Tips To Make Fluffy Rice Pilaf

Rice pilaf is one of the oldest and most favorite dishes of Turkish cuisine. Old people say that the prerequisite of becoming a good cook is to make finger lickingly delicious rice pilaf. Although it seems easy, making good, fluffy rice pilaf is not that easy.  Everyone can make delicious, fluffy rice pilaf by following the recipe and gaining experience over time.

As for all things, there are certain tips to make rice pilaf. Let's take a look at the tips and crack the secret to make fluffy rice pilaf.

*You must be careful when choosing the cooking pot for rice pilaf. A flat cooking pot with non-stick surface is ideal for rice pilaf.

*You must also choose the best type of rice. So you can prefer Baldo type of rice with coarse grains.

*You must soak the rice at least for half an hour before you make the rice pilaf. If you have time, you can soak the rice for 3 hours. 

*Before making the rice pilaf, rinse the rice until the water runs totally clear to remove starch and obtain white rice.

*You must sautée and stir periodically the rice in a little amount of butter/oil, avoiding breaking the grains.  In this way, rice pilaf will be more delicious and grains will remain separate.

* If you are going to make the rice pilaf with vermicelli, you must first sautée the vermicelli until brown and then add the rice and sautée them together.

*Adding a few drops of lemon juice to water will help the rice to be clearer and whiter.

*The most delicious rice pilaf is made with butter. The tasty flavor of the rice pilaf comes partially from the butter.  You can double the smell and taste by using some of the butter during sautéing and melting and pouring over the rest of it after the rice pilaf is cooked.

*Adding salt to the rice pilaf when sautéing will help avoid breaking the rice grains.

*The rice to water ratio is also very important for a good rice pilaf. 1,5 drinking cups of water for 1 drinking cup of rice is ideal.

*You can also use chicken or beef stock instead of water. This will make the rice pilaf more delicious.

*The water you add to the rice pilaf must be hot. Keep the pot on high heat for about 30 seconds after adding the hot water to the rice, and then reduce the heat, letting it cooking on low heat with the lid on. In this way, the rice will be cooked on low heat and the rice pilaf will be extremely delicious.

*If you remove the lid while the rice is cooking, the spell will be broken. After putting the cooking pot on stove, keep the lid firmly in place until the water is completely boiled away.

*To avoid the rice pilaf become mushy, remove the lid after the water is completely boiled away and then toss it with a wooden spoon, gently stirring from outside to inside.

*Brewing stage is one of the key secrets of good rice pilaf. Let the rice pilaf brew at least for 10-15 minutes so that the rice pilaf has a good consistency.

Now you can leave the lid off or cover the pot with paper towel to avoid the rice pilaf become mushy.

Enjoy it…