What kind of rice do you need?
You need to decide which rice is best for pilaf. To get that same taste of pilaf you need to use the right rice. To prepare pilaf, the cereal should:
- Absorbs water, fat and spice aromas well;
- Keep in shape;
- Don't stick together.
Rice that meets these qualities is best suited for pilaf. But we cannot say that any variety is the best. Local varieties are used for national cuisine. That is, you can specify the best rice for a certain recipe, but not for everyone.
Let's look at the varieties of rice used for pilaf.
Basmati rice pilaf
Basmati
Basmati is a rice grain from India and Pakistan. It is also grown in Iran and Bangladesh. This rice has thin and long grains with a delicate milky aroma. One of the most expensive varieties of rice. The peculiarity of this variety is that it is aged for at least 1 year. Thanks to this drying, the rice becomes very hard. The older the basmati, the more valued it is. Drying of the best varieties reaches 10 years.
When cooked, the grains do not lose their shape.
Cumin, pepper, saffron go well with basmati rice. And thanks to its milky notes, this rice goes well with fruit. According to its qualities, basmati is good for preparing pilaf. This rice absorbs fat and juices well without losing its shape, making the pilaf crumbly.
For Uzbek pilaf
To prepare authentic Uzbek pilaf, you need to take certain types of rice.
There is no better variety of rice for Fergana pilaf than Devzira. This is a local (for the Fergana Valley) variety. The combination of local conditions allows us to grow a unique variety of rice that cannot be found anywhere else.
Characteristic color of Devzira rice
Devzira is aged for a long time after harvesting. A special drying mode is used: the grain is alternately moistened and dried. This drying lasts up to 2-3 years. The grain becomes dense and hard and changes color. The longer Devzira stays in the bins, the harder and more amber the grain will be, the tastier the main dish prepared from it - pilaf - will be. Due to this processing, Devzira turns out to be noticeably heavier than ordinary rice of the same volume. The color of the cereal varies: from pearl-milky to amber-brick. If you squeeze a handful of this rice, you should get a crunch, almost a squeal. The special mineral composition of the soil, cool high-mountain air and a unique microclimate determine the high nutritional properties, amber color and specific taste and smell of this cereal. Devzira absorbs water and fat well. When cooked, the grain expands up to 7 times and holds its shape well. Before cooking, soak for 2-3 hours in hot water, 60 degrees, and wrap the dishes to keep the temperature longer.
Chungara rice
A subspecies of Devzira is Chungara . It got its name from the village of Chungara. Similar to Devzira in everything, but more starchy and opaque when finished.
Lazar rice . This creamy white long grain rice is starchy and quite soft. Its feature of not being completely saturated with zirvak may not appeal to everyone. Although the rice is very tasty. The rice holds its shape well and cooks quickly.
Fragile grains require care when washing. It is better to rinse only with running water. You need to rinse until the water is clear. Lazar quickly takes up water and does not need to be soaked for a long time. 40 minutes is enough. This is very convenient: you can soak the rice before preparing zirvak, and it will arrive when needed.
Alanga is a popular variety of short-grain rice for Uzbek pilaf. The variety is inexpensive. The grains are round, dense, smaller than Devzira. Alanga rice does not need to be soaked; just rinse it. Absorbs water well and the grain grows 2 times.
Krasnodar
Krasnodar rice is the most widely available and widespread. Available in both long-grain and round-grain forms. Has medium starchiness. With some reservations it can be used for pilaf. Be sure to wash Krasnodar rice and soak it before adding it to pilaf. It is possible to get a crumbly pilaf structure with this type of rice, but the taste may differ from the authentic one.
Long or round
There are general patterns in the quality of rice due to the shape of the grain. Long-grain cereals have an elongated shape. The color can be transparent, milky or brown. Transparent rice is most prized. If you did everything correctly, then the pilaf from such grains will come out crumbly. Round rice or round grain rice, as the name suggests, has rounded grains. The usual color is white. This rice is predominantly starchy and sticks together when cooked. Not recommended for pilaf, with the exception of certain varieties.
Steamed
There are also pre-processed, steamed cereals on the shelves. Rice is steamed to preserve nutrients. In addition, rice does not stick together when cooked, which is important for preparing pilaf. Steaming does not affect the cooking speed. This rice needs to be cooked for 25-30 minutes. The taste of parboiled rice depends on the variety.
And yet, which rice is better for pilaf, steamed or not?
There are no steamed cereals in oriental recipes. The taste and aroma of the dish are achieved with local products. We, far from Central Asia, are forced to experiment with our local cereals or order completely expensive authentic ones. Steamed cereal gives a guaranteed crumbly pilaf. But we recommend not to stop and learn how to make pilaf from pilaf varieties of rice according to national recipes.
For pilaf in a cauldron
Cooking pilaf in a cauldron is practically no different from cooking in a pressure cooker, frying pan or saucepan. On the contrary, using other utensils other than a cauldron requires additional tricks to ensure that the pilaf comes out as it should.
What kind of rice is needed for pilaf in a cauldron:
- Basmati, Devzira, Sadri;
- Lazarus, Arborio, Jasmine;
- Nishiki, Krasnodar, Bomb.
Does shape matter? Which one to choose: round or long?
On store shelves we often find varieties of rice according to the shape of the grains. It would seem, what's the difference? But for preparing a tasty and aromatic dish, these differences are important.
Long grain rice (devzira, scald) is the best product for pilaf. Most often sold in supermarkets or from traders of oriental herbs and spices.
The advantages of long grains are:
- The density of the structure allows it to hold its shape during cooking;
- Clear separation of grains of the prepared dish;
- Fast hardening process after cooling;
If you don’t have time to search or money to buy, then regular long-grain rice is quite suitable. It may not be ideal pilaf, but it is certainly more beautiful and tastier than round pilaf.
Round grain cereal is absolutely not suitable for preparing oriental dishes, despite the fact that it is the most consumed rice in the whole world. It contains a lot of starch, which swells and sticks the grains together during heat treatment. The round-grained product is more suitable for making sushi and sweet desserts.
How much is needed, proportions
One of the secrets in properly preparing pilaf is a clear ratio of the proportions of ingredients and water. Determining how much rice you need is one of the secrets of delicious pilaf. A lot depends on your products, and no one can tell you the exact proportions. But there are established ratios of rice with water and with meat in pilaf that you can rely on. With experience, the recipe will change to suit your taste and the products you can buy for pilaf.
To the meat
In real Uzbek pilaf, everything is put in equal parts, that is, 1 kilogram of meat (with fat tail), 1 kilogram of chopped carrots and 1 kilogram of rice. For those who want a more “festive” option, add less rice: for 1 kilogram of meat, 600 grams of rice, no more.
Relation to water
A large amount of water in pilaf turns it into porridge, or even a thick soup. The total water needed for rice is 2:1. But you need to take into account the water that the rice took during soaking and the juices of zirvak. On average, for 4 servings of pilaf you need to take 3 cups of rice and 5 cups of water.
How much water to add
When choosing the proportions of water in pilaf, you need to take into account the type of rice and some features of the cereal. If you decide to use steamed rice that has been pre-soaked, then you need to pour water in a 1:1 ratio to rice. If steamed rice is added dry - 2:1. For short grain rice, use equal amount of water. With more quantity it will boil into mush. For brown varieties, you need to pour 3 parts of water to 1 part of the cereal. If using Basmati variety - 1 ⅔ parts water. For the Devzira variety, a ratio of 1:2 will be suitable. The most water is needed for the so-called wild rice, black varieties. For 1 part rice you will need 4 parts water. In addition, these varieties take the longest to soak: overnight.
Preparation
It would be wrong to pour rice into the zirvak without preparation. To make pilaf and not porridge with meat, the rice needs to be prepared.
Do not use a colander to soak rice
How to soak
It is necessary to wash the rice. This is to remove starch powder, which will turn into a paste in the finished dish. In addition, there may be dust, chemicals and other nasty things on the surface of the cereal.
Long grain rice varieties are easy to break when washed. It's better not to interfere with your hands at all, let running water do all the work. And only when this is not enough, is it permissible to stick your palm under the rice and stir it to help wash it.
Do not rub the rice between your palms when washing.
You need to rinse until you get clean water. Completely clean.
After proper washing, the cereal needs to be soaked. so that it takes in water and cooks in the pilaf not for too long.
Many people are interested in: how long to soak? In soft varieties of rice, saturation can occur in thirty minutes, in hard varieties (devzira, basmati) - in about two hours.
When soaked, rice that has absorbed water will absorb less fat, and the pilaf will be lighter. Do not over-soak it in water, otherwise the rice will cook in the pilaf too quickly. The ability to determine when rice has received enough water will come with experience.
What kind of water to fill
Dry cereal quickly absorbs any water. We recommend not soaking in tap water, but using salted drinking water - this will improve the taste. Use warm salted water in a 3:1 ratio to rice.
Take tasty water - the rice will absorb it and this will affect the taste of the pilaf. A little, but it will have an impact.
The water temperature is no more than 60 degrees Celsius. Add 2 tablespoons of salt to 3 liters of water.
If you fill it with rice, you feel that the water smells bad - change it.
Is it worth frying?
Yes, this method of preparing rice for pilaf exists. The rice is not washed, but fried, which causes some of the starch and powder to caramelize, and more of the B vitamins contained in the grain shell are retained. They are prepared only from rice, not of glassy varieties, but of chalky varieties, which are highly boiled and have a low coefficient of water absorption. In a cauldron with a spherical bottom, put a tablespoon of melted butter per 1 kilogram of rice; when it melts, add the rice and fry, stirring constantly with a slotted spoon, until it acquires a pinkish tint. When using fried rice, you need to add more water to the pilaf.
How to wash rice for pilaf
If you do not prepare the cereal for cooking, you can ruin the entire dish. How to prepare rice for pilaf? The first thing that needs to be done is to remove the maximum amount of starch; for this purpose, the rice is poured with hot water (without soaking) and immediately drained. This procedure is repeated up to 5 times until the liquid becomes transparent. In this case, you can add turmeric to the last water, which will color it in a beautiful tone and imbue the grains with a light, pleasant taste.
How to cook cereal? To make it swell, leave the grains (except for steamed ones) in water for 30-60 minutes. If you choose Devzira or Samarkand, it is better to soak the rice longer. Experienced chefs believe that almost any variety is suitable for preparing Uzbek dishes, the main thing is to prepare the grains correctly, so this aspect should not be ignored.
How to cook
First of all, you need to clarify: there is no need to cook rice separately, completely or partially, and then mix it with zirvak. It won't be pilaf.
The rice is placed in the cauldron when the zirvak is ready. Whether or not to add spices, when to add chickpeas or dried fruits, etc. depends on the recipe individually. But in pilaf there is a general method of cooking that concerns rice.
How long to cook rice: Cook soaked rice in pilaf for 15-20 minutes, depending on the variety.
- Use a cauldron.
- Select the right rice and prepare it.
- Don't disturb the rice. Do not disturb it with a slotted spoon until the pilaf is cooked, do not even look under the lid again. Rice in pilaf is steamed rather than boiled.
- Pour in as much water as needed.
- Pour boiling water.
- For your rice, find exactly how much water it needs and how long it takes to cook, and don't mess it up.
- Heat: if, say, rice is cooked in pilaf for 15 minutes: 3 minutes - high heat, 7 minutes - medium, 2 minutes - low.
- After removing the cauldron from the heat, leave the pilaf covered for 10-20 minutes. It is good to line the lid with a towel so that steam and heat do not escape.
How to make it crumbly
What to do to make the pilaf lush? After all, you don’t want porridge with meat, but pilaf. There are conditions that, if not met, may prevent you from getting fluffy rice:
- Choose glassy varieties that hold their shape well.
- Rice needs to be washed. The water should drain clear. It was as if it had never gone through the rice. Do not rub the rice with your hands - this breaks the grains.
- Don't overcook the pilaf.
- Do not add more water than necessary.
- Do not stir the pilaf until cooked.
Devzira and its types
Devzira is a lightly polished rice native to Central Asia. The high content of amylose, one of the main polysaccharides of starch, makes the grain denser and provides rice with an incredible ability to absorb liquid and odors during cooking, while the weight and volume of the grain can increase several times. Depending on the place of growth, year of harvest, raw materials and method of grain processing, devzira varieties differ in color, hardness, grain shape and its properties.
In Russia, the most famous are red (various shades of red-brown) and white (can be light pearl, cream, ivory, pinkish or yellowish) devzira.
The red color of the grain is due to the soil pigment characteristic of the clayey soils of the place of growth - the Fergana Valley. Due to weak processing, this pigment is retained on the cereal. The historical method of processing devzira involved the use of exclusively manual labor. The scales were peeled off the grains manually or using a machine powered by water. Over time, more modern equipment began to be used for hulling (husking) rice, which leaves significantly less flour on the grain. As a result of more thorough grinding, the color of the grain itself also becomes lighter.
The birthplace of the white devzira (known in Uzbekistan as ok-devzira, “ok” means “white” in Uzbek) is considered to be Kyrgyzstan. The second name of this variety is Chungara. The grains are covered with a matte-transparent flour, and after washing they become very light and acquire a pearlescent tint. During cooking, Chungari grains increase in volume by almost 2–2.5 times and become longer than those of other devzira varieties. Chungara is also divided into several varieties depending on the quality of the grain. At the eastern bazaar, the best and most expensive will be gap-yuk, which in Uzbek literally means “no talking.” Literally - “unconditionally the best Chungara, don’t even doubt it.”
In addition to red and white, there are also quite exotic varieties of devzira, known only to local residents, fine connoisseurs of Uzbek cuisine and real rice gourmets. Devzira dastar-saryk has a yellowish tint, which appears as a result of smoking the grain. And the main distinguishing feature of one of the most expensive types of devzira kora-koltak, or bark-kiltirik, is its black color, which is given to the cereal by black veins on the grains. Devzira also includes varieties of rice such as honobod, joydari, tozashi, ok-tuprock, eski-sholi, etc.
If it didn't work out
So, what you feared happened: it turned out to be tasty, but a porridge with meat. There is nothing that can be done to correct anything at this point. But you need to draw conclusions and not give up culinary experiments.
The rice in the pilaf may stick together, or, on the contrary, it may be dry.
Why does it turn out like porridge?
Pilaf turns into mush for several reasons. Rice grains lose their shape:
- More water than necessary. For example, rice was soaked longer than necessary or excess water was poured into the pilaf.
- The pilaf was overcooked.
- The rice was originally crushed. Or, when washing, long grain rice was broken by rubbing it between the palms.
Lots of starch:
- Poor quality washing of rice, and rice powder got into the pilaf.
- Starchy variety. Here, either refuse such rice or try to fry it before preparing pilaf.
- We disturbed the pilaf with a slotted spoon, and the cooked rice crumbs fell into the broth and thickened the pilaf.
- And a common, common mistake: the recipe is violated, the proportions and temperature conditions are not followed.
If you are unsure of your abilities, but want to cook pilaf, we recommend starting with steamed rice - it is difficult to make it sticky.
Ratio of rice and water for pilaf
Proportions should be selected taking into account the method of preparing the dish. For example, according to the Uzbek recipe, there should be less liquid than other ingredients: for 400 g of meat and the same amount of rice, take up to 700 ml of water (including zirvak - broth). How to cook an Azerbaijani dish? The proportions of rice and water for pilaf are calculated differently, since all the ingredients are prepared separately and only at the end mixed in one container. In this case, you should take three times more liquid than cereal. When cooking in a slow cooker, pour water so that it covers the cereal by 2 cm.
