Ingredients for 10 servings
- Dry barberry 20 g
- Water 640 ml
- Zira (Cumin) dry 1 tsp.
- Light raisins 20 g
- Dark raisins 50 g
- Dry coriander 1 tsp.
- Dried apricots 100 g
- Chicken drumstick 350 g
- Turmeric 1 tsp.
- Thin lavash 1 pc.
- Onions 2 pcs.
- Refined olive oil 2 tbsp. l.
- Butter 70 g
- Ghee 40 g
- Carrot 1 pc.
- Basmati rice 250 g
- Salt 1 tsp.
- Dried dates 100 pcs.
- Garlic 3 cloves
Ingredients for pilaf with dried fruits
As mentioned above, the composition of ingredients can vary significantly depending on the recipe. Above was the traditional version, including a minimum set of products, herbs and spices.
In one of the regions of Azerbaijan, shah-pilaf (photo above) is prepared contrary to the principle of separating the cereal and meat components. Here it is customary to place the ingredients in a cauldron, alternating them, so that during the baking process they are saturated with the smell and taste of each other.
Now we invite you to try pilaf with dried fruits. Prunes, dried apricots, raisins - all this is very popular not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the East in general. Dried fruits retain their aroma and taste, moreover, it becomes even richer. In traditional cuisine, such a dish is usually called turschi-kaurma-pilaf. Chestnuts in this case are an optional component and may be missing. So, in order to prepare traditional Azerbaijani (5 servings), you will need:
- basmati rice - 500 g;
- fatty lamb - 500 g;
- butter - 500 g;
- onions - 300 g;
- cherry plum paste - 3 tbsp;
- chestnuts - 200 g;
- dried apricots - 150 g;
- raisins - 300 g;
- lavash - 8-10 pcs.;
- pepper, saffron, salt - to taste.
Preparing the filling for Khan's pilaf
Let's prepare the filling with which we will fill the royal pilaf in pita bread (or dough). Cut the meat across the grain into medium pieces 3-4 centimeters wide. Place pieces of tail fat in a dry frying pan and render the fat well (the cracklings must be removed so that they do not give the finished treat the taste of burnt meat). Add a piece of butter and, when it is well heated, add the prepared lamb to the fat. You can replace it with young veal. When the meat is fried until golden brown, cover it with a lid and reduce the heat so that it simmers slightly and becomes softer. Place it on a separate plate.
Peel the onion, chop it into thin rings and fry until soft in hot oil. Add cumin, spices and a little salt, stir. Chop the carrots into strips, add them to the onions, stir and let them brown slightly for 1-2 minutes. Add the fried meat, the rest of the dried fruits, spices and seasonings and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, you can add a little water if necessary. Cook until the liquid evaporates; place the filling on the rice.
This pilaf recipe can be changed by removing meat and vegetables from the ingredients, and adding a little honey or sugar syrup instead of salt and spices. This way you will get another wonderful treat - sweet pilaf made from dried fruits.
Spread the filling over the entire surface and carefully fold the edges of the dough so that it completely covers the contents of the mold. If necessary, trim off excess dough from edges. If you are using pita bread, wrap the strips clockwise, overlapping them. Place the pilaf in the oven and cook for 50 minutes at a temperature of 150-160 degrees.
When the crust is slightly dry, remove the pan and grease with the remaining piece of butter. For even oiling, it is better to use a pastry brush. Increase the temperature to 180 degrees and bring the treat until fully cooked (the top crust should be a beautiful golden color).
It is recommended to serve pilaf on a round or oval-shaped dish, cutting the dough into 8-12 pieces in a circle into equal sectors (like a cake). Carefully bend the edges of the dough to make a semblance of a crown and serve the royal treat to the table.
Shah - Azerbaijani pilaf: ingredients
Of course, the most delicious pilaf comes from products that are produced in its homeland. The market is perhaps the most suitable place to buy them. The products there are mostly homemade, fresh and very tasty. The main component of pilaf is rice. A long-grain variety such as basmati is best. The second important component is meat. It could be lamb, beef or chicken. The choice depends on your personal preferences. Don't forget about butter too. You will need quite a lot of it. In Azerbaijan, buffalo butter is often used, which has a characteristic, completely white color.
In order to prepare Shah-pilaf in Azerbaijani style (photo according to the text), you will need another extremely original ingredient - an iron horseshoe. For what? Read on and find out one ancient secret.
So, the necessary ingredients:
- basmati rice - 500 g;
- butter - 500 g;
- meat - 500 g;
- spicy onion - 300 g;
- walnuts - 500 g;
- pomegranate juice - 1 glass (can be squeezed from ripe fresh fruit);
- cherry plum puree - 1 tbsp;
- lavash - 5 pcs.;
- saffron to taste.
Recipe for Royal Azerbaijani Shah Plov
6-8 servings
1 hour 30 minutes-2 hours
256 kcal
5/5 (4)
The centuries-old traditions of the Azerbaijani people and borrowings from Georgian, Turkish, Persian and Arab cultures have given us original dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine. Pilaf in lavash, or, as it is also called, Shah-pilaf - royal Azerbaijani pilaf, is the pride of Azerbaijani cuisine.
Each region of the country has its own peculiarities of its preparation, but the main ingredient remains “gazmakh” - this is the crispy crust of lavash, in which it is cooked.
Proportions of juicy meat, fluffy rice, aromatic spices and dried fruits in a crispy lavash crust, proven over centuries, reveal the hospitality of the East . This kind of pilaf is prepared for dear guests and for the most special occasions.
Let's prepare shah-pilaf according to a step-by-step recipe with photos.
Recipe with photo of Shah-pilaf in Azerbaijani style
Kitchen utensils: cauldron or thick-walled saucepan, cutting board, brush, knife, frying pan, saucepan, bowl.
Kidney cut of lamb or beef | 500-700 g |
Medium onion | 2-3 pcs. |
Long grain rice | 500 g |
Butter | 250-300 g |
Turmeric | 1 tsp. |
Saffron | taste |
Dried apricots | 150 g |
Raisins (kishmish) | 150 g |
Chestnuts | 6-8 pcs. |
Salt | taste |
Lavash thin | 4 sheets |
- Rinse the meat, remove the films and cut into small pieces with a side of 2-3 cm.
- Peel two medium onions and cut into half rings.
- Rinse the rice, changing the water 5-6 times until it becomes clear. Fill the washed rice with water in a ratio of 1 to 2, add salt and add a little saffron (do not add a lot, otherwise the rice will turn bright orange and taste unpleasant). Cook for 6-9 minutes until half cooked. Wash dried fruits and pour boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and dry them.
- Melt butter (250-300 grams) in a thick-walled saucepan.
- Place the frying pan on the heat and add 5-6 tablespoons of melted butter. When the pan is hot, fry the onion until caramelized and add 1 teaspoon of turmeric.
- Add the meat to the onion and lightly fry it. Add some salt.
- When the meat is fried, add prepared dried fruits to the frying pan: dried apricots (150 g), sultanas (150 g) and fried peeled chestnuts (6-8 pieces). Mix everything and fry a little.
- Using a brush, generously brush thin pita breads (4 pieces) with melted butter on both sides and cover the cauldron so that the sheets hang over the edge of the cauldron. This is necessary in order to cover the pilaf on top later.
- Place some of the rice into the prepared cauldron.
- Place the entire contents of the pan on top: meat with onions, chestnuts and dried fruits and pour out the resulting juice.
- Place the remaining rice on top and smooth it out.
- Cover the surface with the hanging edges of the pita bread and pour 5-6 tablespoons of melted butter. Cover the cauldron with a lid.
- Place the covered cauldron in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 1 hour.
- Serve hot on a large platter, cutting the toasted pita into petals.
Only at first glance, the recipe for making shah pilaf in lavash seems complicated and incomprehensible, but after watching the video, you will be convinced that this is not the case. Watch, cook and surprise your dear guests.
https://www..com/watch?v=5SdkOuq2TiM
Choosing the right ingredients
The main ingredient of pilaf is rice, so pay special attention to its quality. The most suitable is Fergana rice “Devzira” , but its absence can be replaced with “Basmati” or “Krasnodar” rice. As a last resort, you can use any steamed rice.
Choose firmer long grain rice varieties. It is not necessary to soak the rice, you just need to sort it out and rinse it well.
Cooking tips and tricks
To give your pilaf a pleasant yellow color, add saffron to the water when boiling rice . Just remember that any spice should be added in small quantities. This especially applies to saffron: if you overdo it, the pilaf will turn out bright orange and taste unpleasant.
The best utensils for cooking pilaf are considered to be a cauldron or a thick-walled deep frying pan with a tight-fitting lid. If you want to make sure of this, cook pork pilaf in a cauldron on the stove, and if you prefer chicken meat, then pilaf with chicken in a frying pan.
Not so long ago, modern housewives got a new excellent helper - a multicooker. It makes cooking very easy and saves time, and the pilaf cooked in it turns out crumbly and rich. Try cooking pilaf in the Redmond multicooker or pilaf in the Polaris multicooker.
I told you how to cook shah pilaf, and I think you will definitely want to gather your friends, your family and relatives around a large round table and treat them to such a noble and rich treat. Bon appetit.
Source: https://www.alizy.club/myaso-i-ptitsa/plov-i-rizotto/shah.html
Ingredients
Azerbaijani royal pilaf is usually prepared from young lamb meat. If desired, it can be replaced with any poultry or veal. Shah pilaf can also be prepared in a sweet version, without adding meat at all, but this will no longer be a classic recipe, but one of its variations.
To prepare 6 servings you will need:
- Lamb - 1 kg;
- Devzira or basmati rice - 1 kg;
- Butter - 3-4 tbsp. l.;
- Onions - 1-2 pcs.;
- Carrots - 2 pcs.;
- Dried fruits, raisins, chestnuts, dried apricots - 350 g;
- Salt - to taste.
How to cook Shah pilaf
Before preparing pilaf, preheat the oven well, otherwise it may turn out dry.
The classic shah pilaf is decorated with ruddy gazmah - a thin, delicate dough crust, but in some versions you can prepare this dish using thin pita bread. To make a treat according to a real Azerbaijani recipe, first of all, gazmah is prepared from flour, oil and water.
Place the oil in a convenient container and heat it well. When the butter has cooled to room temperature, add salt, flour and water and knead into a soft, elastic dough. You can find out what consistency the dough for gazmakh should be by looking at the recipe with a photo. Wrap the resulting dough in a plastic bag and set aside for 40 minutes until it becomes smooth and pliable. After this, you can divide it into several small parts, roll it into a thin layer and place it in a baking dish for pilaf.
Khan pilaf with meatballs
This is a variation on the theme of khan-pilaf or shakh-pilaf in lavash.
It is served like this - each person is given a piece of crispy flatbread, pilaf with meatballs and a piece of fragrant fried bacon on a plate.
Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
- Minced beef - 500 gr
- Onion - 1 pc.
- Flour, salt, pepper
For the test:
- Hot water - 150 ml
- Vegetable oil - 1.5 tbsp.
- Flour - 150 gr
- A pinch of salt
- Butter for greasing the flatbread
- Pack of bacon
Pilaf:
- Rice - 400 gr
- Large onion
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Saffron - 5-6 threads or 1/3 tsp. turmeric
- Salt, pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil for frying vegetables
Preparation:
1. Mix ground beef with finely chopped onion, salt and pepper, mix, and beat on the table.
2. Form meatballs, roll in flour and put in the freezer for half an hour
3. Rinse the rice several times under running water, put it in a saucepan, add salted water and add saffron or turmeric. Boil until almost cooked, do not overcook!
4. Prepare the choux pastry for the flatbread. The proportions are very simple - how many grams of flour, so many ml of water + a little vegetable oil. But this does not mean that you need to take a glass of water for a glass of flour! So, mix very hot water with vegetable oil and pour it into salted flour, mix with a spoon until the dough cools down a little, then knead the dough by hand
5. Let it rest a little and roll out a thin flat cake, grease it very well with butter and cut it into 8 segments
6. Grease a cast-iron cauldron or thick-walled pan generously with butter and place the flat cake segments in it overlapping each other.
7. Using a sharp knife, cut a hole along the bottom border
8. Weave a mat from strips of bacon
9. And put it on the bottom of the pan
10. In a well-heated frying pan, fry the meatballs in a large amount of vegetable oil and then add coarsely chopped onions and carrots to them. Fry, stirring, for 5-7 minutes over high heat.
11. Distribute 2/3 of the boiled rice over the bottom and walls of the dish
12. Place meatballs with vegetables in the center without the oil in which they were fried.
13. Cover with rice, pour oil from the meatballs with vegetables, put a few more pieces of butter on top so that the pilaf does not turn out dry
14. On the rice we place those scraps of flatbread that we cut from the bottom and cover with the hanging edges of the flatbread. Lubricate generously with butter
15. Cover with a lid and bake in the oven at 200C for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for another 20-30 minutes. The dough should be completely cooked, crispy and golden brown not only on the sides, but also on top. Do not remove the pilaf from the mold immediately, let it stand for 10 minutes, then carefully turn it over onto a plate. Be careful, there may be hot oil in the cauldron!
Bon appetit!
Lavash for pilaf
For Shah pilaf, as you already understood, you need lavash. Of course, you can buy it at any grocery store. However, if you set out to prepare a delicious dish with your own hands from start to finish, then you may need Thin flatbreads made from unleavened dough are not as difficult to prepare as it might seem at first glance. They are traditionally cooked in the oven, but in modern conditions a non-stick frying pan or even a regular cast iron one will do just fine.
In order to prepare pita bread, you will need approximately 700 g of flour, 300 g of water and salt to taste. Knead the above ingredients into a stiff dough, divide it into parts and roll out each into a very thin (no more than 2 mm thick) flat cake. Fry it in a dry hot frying pan without adding butter.
Shah-pilaf: recipe in Azerbaijani, in a slow cooker, in lavash
In a number of eastern countries, in particular in Azerbaijan, not a single festive feast is unthinkable without a traditional aromatic, spicy and incredibly tasty dish. This is check pilaf. We will look at its recipes in today’s article.
Today we are discussing how to cook shah pilaf. No one, even the most titled chef or historian, can reliably answer when the recipe for such pilaf was invented.
There is an opinion that this dish appeared before the beginning of our era. Around the time people began to grow rice crops.
At the same time, turmeric powder began to be used to give rice a rich golden hue.
Today there are many ways to prepare pilaf. And every oriental cuisine in the world has its own traditional recipe. Shah-pilaf in Azerbaijani style is a true culinary creation.
It must contain two ingredients:
The cereal may not necessarily be rice. Pilaf is prepared from chickpeas, corn grits, mung beans, and wheat. And sometimes all the listed varieties of cereals are mixed.
As for zirvak, this exotic name hides ordinary fish or meat. Azerbaijani-style pilaf is prepared from both meat tenderloin and fish fillet.
On a note! Azerbaijani chefs prepare shah-pilaf from lamb. You can use pork loin, beef tenderloin, and even poultry. To avoid fussing with preparing the dough for a long time, take lavash sheets.
Compound:
- 0.5 kg of rice cereal;
- 0.5 kg butter;
- 0.5 kg of meat tenderloin;
- 0.2 kg of dried apricots and raisins;
- edible chestnuts - several fruits;
- some filtered water;
- refined olive or sunflower seed oil;
- onion head;
- salt, black peppercorns and saffron, ground red pepper - to taste.
Shah pilaf in a slow cooker
You have already learned the classic recipe for making Shah Plov. It is not necessary to cook this dish in the oven. Shah pilaf in pita bread in a slow cooker will also turn out excellent. By the way, unlike our interpretation of pilaf, carrots are not added to the Azerbaijani dish. But if you wish, you can add this root vegetable.