Few ingredients turn out so marvellously delicious as rice cooked using the absorption method. Please excuse the cheffy, technical term, but it does best describe what is going on when you make one of the world’s most popular dishes, and a long-standing personal favourite: pilaf, or pulav, or palaw, or plov – there are as many variations as there are nations in south and west Asia, the Middle East, India, the Balkans and large swathes of Africa. One thing they all have in common, however, is a good broth. Locked in a pot with long-grain rice, the stock penetrates the grains and infuses them with just enough flavour and moisture to make a light, aromatic rice that goes with just about anything: meat, fish, vegetables, nuts, dried fruit or yoghurt.
Beef, apricot and almond pilaf
Serves four to six.
250g basmati rice
Salt
120g ghee (or clarified butter)
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 medium green peppers, pith and seeds removed, cut into 0.5cm strips
2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly grated
600g beef sirloin, fat removed and cut into 8cm-long x 1.5cm-thick strips
75g dried apricots, roughly chopped, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes
50g currants
50g flaked almonds
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp whole black peppercorns
½ tsp chilli flakes
10 cloves
Rind of 1 orange shaved off in long, thin strips, plus 2 tbsp orange juice
Put the rice in a bowl, add cold water to cover, stir in a teaspoon and a half of salt, set aside for an hour, then drain and rinse. Fill a medium pan with water, add a teaspoon and a half of salt, and bring to a boil. Add the rice, boil for four minutes, then drain.
Put a large frying pan on a medium-high heat and add two tablespoons of ghee. Once melted, add the onions, peppers and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, fry for 12 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onion is caramelised and the pepper soft. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add another tablespoon of ghee and the carrot, cook for two minutes, stirring, just to soften, then remove from the pan and set aside.
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Turn up the heat under the frying pan and add a teaspoon of ghee. Once smoking hot, add a third of the beef and stir-fry for 90 seconds, to brown. Transfer to a plate, and repeat with the remaining meat.
Put the drained apricots in a small saucepan with three tablespoons of ghee, the currants, almonds, spices, orange rind and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Fry on a medium heat for four to five minutes, stirring, until the nuts are golden-brown. Remove from the heat and add the orange juice.
With the remaining tablespoon of ghee, brush the inside of a 20cm ovenproof casserole dish (for which you have a lid). Spread half the carrots on the base, top with a third of the rice, and top that with half the onion mix and half the beef, spreading out each layer evenly. Repeat the layers, finishing with the last third of the rice. Pour over any beef juices, then make five little indentations in the top layer of rice. Push the fruit and nut mix into these, cover with a clean tea towel and then the lid (make sure the towel doesn’t stick out, otherwise it may catch light). Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the rice is light, fluffy and crisp around the edges. Serve at once.
Saffron pilaf with bread crust
My take on a dish in Vegetarian Dishes From The Middle East, by Arto der Haroutunain. Serves four to six.
30g unsalted butter, plus 50g melted unsalted butter
2 onions, peeled and finely sliced
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp organic vegetable stock powder
½ tsp saffron
250g basmati rice, well washed
1 egg
90g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Salt and black pepper
For the salsa
1 large pomegranate, seeds removed
½ red onion, peeled and finely diced
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
15g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
Mix the salsa ingredients in a small bowl with an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper.
Put 30g butter in a medium frying pan on a medium-low heat. Once it starts to froth, fry the onions for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and caramelised. Add the cumin, coriander, cardamom and stock powder, fry for two to three minutes more, stirring once or twice, then take off the heat.
Fill a medium pan with water. Add a tablespoon of salt and the saffron, and bring to a boil. Add the rice, boil for five minutes, then tip into a sieve and leave to dry for 10 minutes.
Whisk the egg until frothy. Add half the flour and a pinch of salt, and stir to a smooth paste. Add the rest of the flour, then bring the dough together with your hands. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a 20cm circle, to fit the base of a heavy-bottomed casserole (for which you have a lid). Brush the base of the casserole with melted butter, lay the dough on top and brush liberally with more butter.
Spread half the rice on top of the dough, then spoon over first the onion and then the remaining rice, spreading it out evenly. Pour the rest of the butter all over the top, cover with a clean tea towel and clap on the lid (make sure the towel doesn’t peek out, else it may burn). Cook on a low heat for 35-40 minutes, until the rice is light and fluffy and the pastry crisp and golden. To serve, spoon the rice on to plates, lift out the bread – it should be golden-brown on the base – and cut into eight wedges. Serve the pilaf with the bread and salsa alongside.
Aubergine pilaf cake
This Turkish dish takes a while to put together, but can be prepared well in advance. It’s one for those who want the wow factor without any pressure. Serves six.
40g currants
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
2 tsp caster sugar
3 large aubergines, trimmed and cut lengthways into 1cm-thick slices
Salt
300g baby spinach
About 100ml sunflower oil
40g unsalted butter
120g basmati rice, well rinsed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1½ tsp sumac
3½ tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (or 1 tsp regular chilli)
550ml chicken stock
30g pine nuts, toasted
250g cooked chicken leg meat (ie the meat from 3 legs), shredded
200g natural yoghurt, to serve
In a small pan, combine the currants, vinegar, sugar and two tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve the sugar, remove from the heat and set aside for half an hour. Drain, discarding the liquid.
Put the aubergine in a colander, sprinkle with half a teaspoon of salt, and set aside for half an hour.
Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the spinach, blanch for a minute, drain, refresh and drain again. Transfer to a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much water as you can.
Put a large saute pan (for which you have a lid) on a medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of oil. Pat dry the aubergine and fry – you will need to do this in batches – for four to five minutes, turning halfway, until cooked through and golden-brown. Set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper while you fry the remaining aubergines.
Return the pan to a medium-high heat with 25g butter. Add the rice, cinnamon, allspice, sumac and two and a half teaspoons of chilli flakes. Add half a teaspoon of salt and saute for three to four minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the currants and stock, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium, cover and cook for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the rice cooked. Remove from the heat, stir in the pine nuts and cover with a clean tea towel. Replace the lid and set aside.
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Fan all but four slices of aubergine around the base and sides of a 20cm-wide, round ovenproof dish (or a cake tin with a removable base), overlapping them slightly and leaving 1-2cm hanging over the sides of the dish. Cover the aubergine base with the shredded chicken, top that with spinach, followed by the rice. Use your hands to pack it in tightly, then lay the last aubergine slices on top. Draw in the overhanging slices, so the rice is sealed in.
Bake for 20 minutes, leave to sit for five minutes, then invert on to a plate. To serve, melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan on a medium heat. When it starts to sizzle, add the remaining teaspoon of chilli flakes, cook for a minute, then brush liberally over the cake. Cut into slices and serve warm, with yoghurt spooned alongside.
Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.
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