
I love making Pilaf on occasions like my husband’s birthdays or any other celebrations we make. It’s so delicious that I can’t stop making excuses to make this Pilaf recipe.
Ramsha Baig
Fluffy basmati rice pilaf is oven baked with dried fruit, pine nuts and zaatar. Make this smooth middle eastern recipe for a flavorful aspect dish! Tender, fluffy and flavorful, this centre eastern rice pilaf is the best dish alongside red meat and lamb koobideh kabobs, grilled fish, or Moroccan chicken stew.
Baked Rice vs Stove Pinnacle Rice
Many rice pilaf recipes call for a stove top cooking method. While stove top recipes are quick and smooth to put together, the dish itself frequently falls short on flavor. One purpose can be the fast cooking time
After all, white rice is quite bland first of all, and it can take some time to impart flavor into the grains.
In comparison, oven baked rice pilaf cooks at a better temperature, and for an extended time. better heat helps, and the longer cook dinner time the rice has extra time to absorb the flavors of the alternative ingredients.
Even then, you need seasonings or other ingredients to help bring lifestyles to the dish. The usage of an aromatic sort of rice like basmati makes a massive difference.
So, aside from its aroma, how is basmati rice unique from different kinds of rice?
Well, basmati rice has more nutrients!
As you may already realize, brown rice – wherein the hull, bran, and endosperm of the grains are left intact – includes extra fibre and vitamins than normal white rice.
What you can now not recognize is that brown basmati rice has approximately 20% greater fibre than different sorts of brown rice.
Delicious, aromatic, and a bit healthier? Yes, please! I always buy basmati rice by Meraki Organics their rice are so perfect in every factor. And they are so easy to buy from Amazon.
Basmati


Ingredients You’ll need:
long Grain Basmati Rice- whether you use white or brown basmati is up to you. Even other long grain rice can be great. keep away from quick grain rice, as it’s better in starch and has a tendency to be too sticky for a great pilaf.
Dried fruit- Cherries add tartness while golden raisins upload sweetness; a really perfect pair!
Shallots- Unlike their spicier cousins, onion and garlic, shallots have a milder, delicate, sweet flavor. They provide sharpness, but without overpowering the dish like onions can.
Pine nuts- also known as pignoli, these safe to eat seeds of pine trees are tender, with an almost buttery flavor. They may be costly (the harvesting is labour intensive) though. The great substitute for pine nuts is finely chopped cashews.
Seasonings- Heat spices compliment the sweet flavors of the dried fruit. Just a stick of cinnamon, some sea salt, black pepper, and zaatar spice.
Cooking liquid- Chicken or vegetable stock, or in case you opt for, water.
How To Make Middle Eastern Rice Pilaf
Melt the shallots. Just like whilst you make a pilaf at the stove, you need to soften the veggies before including the rice and cooking liquid
Rather than sauteing the shallot in a sauce with oil, you may drizzle the oil over the shallots, then bake them within the oven for a few minutes
Warm the cooking liquid. While the shallots are cooking, heat up your cooking liquid. Chicken or vegetable stock, or if you prefer, water. You don’t have to bring it to a boil; a simmer is fine.
Add the seasonings, dried fruit, pine nuts and cooking liquid to the baking dish.
Place the seasonings into the pan first, followed by the fruit and nuts. Then, gently pour stock over everything in the casserole dish and stir to combine.
Cover the pan tightly with aluminium foil, then bake.
For oven baked rice pilaf to cook dinner, it needs moisture from the stock. covering the dish tightly with aluminium foil maintains the moisture interior
Garnish with chopped parsley and serve
FAQ: Commonly Asked QUESTIONS
Do you have to rinse rice before baking it inside the oven?
When you cook dinner rice at the stove pinnacle, rinsing away a number of the starch helps save you from becoming sticky.
One of the great things about making oven baked rice is that the grains absorb the liquid more slowly. This helps save you from being sticky, so you truly do not want to rinse it first.
How do you fix rice that’s sticky?
If you make rice at the stove pinnacle and it comes out sticky, you can use your oven to dry it out!
simply spread the sticky rice into a single layer on a baking sheet. Then, place it into a preheated 325°F. oven and allow it to cook dinner for 5 to 10 minutes.