Healthy Pilaf With Chicken

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Full recipe

There are countless recipes for pilaf. Each nationality and region has special cooking elements that make their dish stand out from the crowd. The most popular variant of pilaf in our region is Uzbek. I do not want to take the burden of responsibility and declare that this pilaf is correct and is cooked according to all the canons of a certain cuisine. But I can assure you that the recipe will be simple enough, and the cooked pilaf will be delicious, fragrant and not too fatty.

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Dietary pilaf will be cooked in two stages. First we will make a zirvak – the main gravy, and then add rice and continue cooking. First we need to determine the meat component of the pilaf. Since we want to make a variant that can be eaten without consequences on a proper diet, we also take the meat not very fatty. Chicken, turkey, beef will be great. Pork, even the leanest pork, contains about 10-15% of fat, so it does not suit us very well. I’ll use chicken thighs.

If your diet is strict enough, it is better to cut off the skins as they contain all the fat deposits.

Tip

Wash the thighs in water and dry with a paper towel. If desired, you can cut the fillet of the hip from the bone, and cut into large pieces. Now drop a drop of oil in a fryer or pot with a thick bottom, heat it up and throw the chicken. If you cut the skin, you should add a little more oil so that nothing burns. In my case, the fat will start to melt from the skin, which will cook the chicken, and then the whole zirvak. Hips are fried from all sides to golden crust.

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While the meat is being cooked, let’s cut the vegetables. Cut the carrots with straw, but not too small. Cut the onions into large cubes, as they still fall apart into small pieces during frying. Add onions and carrots to the roasted meat. Roast it for 5-10 minutes.

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At this stage, onions will begin to caramelize and bitterness will disappear. We add water and tomato puree to the zirwack.

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Control the amount of water as the shop chicken is now quite full of water, and sometimes a lot of liquid is released during cooking. Tomato puree is not a necessary ingredient, but I like this type of pilaf better. If there’s no mashed potatoes, throw in the tomato paste. But I would do it before adding water so that the pasta can fry a little and the “earthy” flavour is gone.

You can add broth instead of water. Then the meat flavor will be even more intense.

Tip

Now we add spices to the sauce – if you like spices, you can not spare them. I necessarily add salt, pepper, paprika, barberry. You can also throw icing, coriander, saffron, etc. Stew the zirwak for 20-30 minutes, occasionally refilling the water and stirring if it becomes scarce. Then add the rice and pour water so that it covers the rice completely.

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In several places, we pierce the future pilaf with a spoon to the bottom – in these holes will boil water and drive spices throughout the rice. We also divide the head of garlic into three parts and insert it from the top into the rice. Garlic does not need to be cleaned, it is important that it gives away its flavors – then we just throw it away. Cover the pot with a lid and leave it on a small fire. At first, do not open the container with pilaf so that the rice steams well. Later you can come back and add water if necessary. In an hour you will have a delicious diet pilaf with chicken.

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And for those who missed the information in the top about how many calories in the pilaf according to this recipe, I repeat – only 186 kcal. At the same time, we get a delicious rich dish, which is not ashamed to feed the guests.

Bon appetit! Don’t starve 😋