Three Ways With Afghani Pilau

This is a recipe for Afghani pilau. It's sweet, fragrant, spicy, and absolutely delicious, and the best thing is, it tastes even better the next day. I've made this three times in the past month and a half, and it tastes incredible every time. The rice is originally a completely vegetarian dish, and I've made it as such, alone, but I've also made it with chicken, and with lamb mince stuffed peppers (yesterday). The recipe of the rice does not vary, but when I made it with the chicken, I cooked the rice in the chicken stock, and it was delicious with the added flavours of the ginger and garlic from the stock. You absolutely have to try this dish. It's incredibly good, I promise. I will put up the original recipe first, and then add the variations with the chicken, and the lamb stuffed peppers. The pilau, the recipe of which is a mix of the three pilau recipes I originally found here, is a rice dish with julienned carrots, almonds and raisins, flavoured with orange, and a dash of salt. I (naturally) tweaked the recipe to add a bit of extra oomph, so you can check out the original recipes, or use my modified version.

AFGHANI PILAU
INGREDIENTS:
50g butter
1 & 1/2 cups rice
3 Carrots, julienned
1/2 cup raisins/ sultanas (I used green raisins, because I prefer the taste of those)
1/2 cup almonds, slivered
Zest and juice of one orange
1/2tsp turmeric powder
3tsp dark brown sugar
2 dried red chillies, or alternately, 1/2tsp red chilli flakes
Salt to taste (approximately 1 & 1/2tsp)
1 pint chicken or vegetable stock (optional)

METHOD:

1. Melt butter in a heavy based pan. Add carrots and cook for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add in the orange zest, orange juice, almonds and raisins, and cook for a further two minutes. Add in the

   

   Carrots, almonds, raisins, and orange.

   turmeric.
3. Rinse and drain rice. Add into the pot with the chilli, and cook for a further two minutes until the rice has taken on the colour of the turmeric.
4. Pour over stock (if using) and pour over enough water until it covers the rice completely. Add in salt and sugar, stir gently. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, and the rice is almost done. Place the rice in an oven proof dish, fluff gently with a fork, cover with foil, and bake until completely done, approximately 25-30 minutes, at Gas Mark 4. Remove from oven, plate, and serve.

AFGHANI PILAU WITH CHICKEN


Afghani pilau with spiced chicken,
& sweet roasted potato & butternut.

This is my favourite version. It's absolutely delicious; sweet, with the spicy warmth from the chilli and cinnamon. Using the stock from the chicken gives the rice extra flavour, and ties the dish together nicely. As always, this recipe is tweaked according to my preferences. you can experiments with flavours, and increase and lessen amounts of spices and ingredients to suit your tastes. You can use boneless chicken (I prefer that), but using a whole chicken, pieced, will give the stock extra flavour. I made this with a side of butternut and potato, sliced, partly boiled, then roasted with butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and garlic, which tasted wonderful too.

INGREDIENTS:
500g chicken
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
3 cloves garlic,  peeled and crushed
1 large onion, cubed
2 pints water
2oz ginger powder
Salt and pepper to taste.
1/2tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2tsp nutmeg
5-6 cloves, crushed
5-6 cardamom pods, crushed
1tsp chilli flakes.

METHOD:

1. Cook onion, garlic, and ginger in a little butter until the onion is softened and slightly browned
2. Dip the chicken pieces in a mixture of ginger powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Add to the onions, and cook until almost cooked through.
4. Pour in water, cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through. 
5. Drain the chicken, and retain the stock. Return the onion to the chicken. You can discard the ginger pieces if you wish. 
6. Cook the rice as per above ingredients, adding in the retained chicken stock, and extra water if needed.
7. Place the rice in an ovenproof dish. top with chicken pieces.
8. Combine the cinnamon, nutmeg, crushed cloves, crushed cardamom, and chilli flakes. Sprinkle liberally over the chicken. Cover tightly with foil and bake until the rice is completely done, and the flavours have infused.
9. Remove from oven, plate, and serve.

AFGHANI PILAU WITH LAMB-STUFFED PEPPERS
This is a... well, almost an Indian-middle-eastern fusion sort of dish. The lamb was courtesy of my mother. I made the rice and finished putting together the separate compartments of the dish. The lamb is very fragrant and flavourful, and goes well with the sweetness of the carrots and the orange in the rice. As always, feel free to increase/decrease/omit ingredients according to your preferences. I know I can never stick to original recipes!
INGREDIENTS

Yes, that's a chemical burn on the wood...

500g Lamb mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2inch piece of ginger, finely diced.
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp cumin, ground
1tsp black peppercorn, ground
1tsp paprika
1tsp turmeric
1tsp red chilli powder
2 cinnamon sticks
2-3 cloves
Salt, to taste
Small bunch fresh coriander, chopped
2 potatoes, cubed
3 fresh tomatoes, blended to a puree
3 whole peppers, halved lengthways, and deseeded.

METHOD:

1. Cook onions, ginger, and garlic in oil until browned. Add in the mince.
2. Add in all the spices (ground coriander, cinnamon sticks, cumin, pepper, paprika, turmeric, cloves and salt), and the cubed potatoes. Lower the heat, cover, and cook until the lamb is cooked through and the water has burned away.
3. Pour in the tomato puree, and let it do until it had reduced.

   

   Time to layer up.

4. Remove from heat, and stir in the chopped coriander.
5.  Boil the halved and deseeded peppers in salted water for approximately 5 minutes, until they have softened slightly, but still hold their shape.
6. Drain, and then stuff generously with lamb mince.
7. Cook rice as per above ingredients, adding extra chilli if you wish. (Using lamb or vegetable stock for the rice will give it added flavour, which is always good.)
8. Place the rice in an oven proof dish, place the stuffed peppers on top. Cover tightly with foil, and bake until rice is cooked, and mince has browned slightly.

Time to plate up...