Pilaf

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Image:Plov122.jpg
Plov being prepared in a Qozon

Macedonian Пилав (Pilav), Pilaf, Albanian pilaf,Armenian փիլավ, Azeri plov, Bosnian pilav, Greek πιλάφι, Hindi पुलाव, Kazakh Kazakh: палау (palaw), Urdu pulao, Persian polow, Romanian pilaf, Russian: плов plov, Serbian pilav, Turkish pilav, Tajik полов, Uzbek: palov, Persian: پلو - polo, Turkmen: palov, Turkish: pilav, Crimean Tatar: pilâv, Tatar: pılaw, and Tajik: палов - palov) also spelled pilau, perloo, perlau, plaw, pilaw, and pilaff is a Middle Eastern and Central and South Asian dish in which a grain, such as rice or cracked wheat, is generally first browned in oil, and then cooked in a seasoned broth. Depending on the local cuisine it may also contain a variety of meat and vegetables.

The Persian rice recipes probably go back to the expansion of rice cultivation within the Persian Empire under Darius the Great. There is historical evidence that the cultivation of rice was introduced systematically into Mesopotamia and South Western Iran on a large scale in the 5th century BC, making rice available to the people of Central Asia and the Middle East on a scale unthought of previously. In modern Persian, Pilaf is pronounced polow (پلو), with the first syllable short, and the second long.

The Persian culinary terms referring to rice preparations are numerous and have found their way into the neighbouring languages: Polo (rice cooked in broth while the grains remain separate, straining the half cooked rice before adding the broth and then 'brewing'), Cholo (white rice with separate grains), Kateh (sticky rice), Biryani (similar to polo but involve some frying in butter after it is cooked), Tachine (slow cooked rice, vegetable and meat cooked in a specially designed dish also called a tachine).

There are four primary methods of cooking rice in Iran:

  • Chelow: rice that is carefully prepared through soaking and parboiling, at which point the water is drained and the rice is steamed. This method results in an exceptionally fluffy rice with the grains separated, and not sticky, and also results in a golden rice crust at the bottom of the pot called tah-digh (literally "bottom of the pot").
  • Polow: rice that is cooked exactly the same as chelow, with the exception that after draining the rice, other ingredients are added in layers or sections of the rice, and then steamed together.
  • Kateh: rice that is cooked until the water is absorbed. This is also the traditional dish of Northern Iran (described in detail below).
  • Damy: cooked almost the same as kateh, except that the heat is reduced just before boiling and a towel is placed between the lid and the pot to prevent steam from escaping. Damy literally means "simmered."

Contents

[edit] History

One of the earliest literary references to Pilau can be found in the histories of Alexander the Great from Macedonia when describing Sogdian (an Eastern Iranian province probably the birthplace of Alexander's wife Roxana and geographically situated in modern Uzbekistan) hospitality. Uzbek "plov" is often considered to be one of the oldest preparations of rice. It was known to have been served to Alexander the Great upon his capture of the Sogdian capital of Marakanda (modern Samarkand). Alexander's army bring it back to Macedonia and spread in Eastern Europe.

The pilau became standard fare in the Middle East over the years with variations and innovation by the Arabs, Turks and Armenians.

The Mughals introduced many Persian dishes to the subcontinent including rice dishes. Pulao (sometimes spelt 'pulav') is a South Asian dish made of rice. It is made with peas, potatoes, mutton, beef or chicken. Usually served on special occasions and weddings; very high in food energy and fat. Biryani is an Indian and Pakistani dish very similar to pilav. It is made from basmati or similar aromatic rice. This is an original Mughal dish introduced to India during the Mughal period.

During the years of the Soviet Union, the dish spread throughout the other Soviet republics, becoming a favorite in such diverse places as Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia.

[edit] Tah Dig or Ta Dig

Fried bread/rice is made by putting bread or just rice itself at the bottom of the rice pot. Cooking polow has two main steps. At the first step rice is cooked in a large non-stick pan with half-full boiling water until rice slightly softens. Then the rice is poured into a drain and it is washed with slightly warm water. Then in the second step, a few spoonfuls of cooking oil is poured into the pan and then rice or flat bread is added. A few more spoonfuls of oil is added over bread or rice. Then after a few minutes the whole rice is poured in the pan and the pan is covered and it is cooked over low heat for about 45 minutes to an hour. A delicious crispy layer of bread or rice will be formed at the bottom of the pan which is called ta dig or tah dig.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

Wikibooks' Cookbook has more about this subject:
Rice Pilaf
Wikibooks' Cookbook has more about this subject:
Paella
Wikibooks' Cookbook has more about this subject:
Kashmiri Pulao
de:Pilaw

es:Pilaf (comida) eo:Pilafo fa:پلو fr:Riz pilaf he:פילאף lt:Plovas nl:Pilaf ja:ピラフ nn:Pilaff pt:Pilaf ru:Плов sv:Pilaff tg:Оши палов tr:Pilav

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