Azerbaijani pilaf Shah in lavash

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 2 hr 30 mins

1. STEP 1

   

   I took lean meat, because there is enough oil in the pilaf. Raisins need to be seedless. The original recipe uses dried cherry plum, which adds sourness; instead, I took dried cranberries and barberries.

2. STEP 2

   

   Rinse the rice thoroughly in water until it becomes completely transparent. Pour in plenty of salted water, add a few saffron stamens and 1/3 of the pilaf spices, cook until half cooked (5-8 minutes depending on the variety). Then drain the water, quickly rinse the rice under running water, and let it drain well.

3. STEP 3

   

   Pour boiling water over raisins, cranberries and dried apricots for 1-2 minutes, then drain the water and dry the dried fruits.

4. STEP 4

   

   Cut the onion: if small - into half rings of medium thickness, if large - into quarter rings.

5. STEP 5

   

   Clean the meat from films and cartilage, if any. Cut into cubes with a side of approximately 2-3 cm.

6. STEP 6

   

   Cut dried apricots into thick strips.

7. STEP 7

   

   Chop the garlic with a knife.

8. STEP 8

   

   Melt 100 g of butter in a cauldron or saucepan/pan with a thick bottom. Fry the onion until translucent. You can bring it to a golden color, but do not fry it too much.

9. STEP 9

   

   Remove the onion from the pan, add the meat to the remaining oil and fry over high heat until golden brown.

10. STEP 10

    

    Return the fried onion to the meat, add dried fruits, chopped garlic, 2/3 of the spices, salt, pour in the broth and add another 50 g of melted butter. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes.

11. STEP 11

    

    Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat.

12. STEP 12

    

    Cut the pita bread into long strips 5 cm thick. For these purposes, it is better to choose thin pita bread in the shape of rectangular sheets rather than round ones, because the longer the strips are, the better.

13. STEP 13

    

    Generously grease a cauldron or pan with melted butter: the bottom and walls almost to the top.

14. STEP 14

    

    Place several strips overlapping so that they cover the bottom and hang over the sides of the pan. Grease them with oil.

15. STEP 15

    

    Continue laying out strips of pita bread in the same way, periodically brushing them with oil, until the entire bottom and walls of the pan are covered.

16. STEP 16

    

    Place a third of the rice into the resulting “nest” and pour melted butter over it. Do not skimp on oil so that the rice does not end up dry.

17. STEP 17

    

    Place half of the meat with dried fruits, pouring meat juice from the pan over it.

18. STEP 18

    

    Continue layering: another layer of rice, pour oil, then meat, rice with oil. Cover the contents of the pan with the remaining ends of the pita bread and generously grease its surface with oil. Cover the dish with a lid and place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 1 hour.

19. STEP 19

    

    The finished shah pilaf should be placed on a board to drain excess oil, if any. To do this, cover the pan with a large board and carefully turn it over: the pilaf in the pita bread will easily slip out of the pan.

Comments on the recipe

Abigail

27.08.2023

4.5

I love pilaf, and in this form I think it is especially tender, steamed rice with dried fruits - it’s just superb how you managed to cook it! Bravo!!!

Olga

27.08.2023

4.5

Thank you. In fact, it turned out that preparing it is no more difficult than traditional types of pilaf. Perhaps it’s even simpler, because both rice and meat are cooked separately and in advance, and semi-finished products will definitely become soft in an hour in the oven. But when I cook regular pilaf from beef, pork or lamb (I love all the options), I’m always worried that all the ingredients will turn out “right.”

Aziza

27.08.2023

4.8

An awesome recipe, and here is an Azerbaijani chef preparing it

Irisha

27.08.2023

4.5

KITCHENFAIRY, the pilaf turned out gorgeous, truly royal! But I’m a little confused by dried fruits, they don’t stand out much in their sweetness?? I’ll be happy to try this, but my family is not friends with such combinations

Olga

27.08.2023

4.5

Dried fruits are an essential component of this particular type of pilaf. I specifically chose dried apricots from Azerbaijanis at the market - they are dark, with a pronounced sourness, almost unsweetened, but aromatic. It doesn't taste like Turkish (or whatever it is), which is beautiful, smooth, golden yellow and very sweet. Raisins provide sweetness, and dried cranberries and barberries give the meat a pleasant sour taste. I suspect that it will be even better with dried cherry plum, but I haven’t found it yet. My husband also made a face at first that he wouldn’t eat pilaf with dried fruits. He’s generally an expert on pilaf, but he’s never made anything like this. But everything was eaten without a single comment

Irisha

27.08.2023

4.9

KITCHENFAIRY, you will need to somehow look for dried fruits with sourness, otherwise we sell very sweet raisins and dried apricots too, although I also buy the dark, clumsy ones

Anna

27.08.2023

4.8

Truly royal pilaf!!! A very clear step-by-step photo recipe, I will definitely prepare this at the first opportunity!!!