Spiced Pilaf Recipes

SPICED VEGETABLE PILAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. In boiling water, cook carrots for 4 mins, tipping in onions for the last min of cooking. Drain and mix in a roasting tin with 4 tsp oil, the cumin and seasoning. Roast for 30 mins, while you cook the rice.
• Heat remaining 2 tsp oil in a large pan. Add cardamom and cinnamon for 30 secs, then add rice and toast for 1 min. Pour over stock and 100ml water, then simmer, covered, for 25-30 mins, until rice is tender and the water absorbed. Remove cinnamon and cardamom.
• Tip in lentils and fork through before topping with spinach. Put lid back on and cook over a low heat, stirring once, until spinach has wilted and lentils heated through. Fork through again before tipping the cumin roasted veg onto the top and sprinkling with almonds, if using.

TASTY SPICY RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir onion, red pepper, mushrooms, and garlic until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in rice. Add chicken stock; cover and boil until liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Season with red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.

SPICED RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Thinly slice 2 scallions. Cook the scallion whites in butter in a saucepan with 6 cardamom pods, 2 fresh bay leaves, 2 star anise pods and 1 cinnamon stick until soft, 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup basmati rice, then add 1 1/2 cups water and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until tender, about 17 minutes. Set aside, covered, 10 minutes. Top with the scallion greens and some chopped dill.

SPICED RICE PILAF

Steps:

• In large saucepan, cook onion in olive oil until tender. Stir in rice and spices. Cook, stirring constantly, until rice begins to turn golden.
• Pour in broth and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Do not lift lid while cooking.
• Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes undisturbed.
• Then add the chopped spinach, raisins, and almonds, stirring, and fluffing with a fork. Sprinkle with rose water, and fluff a little bit more, if desired.

SPICED BASMATI RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Prepare the rice: Soak the rice in 3 cups cold water for 30 minutes to remove the starch.
• Cook the rice: Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat and add butter, onions, and 2 tablespoons water. Cook until translucent but not browned, 5 to 8 minutes. To the pan add cardamom seeds, cayenne, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Stir, and toast until fragrant, 2 minutes. Then, add the rice plus soaking liquid to the pot. Add salt to taste. Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Cover, turn off the heat, and let steam for another 10 minutes. Fluff the rice gently with a fork and serve.

EASY PILAF

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Prepare a 1 quart baking dish with butter.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the onion in the butter until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the rice; cook until the rice is slightly golden. Pour in the chicken broth. Season with the salt. Simmer another 5 minutes. Transfer to the prepared dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the broth is completely absorbed, 35 to 40 minutes. Fluff with a fork to serve.

SPICED LAMB PILAF

Steps:

• Put the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft and translucent, about 15 mins. Add the garlic and spices, and stir in for 2 mins.
• Crumble the stock cubes into 1.2 litres of just-boiled water. Add the rice and shredded lamb to the pan. Stir well to coat the grains in the oil and spices, then pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and lower the heat. Cook for 12 mins or until the rice is tender and the stock absorbed.
• Once the rice is ready, remove from the heat and add the raisins, spring onions, tomatoes and herbs, mixing well. Season to taste and serve topped with more herbs, almonds and a drizzle of natural yogurt.

SWEET SPICED MUSHROOM AND APRICOT PILAF

Steps:

• Bring a small pot of water to a boil and heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/230 degrees Celsius.
• Add the ancho chile to a heatproof bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Let sit to rehydrate, about 20 minutes, then discard the soaking liquid and roughly chop the chile, seeds and all.
• Transfer the dried porcini mushrooms to a medium saucepan and add the stock, 1 1/2 cups/360 milliliters water, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and a good grind of pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then set aside.
• Add the oyster and portobello mushrooms, onion, apricots, garlic, cinnamon, star anise, chopped ancho chile, 1/2 cup/120 milliliters oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper to a roasting pan (tin) that is about 10-by-13 inches/26-by-34 centimeters. Give everything a good stir, then bake until the vegetables are soft and well browned, 40 to 45 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from the oven, transfer half the mixture to a medium bowl, then arrange the remaining mushrooms in an even layer in the pan. Sprinkle the rice evenly on top of the mushrooms in the pan, without stirring, and set aside.
• Bring the porcini mixture back up to a simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the porcini mixture over the rice, again without stirring, and cover the roasting pan tightly with foil. Return to the oven and bake until the rice is cooked through and has started to brown on the bottom of the pan, and the apricots begin to caramelize, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and gently stir everything together.
• Add the scallions, parsley and the remaining 2 tablespoons/30 milliliters oil to the bowl with the reserved mushroom mixture; stir to combine. Spoon this over the rice mixture and serve.

SPICED PILAF

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, and set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Stir in rice, and cook until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain, and add to bowl of vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric, and cumin. Serve with grilled salmon.

SWEETLY SPICED RABBIT PILAF

Steps:

• Melt the butter and oil in a wide, lidded pan, and add the onions and garlic. Soften gently for 5 mins, then tip in the rabbit and cook for 5 mins more, stirring until it changes colour all over (it doesn't need to be particularly browned). Turn up the heat a little, add the spices and fry for 2 mins until aromatic. Lift out the pieces of loin and set aside.
• Tip in the rice, squash and prunes, cover with the stock and season. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 10 mins. Put the loin meat on top of the rice, re-cover and cook for another 5 mins or until you can see channels appearing in the surface of the rice and most or all of the liquid has disappeared. Remove from the heat and set aside for 10 mins.
• Fluff up the tender rice with a fork, check the seasoning and scatter with the fresh herbs and the nuts. Serve each portion with a blob of yogurt topped with a sprinkling of chilli or paprika, plus a drizzle of tangy pomegranate molasses or lemon juice.

SPICED PEPPER PILAFS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan with a lid. Add the onion, garlic and ginger, then gently cook for 5 mins until softened. Stir in the tomato purée and spices, and cook for 1 min more. Add the rice, stir to coat, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, tip in the lentils, cover with the lid and leave to cook over a low heat for 15 mins, until the lentils and rice are cooked. Stir through the spinach and mint (see tip below, if freezing).
• Use a sharp knife to slice the top off each pepper. Cut out the middle stalk and scoop out any seeds. Carefully trim the bottoms slightly so they stand upright, but the filling won't fall out. Fill each pepper with the rice mix and place the lid on top. Bake or wrap tightly in cling film or freezer bags and freeze.
• To cook, defrost peppers completely if frozen. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the peppers on a lightly greased baking tray and cook for 25-30 mins or until the peppers have softened. Serve with a green salad tossed with cucumber, herbs and a dollop of yogurt.

SPICED RICE PILAF

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cinnamon and cloves and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onion and cook until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat with onion mixture. Mix in water and bring to boil. Cover pan, reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender and water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Fluff pilaf with fork. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl.

SPICED BULGUR PILAF WITH FISH

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a lidded flameproof casserole dish. Tip in the onions and cook for 10 mins until soft and golden. Add the carrots and cumin, and cook for 2 mins more. Stir through the harissa, bulgur and apricots, pour over the stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 7 mins.
• Add the spinach and stir through until just wilted. Arrange the fish fillets on top, pop a slice of lemon on each and season. Replace the lid and cook for 8 mins, keeping over a low-ish heat.
• Turn heat to low and cook for 7-8 mins more until the fish is cooked through and the bulgur is tender. Season with pepper and serve.

SPICED BROWN RICE PILAF

Steps:

• In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, and set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Stir in rice, and cook until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain, and add to bowl of vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric, and cumin.