For the first time we tried Lenten pilaf with dried fruits called "Bukhara" in a cafe with Vedic cuisine. I really liked the combination of salty and sweet taste and wanted to cook such a pilaf at home. The Internet offered a bunch of options, among which was non-fasting Bukhara pilaf with raisins, sweet pilaf with dried fruits, and vegetarian pilaf with vegetables. I had to come up with a collective recipe, taking into account the available information and personal culinary experience. The pilaf turned out to be tasty and similar to a dish from a cafe (although there must be asafoetida instead of onions and garlic), while more "European" and not so fatty.

Time: 1.5 hours.

Quantity: 4-6 servings.

For lean pilaf you will need:

• long-grain rice (here brown) - 2 tbsp.;
• carrots - 1 pc. (large);
• onion - 1 pc.;
• garlic - 1 head;
• a mixture of spices for pilaf (barberry, turmeric, cumin, a mixture of peppers) - 2/3 tsp;
• dried dill - 1 tablespoon;
• salt - 1 tsp with a slide (better to taste);
• raisins - 3 tablespoons;
• dried apricots - 6-7 pcs.;
• prunes - 2-3 pcs. (not necessary);
• vegetable oil - 2-3 tablespoons

Cooking salted pilaf with raisins and dried apricots

Rinse dried fruits, dried apricots and prunes (the latter is not required in the recipe, it is recommended for those who want to add additional sourness to the dish) cut into thin strips.

Wash the vegetables, peel them. Do not peel the garlic and do not disassemble it into slices, just pick off the top husk with your fingers, leave a dense skin. Cut carrots into strips, onions into quarters of rings, or finely chop if you don't like whole onion pieces.

Heat vegetable oil in a cauldron or just a saucepan with a firm bottom. In authentic recipes, a lot of fat is put into pilaf, but this is not necessary, the main thing. so that the oil covers the bottom. Lightly fry the onions and carrots on it. Add spices (here is a ready-made mixture for pilaf), dried herbs, mix.

Put dried fruits on the vegetables, then washed rice. Do not stir the layers, they should cook on their own. Stick a whole garlic in the middle, pour the pilaf on top with water so that the liquid is one finger higher than the rice. Salt - there is a little more than a teaspoon of salt of medium salinity here, you will be guided by your salt.

Cover the pan with a lid, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and leave to simmer for 30-50 minutes (depending on the rice). After half an hour, you can start tasting pilaf - if the rice is ready, but still hard, then the dish is ready. At this point, a little liquid should remain in the pilaf, if not, add a little water and let it warm up.

Then you need to remove the pilaf with raisins and dried apricots from the stove, wrap it in warm clothes and leave to "ripen" for 20-30 minutes.

Remove the lean pilaf from the "cocoon", mix and place on plates. Store the leftovers in a cool room or refrigerator - by the way, the next day Bukhara pilaf with raisins and dried apricots becomes even tastier.

The cuisine of Transcaucasia fits very well into our everyday and festive menu, it is difficult even to imagine a picnic without barbecue and a feast without chebureks.

But it is worth noting pilaf with dried apricots and raisins, a traditional food for Caucasians, but for us something incomprehensible and new. Rice with dried fruits can serve as a sweet dish, as well as traditionally with your favorite meat.

Dried fruits are very widely used in modern cuisine; they can be used not only in the preparation of desserts, but also become excellent components of fruit pilaf.

The unique aroma of raisins and dried apricots permeates the rice and makes it unusually tasty and sunny. There is hardly anyone who has not tried or cooked meat pilaf, try to make it with dried apricots and raisins, and you will be able to achieve the true taste of this dish!

Secrets of cooking pilaf with raisins and dried apricots

To make your pilaf truly magnificent, we will reveal to you a few secrets of its preparation.

• Be sure to use long parboiled rice for fruit pilaf. Pilaf from such rice will turn out to be crumbly and beautiful in appearance.
• When choosing dried fruits for pilaf, be sure to check the country of origin. Uzbek fruits are considered the most delicious, because they are dried naturally in the scorching sun. But often at a high price, we can purchase a product of poor quality.
  To prevent this from happening, take a good look at the fruits before buying - dried apricots should be the same size, without dark spots and visible damage. When buying raisins, it is better to give preference to light and soft to the touch - this indicates that the raisins are dried without the use of chemicals and are especially suitable for cooking fruit rice.
• Before cooking, dried fruits should be cut and then washed in hot water. It is not necessary to steam them beforehand; during heat treatment, they will soften well and fully give off their taste.

Sweet pilaf with dried apricots

Fruit pilaf is perfect for the diet of people who follow their figure, a light and tasty dish can act as a full meal. The calorie content of one serving of such a treat is only 196 calories, while it will bring a lot of benefits to the body.

Sweet pilaf will undoubtedly appeal to children; before serving on the children's table, you can decorate it with fresh strawberries.

Ingredients

• Parboiled rice - 1.5 cups;
• Dried apricots - 150 g;
• Raisins - 50 g;
• Honey - 4 tablespoons;
• Water - 3.5 cups;
• Butter - 3 tablespoons (can be replaced with olive);
• Barberry - 1 pinch.

How to cook pilaf with dried apricots

Cook fruit pilaf on the stove in a cast-iron pot or in a double-bottomed saucepan. If you have a slow cooker, cook pilaf in it, such cooking will significantly save your time.

1. First of all, prepare all the ingredients for the dish: wash and chop the dried fruits well. Rinse parboiled rice twice in cool water.
2. Put the cauldron on the fire, put butter on the bottom and add dried fruits. Simmer the fruit for a few minutes, then add the rice and stir constantly, simmer for another couple of minutes.
3. Now add honey, barberry to the cauldron and fill everything with water, stir and cover.
4. Cook fruit pilaf over low heat for 25-35 minutes (periodically check the readiness of the pilaf), then remove the cauldron from the stove and leave under the lid for 15 minutes.

Pilaf with dried fruits is ready, you can immediately serve it on the table, if desired, sprinkle with chopped nuts on top.

Festive meat pilaf with dried apricots and raisins

Ingredients

• - 500 g + -
• Turkey meat - 700 g + -
• - 3 pcs + -
• - 10 pieces + -
• Raisins - 4 tablespoons + -
• Ghee - 4-5 tablespoons + -
• - 3 tbsp. + -
• - taste + -
• - 1.5 tbsp. + -
• Barberry - 1 tsp + -
• - 1 bundle + -
• Green onions - 1 bunch + -
• - 1 bundle + -

How to make pilaf with dried apricots and raisins

1. Rinse the turkey meat, place in a saucepan and cover with clean water. Put the pan on fire, add a pinch of salt to the meat.
2. After boiling, remove the foam that appears, cover and cook until tender for 25-30 minutes.
3. When the meat is cooked, remove it from the broth and cut into portions. Leave the broth on the stove.
4. Now rinse the rice twice in clean water and add it to the broth.
5. Wash the raisins well and add to the broth as well.
6. If you have little broth left, add boiled water, the ratio for cooking rice is 1: 3.
7. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, then add barberry and season to taste.
8. Turn off heat, stir the rice well and cover.
9. Peel and cut onions into half rings, wash dried apricots and chop with a sharp knife.
10. Put ghee in a preheated skillet and add onions and dried apricots, season with spices, salt and fry until golden brown.
11. Place the turkey meat on a platter and top with the fried onion and dried apricots mixture.
12. Put the rice on a wide dish and top with melted butter.
13. The third component of the festive pilaf will be a plate of herbs. Wash all the greens thoroughly, dry them, put the green onions in the middle of the plate, and the parsley parallel to the onions. Cut the lettuce leaves in half and arrange around the edges of the plate. You will get a kind of flower that will decorate your table.

Pilaf with raisins and dried apricots is ready to serve, in such an unusual version it will become even tastier. You can also add your favorite types of herbs and vegetables to the plate with herbs.

Have you tried pilaf with raisins and dried apricots? Of course, it can hardly be classified as a traditional dish, but lovers of culinary experiments will definitely appreciate this pilaf. It is ideal for people who are fasting or on a diet.

Before embarking on an amazing culinary journey, let's heed the advice of experienced chefs:

• Pilaf with dried fruits is prepared both sweet and meat. If you want a sweet dish, add honey or granulated sugar.
• You can cook pilaf in the old fashioned way in an oven or a cauldron or with the help of modern gadgets, in particular, in a multicooker.
• The main component of pilaf is rice. It must be of the highest grade. Be sure to rinse rice groats, as they say, in seven waters.
• Before adding to pilaf, raisins with dried apricots should be poured with warm water and left for 30-40 minutes. Then we drain the liquid, and cut the dried apricots into thin strips. You can add it whole.
• The liquid level should be two fingers higher than the rice.
• When cooking pilaf in a cauldron, make sure that the level of the burner is minimal, and do not remove the lid until the cereal absorbs the liquid.
• Any dried fruit can be added to pilaf. And little sweet tooths will appreciate this dish with fresh fruit.
• Do not heat the honey, add it to a warm dish.
• You can complement the taste of pilaf with walnuts, pine nuts or peanuts.

Spicy pilaf with dried fruits in meat broth

This pilaf will become a full-fledged lunch or dinner that will be remembered by your household for a long time. Despite the fact that we do not add meat, the dish turns out to be quite satisfying and rich. Boil the broth in advance. Chicken, beef, pork - the choice is yours.

Attention! To get lean pilaf with dried apricots and raisins, you just need to replace the broth with filtered water.

Composition:

• 1 tbsp. rice;
• 3 tbsp. broth;
• 4-5 st. l. raisins;
• 13-15 pcs. dried apricots;
• 3-4 tbsp. l. refined vegetable oils;
• 1-2 garlic cloves;
• salt;
• saffron;
• cinnamon;
• onions - 2 pcs.

On a note! Not too dry dried fruits do not need to be soaked beforehand.

Preparation:

Advice! Pilaf will be tastier if poured with ghee butter before serving.

Pilaf for the delight of the sweet tooth

Be sure to try the sweet pilaf with raisins and dried apricots. Let's add prunes to the taste of the dish. The aroma of this pilaf will gather your household at the dinner table in an instant.

Composition:

• 1 tbsp. rice;
• 70 g prunes;
• 70 g dried apricots;
• 50 g raisins;
• carrot;
• 2 tbsp. l. soft butter;
• filtered water;
• sugar and honey to taste.

Preparation:

Subtleties of Azerbaijani cuisine

A truly culinary masterpiece is Azerbaijani pilaf with dried apricots and raisins. It is not difficult to prepare such a dish at home, the main thing is to strictly follow the recipe.

Advice! This pilaf is best cooked with Basmati rice.

Composition:

• 0.5 kg of rice;
• 0.2 kg of ghee butter;
• 150 g raisins;
• 150 g dried apricots;
• 150 g dogwood or cherry plum;
• 0.2 kg of walnuts or almond nuts;
• 1 tsp saffron;
• pita leaf;
• salt.

Preparation:

Spoil yourself with this sunny dish! Healthy, and just very tasty. Good both hot and cold.

• Rice - 600 g
• Onions - 150 g
• Carrots - 150 g
• Dried apricots - 150 g
• Prunes - 100 g
• Raisins - 150-200 g
• Vegetable oil - 100 ml (to taste)
• Spices for pilaf - 0.5 tsp (to taste)
• Salt - 1 tsp (to taste)

Prepare products for making sweet pilaf.
Boil the kettle.

Peel, wash the carrots. Cut into thin strips

Peel the onion, wash, cut into half rings.

Rinse dried fruits thoroughly in warm water.

Sort the rice and rinse thoroughly in cold water.

Preheat a frying pan, add a sufficient amount of vegetable oil. Put onions and carrots in well-heated oil. Fry the onions and carrots, stirring occasionally, over medium heat (2-3 minutes).

Then add dried fruits, salt and spices. Fry, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes.

Then add rice.

Pour boiling water over the rice, 1-1.5 cm above the rice level

Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes over low heat.

Turn off the heat, stir and leave the sweet pilaf on the stove for another 10 minutes.

Sweet pilaf with dried fruits is ready.
Bon Appetit!

Recipe 2: pilaf with lamb and dried apricots

• lamb (pulp) - 500 g
• rice (devzira rice is better, but any long grain can be used) - 500g
• fat tail fat (or vegetable oil) - about 200g
• carrots - 400 g
• onions - 2-3 pieces
• spices for pilaf (hot red pepper, dried barberry, coriander seeds, cumin)
• salt to taste
• dried apricots - 300 g

Cut the meat into cubes (2 x 2 cm). Cut the onion into thin half rings, carrots into strips.

Cut the fat tail fat into small cubes (1 × 1 cm).

Rinse the rice several times in cold water: rinse until the water remains clear. Then pour the rice with water, add a whisper of salt and leave for several hours.

Heat the cauldron, add lard, reduce heat to medium and melt the fat, without stirring. Remove greaves formed and increase heat. Add onion and fry until brownish (until crisp). Add meat and fry until crusty.

Add the carrots and fry without mixing for about 3 minutes, then stir and fry, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes. In a mortar, pour a little coriander and cumin seeds and pour into a cauldron along with salt, paprika and barberry. Add water (about 2 glasses), reduce heat and cook for 30-40 minutes.

Add dried apricots.

Drain the water from the rice, put the cereals in an even layer on top of the meat and vegetables (do not mix).

Pour in boiling water to cover the rice in a layer about 3 cm thick. Cover for 5 minutes, then remove the lid, reduce heat and cook until the rice becomes crumbly. If the water boils away and the rice is still hard inside, make a small hole in the rice and pour in 50 ml of water.

When all the water has boiled away, cover the rice with a napkin, cover with a lid on top and leave on the stove, after turning off the heat, for 20-30 minutes. Put the finished pilaf on a plate, garnish with slices of meat and dried apricots on top.

Pilaf is ready!

Recipe 3: pork pilaf with prunes and dried apricots

• 300 g pork with a layer of fat
• 1 large carrot
• 1 large onion
• 5-6 pcs. soft, sour, dried apricots
• 8-9 pcs. pitted prunes
• 2 cups long grain parboiled rice
• 4 glasses of water
• salt, black pepper, a mixture of spices for pilaf - to taste

1. Cut the bacon off the pork and cut it into small cubes. Cut the meat into small slices. Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or roasting pan and fry bacon until golden brown. Add the pork and brown it on all sides for 12-15 minutes.

2. Peel and wash the vegetables. Soak dried fruits in warm water, rinse and dry. Finely chop the onion, cut the prunes into strips, and the dried apricots into cubes. Grate the carrots with large holes.

3. Put vegetables and dried fruits in a frying pan with meat, fry with constant stirring until soft.

4. Sort the rice, rinse in warm water. Add to the rest of the ingredients, season with salt, pepper and season.

5. Stir and leave for an hour and a half to soak the rice grits with fat.

6. Pour water into the pan and stir the pilaf again. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for about an hour, until all the liquid has evaporated.

Pork pilaf prepared according to this recipe turns out to be crumbly, with a pleasant sweetish-spicy note. Serve it with fresh or pickled vegetables, spicy seasoning - they will set off its original taste.

Recipe 4: pilaf with dried apricots in a slow cooker

• raisins - 100 g
• dried apricots - 100 g
• butter -100 g
• parboiled rice - 2 multi glasses
• water - 4 multi glasses
• granulated sugar - to taste

Put butter and pre-cooked and washed dried fruits in a slow cooker. Sprinkle with granulated sugar to taste.
Fry everything in the "baking" mode for 20 minutes.

After the signal, add the washed rice, add water. Cook sweet pilaf in a slow cooker, in the “pilaf” mode until the signal.

If desired, you can add an apple or pumpkin to the sweet pilaf. Bon Appetit!!!

Recipe 5: pilaf with prunes dried apricots in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

• 1 glass of rice
• 1 carrot
• dried apricots, prunes, raisins to taste
• vegetable oil
• 0.5 tsp salt

Seasonings:

• barberry
• saffron (I replaced it with turmeric)

Rinse dried fruits and soak in hot water to swell.

Cut dried apricots and prunes into pieces, leave raisins whole. I still had a few dates, I also threw it into pilaf. Cut the carrots into cubes.

Pour vegetable oil at the bottom of the pan and put dried fruits and carrots in it.

Rinse the rice and spread over the carrots with dried fruits.

Salt, add seasonings.

Pour 2-2.5 multi-glasses of hot water, the amount of water depends on the amount of dried fruit. If there are a lot of dried fruits, then more water will be required. The water should lightly cover the rice, about 2 cm.

We turn on the "Pilaf" mode and wait for the ready signal.

Pilaf with dried fruits in a slow cooker is ready. Moderately sweet, but slightly sour. Serve warm. Bon Appetit!

Recipe 6: sweet pilaf with rice, raisins, dried apricots, pumpkin and nuts

• 1.5 tbsp. rice
• 50 gr. butter (we take vegetable in the post)
• 100 g dried apricots
• 1 large handful of raisins
• 100 g pumpkin
• 1 hard apple
• 2-3 st. tablespoons of sugar
• vanillin
• nuts (pine, walnuts, etc.)

Rinse the rice well, boil it in salted boiling water until half cooked (8-10 min.) While the rice, dried apricots and raisins are cooking, rinse, dry on a towel. Cut the pumpkin and apple into cubes. Heat oil in a deep frying pan or saucepan, fry dried apricots and raisins on it. At the end of frying, add pumpkin and apple. Fry for another 2-3 minutes. Dissolve sugar in one glass of water (adjust the amount of sugar to your liking). Pour the resulting syrup into the fried fruit and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add vanillin, stir. Put rice on top, smooth. Cover the saucepan with a lid, simmer over low heat until the rice is cooked and until the syrup evaporates. When the pilaf is ready, stir it very carefully, being careful not to knead the pumpkin. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top of the dish before serving. Can be served on the table.

Rice with dried apricots is a wonderful dish for lunch at work, it is prepared in the morning and transferred to a food thermos. For some reason, it is believed that dishes with a sweet taste are always a dessert. A final meal that will leave pleasant memories and taste sensations.

However, in many world cuisines there are dishes that combine the taste of meat or fish with meat. For example, many Chinese dishes are an unimaginable combination of sour and sweet, sweet and spicy, etc. I read somewhere that such a range of combinations is due to the balancing of the properties of products from the point of view of Yin and Yang. This is beyond our understanding. However, without even going into mysticism and philosophy, we often cook at home a homemade version of gongbao - sugar.

Melt a piece of butter in a large saucepan. As soon as the butter is melted, toss the walnuts into the skillet.