BAKU, /Trend/ - The long-awaited Novruz holidays have arrived, preparations for which have been going on for four weeks.
The Novruz holiday is celebrated annually in Azerbaijan for five days, including March 20 and 21, the day of the spring equinox. The holiday is celebrated in honor of the arrival of spring and the renewal of nature.
On the days of Novruz, according to folk tradition, bonfires are lit, various sweets are prepared (shekerbura, baklava, gogal), khoncha is decorated (treats collected on a tray), semeni is planted, and paint is painted. boiled eggs etc.
However, the main attention is usually paid to the festive table.
The pride of the table, of course, is the festive pilaf, and the main of all its varieties is shah-pilaf.
Pilaf, or “Shah of ceremonial tables”, as it is otherwise called, is the main pride of Azerbaijani cuisine. This national dish has many variations and each region of the country has its own type of this delicious dish. The main attribute of the Shah pilaf is gazmah - a delicious crispy lavash crust in which the pilaf is cooked.
Combination proven over thousands of years juicy meat, rice, raisins, dried apricots, in a crispy golden crown of lavash reveals the true hospitality of the East.
To learn all the intricacies of preparing Shah Plov, we turned to a local housewife, mother and grandmother, Zeinab Khanum.
She told us that the main secret in preparing shah-pilaf is selected high-quality and fresh ingredients. She advised using long-grain basmati rice, dried fruits without seeds and chicken meat. Zeinab Khanum prefers proven producers, such as local chicken “Mərcan”, which, in her opinion, is ideal for pilaf, both in taste and in beneficial properties for all family members.
“I noticed that the texture of Mərcan chicken meat is somewhat different from other producers. After cooking, it tends to disintegrate into fibers, unlike other brands, when their meat turns into a kind of paste-like mass during the cooking process, and even has a sharp, unpleasant fishy smell. Such products are simply unacceptable when preparing pilaf,” the hostess shares.
“There are no trifles in preparing pilaf, so even water that is not chlorinated and without foreign odors should be used. Rice should be soaked in water at a strictly defined temperature. From my own experience, I will say that the fluffiest rice is the one soaked in salted water at a temperature of 60 degrees. You should also wash the rice in a special way: do not rub it between your palms, as this may cause it to break. The main thing is that the starch comes off from the rice. I rinse until the water runs clear.”
The next secret from Zeynam khanum was the sequence of frying the ingredients for the gravy. “You need to start preparing the gravy by frying the onions. The mistake many people make is that they first fry the chicken, and then wonder why the onions don’t turn out to be the right shade. But properly fried onions give the smell of pilaf. Then they put the meat, and only then the dried fruits. Do not fry the mixture too much, as it will still simmer in the pilaf itself. When frying, I use stewed butter.”
According to the hostess, the rice is cooked until half cooked in salted water.
Kazan, oiled butter, covered with pieces of pita bread. According to Zeinab Khanum, the dough itself also needs to be greased with ghee, otherwise a crispy crust will not form.
Rice and govurma (gravy) are placed alternately on the pita bread in layers, pouring with ghee and saffron tincture. The rice is also covered with pita bread, which also needs to be greased with butter. Shah pilaf should simmer for about 30 minutes in the oven, after which it will be ready to decorate the table for Novruz.
The hostess emphasized that for the Novruzov family feast it is better to give preference to chicken govurma for pilaf. She told us interesting fact, which probably not everyone knows about. It turns out that it is not customary to cook cattle meat on Novruz. The fact is that in the spring the breeding stage of livestock begins, and during this period it is impossible to slaughter it. Therefore, on the festive table, according to tradition, there are fish dishes (a symbol of prosperity) and chicken on the table.
She advises choosing trusted local producers, such as Mərcan, not only so that the Novruz pilaf is tasty and appetizing, but also for the safety of all family members, because during production chicken meat They use only natural food without chemical additives, GMOs, antibiotics, anabolic steroids and hormones.
Bon appetit and happy holidays!
Shah Ash - Royal Pilaf! (Khan-pilaf). Photo recipe.
(Azerbaijani cuisine)
This is just crazy delicious pilaf- fragrant and tender,
fluffy rice soaked in oil, soft meat,
and the fruits give a sort of sweet and sour accent.
Ingredients:
lamb or beef - 800 gr
rice - 800 gr.
thin lavash - 3-4 packages of 70 gr.
butter - 600 gr.
onion - 1 pc.
apricots - 200 gr.
raisins - 150 gr.
chestnuts 150 gr. (I don’t have chestnuts)
dried cherry plum - 150 gr. (I don’t have cherry plum)
turmeric, salt, spices for pilaf
Preparation:
First of all, I want to say that everything should be the best.
Ideally: Indonesian basmati type rice, apricots and raisins
shadow drying and preferably seedless
(I found a dried one on sale, absolutely delicious!), you can use cherry plum
add it or not (cherry plum gives a well-perceptible sourness
kind of like babrberry, it's not for everybody. and here, in the Urals,
it is not on sale at all), also for cooking
a thick-walled roasting pan is required - ideally a round cast iron casserole,
but any roasting pan made of thick cast aluminum will do.
I have a 6-liter vertical (for city stoves, like a saucepan)
cauldron made of cast aluminum.
So, first of all, wash the rice (I washed it for a couple of minutes
on a sieve) and soak in lukewarm salt n noah water
for at least 30 minutes.
Then drain the water and add a teaspoon of turmeric
and a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Fill with fresh cold water and bring to a boil
and boil the rice until half cooked (See on the package
your rice. If it says to cook for 20 minutes, it means cook for 10 minutes).
Place the rice in a sieve to drain excess water.
While the rice is cooking, cut the meat into small pieces
(for example, cubes),
Then melt 50 grams of butter in a frying pan,
Fry the meat until golden brown crust, add chopped
dice the onion and fry for another 5-7 minutes, add salt, pepper, and remove from heat.
Set aside 70 grams (less than half a pack) of butter
to lubricate the cauldron, melt the rest of the butter
(ideally, we heat it in a water bath. I’m lazy, I just melted it on fire).
Pour boiling water over apricots and raisins for 5-10 minutes, depending
depending on the degree of drying, drain the water.
Now we are collecting our Shah-pilaf.
Grease the casserole generously with oil.
We line the cauldron with strips of lavash so that at the bottom
they overlapped and the edges hung down.
Drizzle the bottom with a few tablespoons of melted butter.
Add a third of the rice. Drizzle with oil
sprinkle with spices (carefully with the spices, a little at a time!).
Place meat on rice.
Place a third of the rice on the meat again, pour oil over it,
a little spice, and put raisins and apricots on top.
Place the remaining rice on top, pour oil over it,
a little spice.
Cover the rice with the hanging ends of the pita strips,
pour in the remaining oil.
Cover the cauldron with a lid and place in the oven.
preheated to 180 degrees, for 1-1.5 hours.
Readiness is determined by a beautiful golden brown crust.
I didn’t look in the oven at all for an hour, then I looked -
it seemed that the crust was not brown enough -
Left it in the oven for another 15 minutes.
When ready, remove the cauldron from the oven,
remove the cover - this is what it looked like for me:
Holding the pilaf with a spatula, pour over the edge of the cauldron
oil (there won’t be much of it, but there will be some), then
turn the cauldron onto a plate.
Cut into petals using a sharp knife. Don't wait
what is this casserole, this is the real one crumbly pilaf,
it just sprinkles onto the dish!
Calories: Not specified
Cooking time: 90 min
Shah pilaf in Azerbaijani style from Stalik Khankishiev - a dish for festive table or Sunday lunch. Amazingly tasty pilaf, aromatic, crumbly. It's worth applying to him fresh vegetables– cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet onions marinated in vinegar. Choose meat that is not very fatty, as the recipe contains quite a lot of butter. The recipes of this cook - Stalik Khankishiev - are always very good, for example, you can’t tear them away from him.
It will take 90 minutes to prepare shah pilaf. The ingredients listed in the recipe will make 4-5 servings.
Ingredients:
- meat – 400 g;
- rice – 160 g;
- butter – 50 g;
- carrots – 1 pc.;
- onion – 1 pc.;
- barberry – 2 teaspoons;
- chili pepper – 1 pc.;
- cumin, mustard seeds, pepper, turmeric, paprika, salt;
- vegetable oil – 30 ml;
- figs, raisins, dried apricots, prunes.
For the test:
- wheat flour – 150 g;
- water – 70 ml;
- butter – 45 g;
- salt.
How to cook with photos step by step
Grease the walls and bottom of the roasting pan with butter. 
Mix flour, water, and melted butter into a dough (salt to taste). Leave the dough for 20 minutes, then roll it out very thin. You can place the whole dough in the Dutch oven with the edges hanging over, or cut into strips, as in this recipe. 
Fry onions and carrots in vegetable oil 10-15 minutes, add cumin, mustard seeds (a teaspoon each), black pepper and chili pepper. If spicy food is not your taste, then you can do without chili. 
Cut the meat into cubes, fry in the same pan after the vegetables, add raisins, dried apricots, prunes and dried figs, we salt everything. Pour in barberry, it will add sourness to the finished dish. 
Boil the rice until done. When cooking, add salt, a teaspoon each of turmeric and sweet paprika to the water. 
In a frying pan on strips of dough, first place carrots and onions, then meat with dried fruits, then a layer of rice. 
Cover everything with strips of thinly rolled dough. 
Grease the dough with softened butter. Heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. 
Close the roasting pan and place in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. 
Cover the roasting pan with a plate and turn it upside down. 
Remove the frying pan from the pilaf and cut a round hole on top. 
Serve immediately. Bon appetit. 
You can also cook
The centuries-old traditions of the Azerbaijani people and borrowings from Georgian, Turkish, Persian and Arab cultures have given us original dishes 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, verified over centuries, fluffy rice, aromatic spices and dried fruits in a crispy lavash crust reveal the hospitality of the East. This kind of pilaf is prepared for dear guests and for the most special occasions. Let us also prepare Shah-pilaf according to step by step recipe with photo.
Kitchen utensils: cauldron or thick-walled saucepan, cutting board, brush, knife, frying pan, saucepan, bowl.
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.
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.
To obtain pilaf a pleasant yellow color, When boiling rice, add saffron to the water.. 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 it, and if you prefer chicken, then...
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 or.
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.
