2022 Fall International Cook-Off Central Asia recipe

Entrée- Central Asian Pilaf

• Ingredients: (Servings: 10)
  • 1 kg long grain rice 
  • 1 kg lamb 
  • 1 kg carrots
  • • 300 ml vegetable oil
  •  4 small onions
  • 2 small dry hot peppers
  •  garlic
  • 1 tbsp. dried barberry
  • 1 tbsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander seed
  •  salt
• Recipe:
  • Step 1: Rinse rice for pilaf in a cauldron with cold water, changing it several times. The last water after washing should remain completely transparent. Rice is ready.
  • Step 2: Wash lamb for pilaf and cut it into cubes. Peel 3 onions and all carrots. Cut the onion into thin half rings, carrots into long bars 1 cm thick. Peel the garlic from the top husk, but do not divide into cloves.
  • Step 3: Heat a cauldron or a thick-walled pan, pour in the oil and ignite it until a light haze appears.
  •  Step 4: Prepare zirvak (pilaf base). Put the chopped onion into the cauldron and, stirring, fry until dark golden brown for 5-7 minutes. Make sure it does not burn.
  • Step 5: Add chopped lamb to the onion. Stirring with a spatula, fry the zirvak ingredients until golden brown. This may take about 10-15 minutes. Step 6: Add the carrots to the cauldron with onion and meat. Fry without stirring for 3 minutes. Then mix the entire contents of the cauldron and cook for 10 minutes, stirring lightly with a spatula.
  • Step 7: Rub the cumin and coriander with your fingers or pestle. Add pilaf to zirvak along with barberry and salt to taste. You can add a little more salt than you are used to: rice will absorb the excess.
  • Step 8: Reduce heat to medium and cook until carrots are tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Pour boiling water into the cauldron with a layer of 2 cm. Put hot pepper. Reduce heat and simmer zirvak for 1 hour. Step 9: Rinse the rice again, let it drain. Put the rice on the pilaf zirvak in an even layer, increase the heat to the maximum and pour boiling water through the slotted spoon into the cauldron so that it covers the rice with a layer of 3 cm.
  • Step 10: Once all the water has been absorbed, press the garlic cloves (up to halfway) into the rice. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the pilaf is cooked under the lid.
  • Step 11: Lightly hit the rice with a slotted spoon. If the sound from the blow is deaf, make several punctures in the rice with a thin stick to the very bottom. Thus, steam will escape through the holes.
  • Step 12: Level the surface, cover the pilaf with a large flat plate, and top with a lid. Reduce the heat to a minimum and leave the pilaf on fire for 30 minutes.