasmine varieties. This rice will be crumbly and will well absorb the fats and aromas of the spices in the pilaf.
Meat. What part of beef is good for pilaf? For pilaf, beef from the hind leg or shoulder blade is perfect. Tenderloin will also work, you can also add ribs.

Preparation

Food preparation

It is necessary to immediately pre-prepare all the products so that cooking goes faster and easier. So, we need:

Cooking pilaf

At home, following this recipe, you will prepare delicious pilaf with beef.

Melt butter in a cauldron or frying pan. You can add vegetable oil 50:50. It is the butter that will give the meat a golden crust.
Place the onion in a well-heated cauldron with oil and fry it until golden brown for 2-3 minutes.
Add beef pieces and fry for 5-7 minutes. The meat should also be browned.
Add carrots, stir and fry until they become soft. Stir occasionally.
Pour boiling water so that the water covers the roast.
Cover with a lid and simmer for 40 minutes over low heat.
After 40 minutes, pour the washed rice into the cauldron, distributing it evenly throughout the container.
Pour in hot water so that the water covers the rice by 2 fingers. Bring to a boil and cook until the water has evaporated.
When the water has evaporated, collect the rice in a mound and close the cauldron with a lid. Leave to simmer over low heat for another 20 minutes.

Pilaf is ready! Can be served with fresh summer salad or in winter with pickles. Using the same recipe, you can cook pilaf with beef in a frying pan. Perhaps in this case you will end up with less pilaf, but this will not affect the taste. Just use fewer ingredients.

Video recipe

Watch in our video how to deliciously cook beef pilaf in a cauldron.

Beef pilaf on fire

When going on a picnic, with friends, or on an outing with tents, you want to prepare a dish for the whole large company. We suggest cooking real pilaf over a fire. You will like not only the result, but also the cooking process itself. Take care of the fire in advance - you will need dry firewood and a stand for the boiler, for example, a tripod.

Cooking time: 2 hours.
Number of servings: 8-10.
Kitchen appliances: cast iron cauldron, slotted spoon.

Ingredients

rice – 1 kg;
beef – 1 kg;
carrots – 1 kg;
onion – 800 g;
butter – 150 g;

sunflower oil – 500 ml;
garlic – 4 heads;
spices – salt, pepper, cumin, cloves. You can add seasoning for pilaf.

Take the ingredients in a 1:1 ratio. If you have 1 kilogram of rice, you need to cook 1 kg of meat, 1 kg of carrots and onions. You can use a little less onion, if desired.

Preparation

Food preparation

Meat, in our case beef, cut into large pieces.
Onion, cut into half rings.
Carrots, cut into large strips.
Garlic, peeled from the top peel, do not separate the garlic into cloves, leave the heads whole.
Rice, well washed, can be pre-soaked in salted water for an hour.

Cooking pilaf over a fire

We install a cauldron and make a fire. The fire must be strong; there is no need to wait for coals to form.
Melt butter in a cauldron. Add vegetable oil. The oil should warm up well, only then can you start frying.

and fry for 3 minutes until golden brown.
Add beef pieces and fry for 10 minutes. The meat should also be browned.
Add carrots, stir and fry until they become soft.

Put the heads of garlic, add spices: salt, pepper, grind in your hands and add cumin. You need to give more salt than usual, then the rice will absorb all the excess salt.
We are waiting for the frying to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring several times.
Pour the washed rice into the cauldron, distributing it evenly throughout the entire container.
Do not stir the rice, you can only pierce it with a slotted spoon or a spoon in several places so that the water is evenly distributed during cooking.
Pour in enough water to cover the rice by two fingers. Bring to a boil and cook until the water has evaporated.
When the water has evaporated, collect the rice in a mound
Close the cauldron with a lid.
Remove burning wood from the fire, leaving only the coals. Let the pilaf sit for another 20-25 minutes.

Video recipe

We invite you to see the original recipe for delicious pilaf with beef, cooked over a fire.

Step-by-step recipes for Uzbek pilaf with beef and chickpeas, raisins, vegetables, fat tail

2018-10-18 Marina Vykhodtseva

Grade
recipe

1330

Time
(min)

Portions
(persons)

In 100 grams of the finished dish

6 gr.

7 gr.

Carbohydrates

18 gr.

160 kcal.

Option 1: Classic Uzbek pilaf with beef

Hearty, aromatic and crumbly Uzbek pilaf is an excellent dish for all occasions. It can be prepared for dinner or when guests arrive. Traditionally, beef is used for pilaf. We select large pieces of pulp without thick veins and films. If all this is present, then take a sharp knife and carefully separate it and throw it away. Real Uzbek pilaf is cooked in a cauldron with a good tight lid that will not allow moisture to evaporate.

Ingredients

1 kg beef;
800 g rice;
500 g onions;
800 g carrots;
0.5 tsp. coriander;
3 heads of garlic;
180 ml vegetable oil;
0.3 tsp. red pepper;
1 tbsp. l. cumin;
1 tbsp. l. salt.
900 g boiling water.

Step-by-step recipe for classic Uzbek pilaf

For real Uzbek pilaf with beef, choose large, but not steamed rice. We rinse it several times and fill it with hot water for a few minutes. Then drain all the liquid.

Pour oil into the cauldron, coat all the walls with fat in a circle. Heat it until hot. Cut the washed beef into cubes, throw it into hot fat and fry over high heat for about five minutes. The meat should not be stewed; stir occasionally.

Peel the onion, chop it into large strips, add it to the meat, and continue cooking over high heat. Chop the carrots, do not chop them too small, add them about three minutes after the onions. We make sure that the vegetables do not burn, this will give the pilaf a not very pleasant taste.

Pour in the cumin (no need to grind) and the rest of the spices, add salt immediately, and pour in boiling water. Add 900 grams for now. If suddenly the liquid does not cover the rice, you can add a little more. Cover the cauldron. Now simmer the beef and vegetables over low heat, the water should not evaporate and actively gurgle. The resulting broth with spices and meat is called zirvak. The taste of Uzbek pilaf will depend on it.

After half an hour, add rice to the zirvak. Spread the layer with a spatula, but do not mix with the meat. Stick in the heads of garlic. If the rice peeks out, then add a little water; it should cover the ingredients in the cauldron by half a centimeter.

Close the pilaf and simmer on low heat for 25 minutes. Then turn off the stove. Let the pilaf stand for the same amount of time. We do not lift the lid. Before serving, rice and beef need to be stirred.

You can use a special mixture of spices for Uzbek pilaf; in this case, you determine the quantity yourself according to your taste.

Option 2: Quick recipe for Uzbek pilaf with beef

The multicooker is great for preparing Uzbek pilaf. Thanks to the “Heating” function, the device perfectly protects heat, and the special coating of the bowl will not allow food to burn. Here is the usual Uzbek recipe for pilaf with beef and rice.

Ingredients

700 g beef;
2.5 cups rice;
4 cup boiling water;
4 carrots;
3 onions;
0.5 tbsp. oils;
1 tbsp. l. seasonings for pilaf.

How to quickly cook Uzbek pilaf

Heat the vegetable oil on the “Frying” program. Throw in the chopped beef. Cook for 20 minutes. Add chopped onion and also chopped carrots, let it fry for another ten minutes, add spices for pilaf, stir, pour boiling water.

Close the multicooker and simmer the zirvak for an hour at the appropriate setting. For now you can sort and wash the rice. There is no need to soak it, since our water is strictly according to calculations.

Add rice to the slow cooker and add salt. We close, prepare the Uzbek dish in the “Pilaf” mode until the signal. Then leave it on the heat and let it brew for 15 minutes.

To make the pilaf crumbly, but not dry, it is important to measure out the rice and water in glasses of the same volume.

Option 3: Uzbek pilaf with beef and chickpeas

Chickpeas are a frequent guest in real Uzbek pilaf. This ingredient is added in small quantities, but it greatly changes the presentation of the dish. Another recipe with beef. Soak chickpeas ten hours before cooking. Peas are hygroscopic, pour a lot of water, at least six times more than the product itself.

Ingredients

500 g rice;
100 g chickpeas;
700 g beef;
500 g carrots;
200 g onion;
130 g butter;
1 tbsp. l. pilaf mixtures;
2 laurels;
1 head of garlic.

How to cook

Soak the chickpeas. Before using, wash the peas, place them in a sieve and let them sit. Cut the beef into large pieces, add it to oil heated almost until smoking and fry until crispy.

Chop the onion and add to the beef. We peel the carrots and cut them too, since a grater is not used for preparing pilaf. Add carrots. Let the vegetables lightly fry with the meat, add 700 ml of water, spices for pilaf, and cover. Simmer the beef for at least half an hour.

Pour cold water over the rice several times and then add boiling water. Leave for ten minutes. Drain the liquid. Prepare a head of garlic. Remove the top dirty husk.

We take out a piece of beef and check it. If it is almost ready, then add salt, add chickpeas, add rice, stick in a large head of garlic, throw in a couple of bay leaves. If the water does not cover the rice, it all depends on its moisture content, then add it. The liquid should be one and a half fingers higher than the ingredients.

The pilaf will boil by the end of assembly, turn down the heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. We don't allow it to boil over. Let's brew. If the cauldron is not cast iron or other utensils are used, wrap the pilaf in a blanket.

You can prepare pilaf in a simplified way with canned chickpeas. In this case, you don’t need to soak anything, just drain the liquid and add the peas to the dish according to the recipe.

Option 4: Uzbek pilaf with beef and raisins

Pilaf with a twist in the truest sense of the word. Using this recipe you can prepare a wonderful Uzbek dish with a rich taste and interesting aroma.

Ingredients

700 g beef;
700 g rice;
100 g raisins;
5 g cumin;
2 g coriander;
20 g garlic;
500 g carrots;
4 onions;
170 ml oil.

Step by step recipe

Cut the beef, place it in heated oil, fry a little, add chopped carrots and onions. Cook until the onion is transparent, add a liter of boiling water, cumin and coriander, and let simmer covered for 40 minutes.

We wash the rice five times and soak it in salt water for ten minutes. We also soak the raisins in water, but five minutes is enough.

Add salt to the zirvak, add rice with raisins, and stick in a head of garlic. Oda should cover the food on your finger. Close and simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Let it brew for the same amount of time.

Pilaf is often made not only with raisins, but also with prunes, other dried fruits are added, and sometimes sprinkled with nuts, which perfectly highlight the taste of beef.

Option 5: Uzbek pilaf with beef and fat tail

Fat tail fat is an excellent additive for any pilaf. It is not necessary to cook it with lamb; beef is also suitable. If we managed to get this valuable product, then we begin immediately.

Ingredients

250 g fat tail fat;
1 head of garlic;
500 g beef;
700 g rice;
500 g carrots;
3 onions;
1 hot pepper;
1 spoon of cumin.

How to cook

Cut the fat tail into pieces, but not very finely. Throw it into a cauldron and fry the fat. We take out the cracklings with a slotted spoon and throw them away. Add chopped beef to the cauldron and fry the meat until golden brown.

Cut the carrots into large strips. Chop the onion finer. Add it first, after a couple of minutes add the carrots. After another three minutes, throw in the cumin, throw in a spoonful of salt, pour in boiling water, it should cover the meat. Simmer for 40 minutes.

Soak the rice in salted water and rinse. Add to the cauldron with beef stew. Place the head of garlic in the middle and deepen it. We stick in a pod of hot pepper, do not cut it under any circumstances, leave the tail along with the seeds.

If the water does not cover the rice by two fingers, then add boiling water. It is not advisable to add cold water to pilaf. Cover the cauldron and leave the dish to simmer for 35 minutes.

According to Asian rules, rice for pilaf is washed seven times with cold water. This is done in order to obtain a crumbly dish. If starch remains in the cereal, it will come out during cooking and turn the zirvak into a paste.

Beef pilaf will not only be quick in time (relative to the preparation of many main courses) and simple, but also tasty - this is what I promise in the end. In addition, some do not welcome lamb in the real Uzbek version, while for others pork (here with it) is a heavy version of meat. Therefore, we will focus on juicy Uzbek beef pilaf, in which the rice is separated from the rice. In general, we will cook in a cast-iron saucepan with thick walls, but the cauldron(s) will also not compromise the taste of the dish. This makes pilaf great.

Ingredients:

Beef meat - 400-500 g,
long grain rice - 2/3 cup,
carrots and onions (sizes in the photo) - 2 pcs.,
Weisu spices, vegetable oil - 80-90 grams.

Recipe for cooking beef pilaf in Uzbek style in a cast iron saucepan

We wash the rice 5-6 times (we leave it in the last water, it will come in handy later), use a knife to turn the beef into rectangular cubes, either cut the carrots thinly or tightly with a fine grater, and simply chop the onion.

After draining the vegetable oil into a saucepan and moving the beef there, cover the container with a lid, waiting for the process to continue over low heat for an hour.

Then we move the carrots into their company, leveling them over the surface, and wait the same 10 minutes.

And now the rice, placed in an even layer, will begin to simmer under the lid with all the ingredients in the saucepan. Water will also follow there - along with the rice; it should be at least 150 grams.

The further waiting time will be equal to the time required to cook the rice.

Calories: Not specified
Cooking time: Not indicated

My husband and I recently visited his old friend, he is quite an interesting person in all respects - he travels a lot, is interested in Eastern philosophy and history. That's why I love visiting them - his wife always cooks original delicacies, and he treats us with stories about his adventures.
This time a surprise awaited us, we had no idea why we were invited to visit, we had different thoughts, but this did not occur to us. It turned out that our friend’s mother-in-law, a respectable widow of the strictest views, married a colorful oriental man.
And so, in fact, we were invited to meet the new family member and taste a wonderful dish - real Uzbek pilaf, which the newly-made groom himself prepared. I won’t invent that it was the most delicious pilaf in my life, but I really liked the dish - tender, aromatic, the meat just melts in your mouth and, of course, a correctly selected set of spices completes the flavor composition of this dish.
I wrote down the recipe in detail, finding out all the intricacies of preparing such a dish, and of course, having bought the necessary ingredients, I prepared such pilaf at home. I must say that the dish turned out amazingly tasty and we all really enjoyed it. And there are no difficulties in the technology - you just need to adhere to the recipe and proportions of rice and water, and also choose the right dishes for such a dish. It is best if it is a thick-walled cauldron - then the pilaf will definitely turn out the way you need it!
You can prepare this dish from different meats, but I liked it better from beef - it is not as fatty as pork, and not bland like chicken, which is what you need for pilaf. But you need to choose long-grain rice - it is less starchy, so it will not be sticky during cooking, because this is not acceptable. So, I offer beef pilaf, a step-by-step recipe with photos. Uzbek pilaf is beautiful and tasty, and can become a real decoration for any table.

Ingredients:
- beef meat – 400 g,
- root carrots (large) – 2 pcs.,
- onion – 1 pc.,
- rice (long grain) – 500 g,
- dried cumin spice – 1 tbsp.,
- dried barberry spice – 1 tbsp.,
- sea salt or table salt, medium grind, to taste,
- vegetable oil - 3 tbsp.,
- water.

How to cook with photos step by step

First of all, we strip the meat of veins and fat, wash it and cut it into medium pieces.
Pour oil into the cauldron and bring it to a boil, then add pieces of meat and fry over medium heat until golden brown.

Peel the onion from dry husks and then cut into thin slices. It is best to first cut the onion in half, and then chop it along the grain.
Cut the peeled carrot root into long thin strips. This is easy to do if you first cut the carrots into thin slices diagonally and then chop them into strips.
As soon as the meat is browned, add chopped onion and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Then add the carrots and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Stir and add spices.

We thoroughly rinse the rice with cold water several times; it is very important that the water after the rice is clear, then it will be crumbly.
Pour the prepared rice into the cauldron without mixing it with the meat.

Pour hot salted water on top so that it covers the rice by 1.
5 cm and cook the dish for 10 minutes over medium heat, without covering the cauldron with a lid.

We need the water to completely evaporate.

Then we pile the rice in the cauldron and make a hole in the middle. Cover it first with a towel and then with a lid, reduce the heat to low and simmer the dish for another 20-30 minutes.
Mix the finished dish and serve.

I also advise you to pay attention to the recipe