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Prepared by: AlenaPrika
10/19/2019 Cooking time: 1 hour 0 min
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You can create a flavorful pilaf right in the pumpkin by baking the vegetable in the oven if you have free time. The type of meat can be any. Serve juicy pilaf with sour cream or mayonnaise, classic yogurt.
Good to know
To make pumpkin pilaf successful, you need to choose the right ingredients. The pumpkin should be ripe and have a firm rind without damage. If the pumpkin is large, you can cut it in half and use the halves to make pilaf.
Don't throw away pumpkin seeds; they are very healthy, especially when eaten raw. But you can fry the peeled seeds a little and add them to cereals, salads and baked goods.
It is necessary to remove some of the pulp, but do not leave too thin a layer on the walls, otherwise the pumpkin will fall apart during baking.
Another important ingredient of the dish is rice. There are many varieties of cereals, but not all are suitable for making pilaf. Pilaf, unlike porridge, should be crumbly, not viscous. Rice for pilaf should contain a minimum amount of gluten.
Basmati, Jasmine, and Krasnodar rice varieties meet these conditions. You need to choose varieties with long grains. A steamed version of cereal, as well as brown rice, is also suitable. Less commonly, pilaf is prepared from other types of cereals - pearl barley, bulgur.
Interesting facts: pumpkin began to be used for making dishes in ancient times. They were used to make jugs for storing water and milk. It was believed that milk stored in pumpkin jugs lasts much longer.
Pilaf in pumpkin, cooked in the oven
For pumpkin pilaf cooked in the oven to be tasty, you will need a round pumpkin with a dense crust weighing about 2.5 kg.
- 1 pumpkin;
- 1 kg boneless beef;
- 1.5 cups rice;
- 1 onion;
- 2 carrots;
- 80 ml vegetable oil;
- 25 gr. butter;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- salt, pepper to taste.
Choose a suitable pumpkin and wash it thoroughly. We cut off the top of the lid; if desired, you can cut the lid into a shape, for example, in the form of an asterisk. Remove seeds and fibers, as well as some of the pulp. We have a “pot” in which we will make pilaf.
Let's start cooking on the stove. Place a cauldron or thick-bottomed pan on the fire and pour in vegetable oil. Place the meat, cut into cubes, into the heated oil. Fry until a crust forms.
Chop the onion finely, cut the carrots into thin strips. Add the vegetables to the meat and cook everything together until the vegetables are soft. Salt and pepper to taste.
Rice needs to be boiled until half cooked. Be sure to add salt during the cooking process. Then place in a colander and rinse.
Place meat and vegetables on the bottom of the pumpkin. Gently distribute the rice on top. There is no need to add water; there is enough moisture in the pumpkin for the cereal to cook until cooked. Place pieces of butter on top. Press two cloves of garlic (whole) into the thickness of the rice. You can sprinkle pilaf seasoning on top or add a little saffron.
Cooking process
A mixture of durum rice varieties (long grain, steamed, wild) is well suited for pilaf. But you can only get by with long-grained one; it is ideal for preparing pilaf.
Rinse the rice well, the water should be clear.
Pour 200 ml of water into the washed rice. Leave the rice to soak in the water until needed. Rice can be poured several hours before cooking, then it will cook faster.
The hardest part of this recipe is carefully cutting out the top of the pumpkin.
