Real Uzbek pilaf is friable rice of a pleasant golden color, large pieces of meat spread around it and spicy spices that emphasize the taste of the dish. It is not always possible to cook it at home. Firstly, this requires a thick-walled cauldron, and secondly, it is recommended to cook it outdoors. But in general, the success of this oriental dish largely depends on how well prepared zirvak. What is, how and how much to cook, we will tell in our article. We will dwell in more detail on spices for pilaf and other nuances that directly affect the taste and aroma of pilaf.
What is zirvak?
In the East, it is believed that the most important part of pilaf is rice. In the finished dish, it should remain crumbly, so only varieties with a low starch content should be selected. Yes, rice is really important. But the basis of this Uzbek pilaf is zirvak. A photo of this part of the dish is presented above. It takes much longer to cook than it takes to cook rice. So what is a zirvak? How to cook it properly to make pilaf tasty?
Zirvak is a thick gravy, or rather a “pillow”, made of vegetables and meat with spices, on which previously soaked and washed rice is laid out. This part of pilaf can be cooked in advance, and then used to prepare the dish itself. In the original, zirvak is made on melted fat tail fat, in which first meat is fried to a golden crust, and then onions and carrots. Then all the ingredients are poured with water and stewed with spices for a certain time. Rice is poured into the finished zirvak.
Cooking recommendations
Experienced chefs have in their piggy bank several useful secrets of cooking this dish:
- An ideal pilaf can only be cooked in a cauldron. In such dishes, the heat spreads evenly, and the heat lasts longer. At home, you can use a goose bowl made of cast iron or an ordinary pan with a thick bottom and walls.
- You can cook real Uzbek pilaf from lamb or beef. Be sure to leave in a saucepan of a sauce of fat of fat, which will give the dish a specific note. As for a certain part of meat, it is better to use the back leg for pilaf, having cut out all the tendons from it.
- Carrots for zirvak need to take as much as meat. Vegetable should be cut into thin cubes. Grated carrots are not suitable for zirvak.
- Water also affects the taste of the base for pilaf. It is recommended to take filtered or bottled. Moreover, it must be used for zirvak, and for soaking rice.
List of ingredients
When all the secrets are revealed, you can begin to prepare the right zirvak for the Uzbek pilaf. It is recommended to buy products on the market, and immediately for a large company. The aroma in the process of preparation is such that all the neighbors will certainly run into the smell. The list of ingredients consists of the following products:
- fat tail fat (mutton fat) - 500 g;
- lamb - 1.5 kg;
- onions - 700 g;
- carrots - 1.5 kg;
- vegetable oil - 500 ml;
- garlic - 3 pcs.;
- salt;
- spice.
Contrary to popular belief, meat in pilaf is not the main product. It certainly does not spoil the dish. It should not be too much. Excess meat interrupts the taste of spices and vegetables. The resulting volume of zirvak will be enough to cook pilaf from 1 kg of rice.
How to choose the right spices?
You can not give a full description of what zirvak is, and not to mention the spices that make pilaf so fragrant and tasty. The most important spice of this dish is considered to be zira (cumin). In cooking, the seeds of this plant are used. To check whether the purchased cumin is a fake, you need to grind the grains between your fingers and feel the aroma.
In addition to zira, other spices are added to the zirvak (located in order of importance after zira):
- barberry - dried berries of the plant are added to pilaf to neutralize fat and give a spicy sour note;
- garlic - enhances the taste and aroma of the finished dish;
- hot pepper - gives the dish a burning taste;
- saffron - gives a light, pleasant aroma and golden color.
Due to the high cost of saffron, turmeric is sometimes used when cooking pilaf at home. For 1 kg of rice and meat, it is usually enough to add half a teaspoon.
Step by step recipe
You can learn about how to cook zirvak from the following detailed instructions:
- Heat the cauldron over high heat.
- Cut fat tail fat into small pieces. Put it in a heated cauldron to melt the fat. At the same time, reduce the fire to medium.
- At this time, cut the lamb into medium-sized pieces.
- Grind onions in half rings, and peeled carrots - in strips.
- Using a slotted spoon, extract the resulting cracklings from the fat that has melted in the cauldron. Pour in vegetable oil and warm it well.
- Put half the onion in the cauldron and hold it in the fat until it turns brown, then remove it with a slotted spoon. Onions will remove unpleasant aroma from the oil.
- Put meat in a cauldron and fry it well from all sides. As soon as the lamb is browned, the onion sliced in half rings is laid out in the oil.
- After 5 minutes put the carrots. Add salt, pepper, mix.
- Pour enough water so that it covers the entire contents of the cauldron.
- Add zira (1-2 tsp). From each head of garlic, cut off the top or bottom and put it directly in the peel in a zirvak.
- After 30 minutes, remove the garlic from the cauldron, and instead add barberry and hot pepper pod (optional). Simmer zirvak until cooked for another 20 minutes. After that, you can lay fig.
How to cook zirvak for pilaf?
The cooking time for aromatic gravy from meat, vegetables and spices is 45-50 minutes. But you must consider what meat is used in the recipe for zirvak for pilaf. For example, to cook gravy from chicken, it will take much less time than from lamb. In this case, 30 minutes will be enough.
Zirvak readiness can be determined by taste and visually. A film of fat forms on the surface, there should be no foam. The correct zirvak should be transparent. If the broth turns cloudy, then the rice absorbs all the moisture and becomes porridge. And this in this pilaf is unacceptable.