Pilaf / Plov in Instant Pot
Plov ( pilav, pilaf and etc) in an Instant Pot? Why not? Some call it “Lazy Plov”, because to cook the real one, you need to spend more time and use some certain techniques for achieving non-sticky cooked grains. You also use a special dish to cook the Plov, but I’ll tell you that this version was quick, easy and so delicious! The rice was perfect, not sticking together, with great spices and tender meat. Different countries as well cook this dish differently; changing some ingredients, spices or even methods. Plov/Pilaf is the main national dish of the peoples of Central Asia (Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmen, Afghans), as well as the Persians and Azerbaijanis. There are thousands of variations of pilaf/ plov made with rice or other grains like bulgur. In Central Asia, there is plov, pilau in the Indian subcontinent, and variations from Turkmenistan and Turkey. Even each country has its own varieties of pilaf. Some include different combinations of meats, fruits or vegetables, even a fish whilst others are simple and served plain.
Plov or Pilaf can be cooked in water or stock. Pilaf/ Plov is usually made with meat – lamb, beef, some like to use pork or chicken, or just vegetables.
So it doesn’t matter how you call this dish, what meat you’ll use, one thing is for sure, it’s not to hard to make a delicious and perfect comfort fall/winter food if you have an Instant Pot?
Pilaf / Plov in Instant Pot Recipe
By Published: December 19, 2019
Plov ( pilav, pilaf and etc) in an Instant Pot? Why not? Some call it "Lazy Plov", because to cook the real one, you need to spend …
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of long grain white rice/ basmati (rinsed and drained)
- ~700 g meat cube into medium-sized chunks
- ~4 tbsp oil I like to use lard
- 1 big onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1-2 carrots julienned
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 1 tsp paprika
- barberry optional
- 1 tsp coriander ground
- ~2 cups of hot water I like to use beef bouillon
- salt and pepper to your taste
- saffron optional
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 whole head of garlic unpeeled, cut the top
Instructions
- Rinse the rice thoroughly, fill with water and leave for 30 minutes, then drain the water
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté on high heat, add oil or lard, add the meat in a single layer. Don’t crowd the bottom, and sauté until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Just get it brown on the outside. When you start a new batch, add a little bit more oil before. I prefer to fry the meat on the stove, using a big pan with a thick bottom because it’s bigger size than the Instant Pot, so I can cook more meat and faster.
- Take the meat out and set it aside, add more oil, lard, or even butter to Instant Pot (around 2 tbsp), add the onion and minced garlic, and stir for about 3 min, then add the carrots, cumin, paprika, coriander, salt and pepper and sauté for 5 min, stirring occasionally. Bring the meat back and mix again
- Add the rice on top of the meat and vegetables and flatten. Be sure not to mix the rice and the meat together as it’s important to keep them on separate ‘levels’. Push the head of garlic half-way into the rice, cut side down. Gently pour the water or bouillon on top of the rice, pouring it directly over the garlic. The water should cover the rice about 1cm. You can also add saffron and barberry if you like. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke 8-10 holes through the rice to the bottom of the pot.
- Cover the Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 30 min. When the Instant Pot turns off, let it rest for 5-10 min before switching to the venting position to release the pressure and open the Instant Pot.
- Remove the garlic head and bay leaf, use a fork to fluff up the rice and gently stir the rice with meat and vegetables. Squeeze the garlic to the rice when you serve.
WordPress Recipe Plugin by ReciPress
