Pork Pilaf

Typical Pilaf (plov, pilav) is prepared from rice and meat, and seasoned with spices. It is a dish, various recipes of which can be found in Middle Eastern, Central, South Asian and East African cultures, from where it was borrowed to various cuisines: so now dishes similar to pilaf can be found in every country recipes list.

Having roots on the East, original pilaf usually being made from lamb or mutton. However, I believe, it can be made pretty much of any kind of meat: beef, pork, chicken, duck, whatever you prefer.

I am not the big fan of lamb, so I usually prepare pilaf with a pork meat (which is a step away from the original recipe, but I like it). Feel free to replace pork with any other kind of meat you like and create your own pilaf recipe (you may also need to adjust the cooking time accordingly as different kinds of meats requite different time of preparation). Treat yourself to a delicious meal with a hint of orient spices!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb of pork (boneless shoulder part)
• 28 oz pack of basmanti rice
• 3 big carrots
• 2-3 onions
• 3 middle size garlic bulbs
• 1 tbs of ground cumin
• ½ tbs of ground turmeric
• 1 tbs of ground black pepper
• 1 tbs of paprika
• Sunflower or olive oil (about ½ cup)
• Salt to taste

How to make, step-by-step:

1. Prepare ingredients: rinse meat with cold pater, skin carrots and onions, peel the top level of shell from garlic:
   
   

   Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 1

2. Put a big pot (if you have cast iron that would be your best choice, however as you can see I did use other kind) with half of the cup of oil on the moderate heat:
   
   

   Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 2

3. Slice onion into quarter circles:
   
   

   Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 3

4. Add onion to the pot with warmed up oil and fry it (stirring from time to time) till it gains yellow color:
   
   

   Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 4

5. Dice meat into pieces with 1.5” inches big, and add it to the pot, fry meat over for 3-4 mins:
   
   

   Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 5

6. Add all spices – ground cumin, ground turmeric, ground black pepper and paprika:
   
   

   Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 6

7. Add 2 cups of water, cover pot with a lid and stew for 20 mins (reduce heat so water doesn’t boiling too much):
   
   

   Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 7

8. Add sliced carrots, let it boil for 10 mins:
   
   

   Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 8

9. Don’t cover with a lid and don’t stir (actually starting from this point it is important to not stir the dish till it is ready):
   
   

   Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 9

10. Rinse rice with cold water (you may repeat rinsing if water comes out too blurred), pour rice to the cooking pot, level it (but don’t stir!):
    
    

    Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 10

11. Accurately pour warm or hot water till the level when water covers rice for about 0.8 inches, add salt. If you are using cast-iron pot you can also continue cooking in the preheated oven starting from this step:
    
    

    Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 11

12. Cook on the low heat till the moment when rice absorbs all water, then press the garlic bulbs in:
    
    

    Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 12

13. Also make several holes in the rice with a wood stick:
    
    

    Pork Pilaf Recipe: Step 13

14. Cover with a lid and cook till rice is ready (about 20-25 mins), but make sure to not overcook rice, so it doesn’t get too soft. Then turn the heat off and carefully mix whole cooking pot content with wooden spoon. Serve Pork Pilaf hot with no side dish:
    
    

    Pork Pilaf

Bon Appetit!

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