Lamb pilaf recipe: How to cook the perfect rice every time

Pilaf is a quintessential rice dish. Check out this lamb and sultana pilaf recipe, plus Jeremy’s best tips for making the perfect rice.

RICE is one of life’s treasures — so versatile and a component of so many cuisines.

Pilaf is a quintessential rice dish and a good place to start for beginners.

Pilaf begins with an aromatic base of sauteed vegetables — typically onions, celery, capsicum and garlic and sometimes, carrots, mushrooms or chillies. The vegetable base, along with herbs and spices, infuse the grains with extra flavour.

Rice and liquid are then added to the pot and cooked until the grains become tender. During that time they also absorb some of the flavour from the other ingredients.

Here’s a delicious option flavoured further with lamb and sultanas. It is even better when leftovers (if there are any) are reheated the next day.

LAMB & SULTANA PILAF

Picture: Dannika Bonser

Serves 3-4

225g long grain rice

1 onion, chopped

1 red or green capsicum, chopped

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp sultanas

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground allspice

1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed

½ tsp sweet paprika

½ tsp cayenne

600ml water or lamb stock

450g minced lamb

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the rice and soak if necessary.

In a pan, soften the onion and capsicum in the butter. Stir in the sultanas, sunflower seeds and spices. Add the drained rice and pour over the stock. Season with the salt and pepper and bring the liquid to the boil for 1-2 minutes.

Simmer gently until almost all the liquid has been absorbed.

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Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a dish-towel, then put the lid on tightly. Leave to steam for 15-20 minutes.

Fry the lamb in its own fat in a shallow pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season to taste.

Toss the rice mixture with the minced lamb. Sprinkle extra ground cinnamon or parsley over the top. Cover with foil and keep warm in the oven if not eating immediately.

Serve hot.

TIPS FOR THE BEST RICE

FOR the best tender, fluffy rice with separate grains, choose long grain white rice.

RINSE rice before you cook it — all types.

USE a little less water than the recipes call for if you want fluffy rice. The ratio of rice to water should be a little less than 1:2. In other words, if you are cooking 1 cup of rice, use 1 cup of rice to three-quarters cup of liquid.

I LIKE using chicken stock when cooking my rice; it adds more flavour. You can use water, vegetable stock, or beef stock if you’d like. It all depends on what you’re serving with the rice, and the flavours you want to enhance.

TIME the cooking carefully, follow instructions on the package or in the recipe, and lift the lid as little as possible. Lifting the lid will disturb the cooking process.

IF YOU still don’t have luck making fluffy rice with these tips, cook your rice like you cook pasta. Bring lots of water to a boil, add the rice, cook until just barely tender, and then drain the rice in a colander. Return to the hot pot and cover; let stand for a few minutes to steam.

THE ABSORPTION METHOD

COMBINE the rice and water and bring to a boil. If adding salt, swirl the pan to mix them; rough stirring could break the rice.

Use a sturdy pot with a tight-fitting lid. You want a pot with a heavy base for the most even cooking, and one that’s big enough to provide plenty of room above the rice for steam. A tight lid keeps the steam in. If your lid fits loosely, put a clean kitchen cloth between the lid and the pot. (Be sure to fold it over onto the pot so it doesn’t burn.) The cloth also absorbs the water that would normally condense on the inside of the lid and fall back down into the rice, so this is also a good trick to get drier, fluffier rice.

A bit of butter or olive oil will also help keep the grains from sticking together, while a little salt adds flavour.

Lower the heat to a simmer, and cover. After about 12 minutes, the liquid should be absorbed, and the rice still al dente.

If you served the rice now, you’d find the top layer drier and fluffier than the bottom, which can be very moist and fragile. Here’s where you need patience. Let the rice sit off the heat, undisturbed with the lid on, for at least 5 minutes and for as long as 30. This results in a uniform texture, with the bottom layers as fluffy as the top. That a pot of rice actually improves with a rest also gives you more flexibility for cooking the rest of the meal.