Pilaf in Tajin.
Pilaf in a Tagine.
Hello.
Any pilaf, whether cooked in a cauldron, in a tagine, or on skewers, is primarily about cooking rice.
Therefore, thoroughly rinse 350 grams of rice in warm water and soak it, preferably an hour or two before cooking.
Use any rice you like, but don't overdo it!
Next, since we're making a classic tagine, we'll cook the pilaf the classic way—over coals.
To do this, light a small fire and get the coals ready.
Meanwhile, cut the meat into portions; in this case, 350 grams of fatty pork ribs.
Yes, yes, Soviet citizens made authentic Asian pilaf from pork, and even with lard, no matter how off-putting that might be today!
…Historically, pilaf was prepared in three stages:
1. Fry the meat over high heat (seal it); 2. The fried meat, onions, and carrots were stewed with spices and water (this was called zirvak);
3. The rice was added and steamed until done over very low heat (simmering).
These manipulations are dictated by the rational use of firewood to extract the maximum amount of heat from the fuel.
A certain amount of firewood was lit under a cauldron, and the meat was immediately fried. Then, as the flame intensity decreased, the stewing process began, and the pilaf was simmered over the coals until done.
While a tagine can handle the last two stages of pilaf preparation, quite simply no worse than a cauldron, the first stage can be challenging.
But we simply take skewers and fry fatty pork ribs until golden brown using the heat of the fire, that's all.
...Do you think this recipe could be called "pilaf on skewers"?
While the pork shashlik is frying, chop 350 grams of carrots and 100 grams of onion.
Place the tagine on the coals, pour in about 80 grams of regular refined sunflower oil, and fry the onion until golden brown.
You can use any other fat or fryer: cottonseed oil, lard, lamb fat tail, etc.
Add 350 grams of coarsely chopped carrots and continue frying the vegetables.
After a few more minutes, add the fried pork to the tagine.
After a while, when all these ingredients have had time to combine their flavors, add a little boiling water and simmer the zirvak.
Finally, you can and should start using the lid. At this stage, add salt to the future pilaf, a head of garlic, a hot pepper pod (fresh or dried), and other spices to taste, such as cumin.
Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Then add the rinsed rice (350 grams) to the tagine and carefully add a little boiling water.
Boiling water is needed to maintain the temperature of the dish and keep it simmering.
Remember, we're saving money, right?
We don't want to relight the fire and waste wood.
Now, the main task of pilaf in a tagine (and not only) remains: making it as fluffy as possible.
To do this, add just enough water to absorb the rice by the time it's fully cooked.
If you add more water, you'll get rice porridge, but it's still very tasty.
Too little water is also bad. The dilemma is further exacerbated by the fact that some moisture constantly evaporates; this parameter is not static and is difficult to control.
To minimize this problem, it's best to add hot boiled water as it evaporates.
Also, to ensure the pilaf turns out fluffy, rinse the rice thoroughly and avoid adding too many onions during cooking.
And remember that after removing the tagine from the coals, the pilaf will continue to cook for a long time. Even a thick-walled cast-iron cauldron is frankly "unfit" for this heat capacity parameter of red clay.
Thank you for your attention!
And Bon Appétit!
#Pilaf #Tagine #FAT