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Cooked Rice Pilaf with vegetables and meat
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Rice Pilaf Recipe - How to Make Rice Pilaf

Rice pilaf recipe is a simple and easy rice dish made by cooking long-grain rice in meat broth with some vegetables or meat without the rice being mushy. Pilaf rice is also called rice pilau (in the UK). There are so many variations to making rice pilaf depending on the region and each region of the world has something peculiar about how they make their own rice pilaf recipe.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Eastern Europe, Iran, Latin America, Middle East, Wordwide
Keyword Pilaf, Pilaf Recipes, Rice Pilaf, Rice Pilaf Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 5 people
Calories 650kcal
Author Razi Brown

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Basmati rice - or any long grain rice.
  • 400 grams lamb
  • 7 whole carrots - medium-sized carrots and sliced
  • 2 tbsp fruit raisins
  • 1 whole onion - large and sliced
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper powder
  • 3 cloves garlic - minced
  • 4 tbsp fat - lard, butter, ghee (clarified butter), or shortening.
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Slice your carrots and onions into thin strands
    Slice the carrots into thin strands
  • Place a pot on the stovetop and add 4 tbsp of fat; allow it to heat up and then go in with the sliced onions.
    Fry the onions until they are brown
  • Keep the fried onions aside
    Keep fried onions aside
  • Add the lamb and also fry until it is brown.
    Fry the lamb in the fat until it is brown in color
  • Once the lamb is brown, add the minced garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds.
    Fried lamb used in rice pilaf recipe
  •  Now, add the sliced carrots, fruit raisins
    Add carrots and fruit raisins
  • Add 250 ml of meat broth. Cover and cook for 15 minutes to soften the carrots and the meat.
    Add meat broth and cook the meat further with carrots
  • While the meat and carrots are cooking, start washing the basmati rice. Wash thoroughly with clean water several times until the water is clear. This helps to reduce the starch content of the Basmati rice and therefore makes the rice pilaf non-sticky and separate when cooked. When you are done washing the Basmati rice, drain in a colander and keep aside.
    Wash the rice to reduce the starch in it
  • After 15 minutes, season the rice pilaf recipe with ¼ tsp of cinnamon powder, 1 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of black pepper powder, and 1 tsp of salt. Stir all the rice pilaf seasonings to combine with the meat and carrots.
    Add the rice pilaf seasoning
  • Next, add the drained Basmati rice and spread it evenly over the meat and carrot.
    Add the drained basmati rice
  • Add 2 cups of meat broth to just cover the top of the rice. Adding liquid to rice pilaf should be minimal. It is better you add a little at a time than adding much liquid which makes the rice pilaf mushy and sticky.
    Add meat broth and cook the rice pilaf
  • Cover and cook the pilaf rice for 25 minutes or until the liquid has dried up. Do not stir the rice once it has started cooking; stirring breaks the grains. Once the liquid dries up, your rice pilaf is ready.
    Cooked rice pilaf with vegetables
  • After 25 minutes, your easy rice pilaf is ready. You can sprinkle the fried onions over it and further cook for two or three minutes to warm up the fried onions. The classic rice pilaf should be firm, the grains of rice should be separate, and no mushiness.
    Add the fried onions

Video

Notes

This rice pilaf recipe was based on the Afghanistan style of cooking pilaf. There are so many methods and variations of cooking rice pilaf. The ingredients for each variation differ, so also the methods of cooking. 
Though the ingredients vary, what makes any rice recipe to be termed pilaf is the fact that the cooked rice grains should be separate, firm, non-sticky, and fluffy. Spices, vegetables, or meat does not define whether a rice recipe should be called pilaf or not.