Pilaf Rice

"Pilaf (or pilau) is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth." - Wikipedia

There are many variations of pilaf rice, some cooked in the wok, some cooked in rice cooker, while others baked them. Wanting to try out something new with rice, I decided to cook mine in the oven.

It was one of those rare days when my house was in a total mess due to re-painting works. My helper was busy clearing, cleaning and packing the stuff. So as a good employer (ahem!) I decided to prepare dinner instead.

And so, I decided to make Pilaf Rice. Unfortunately, I didn't stir them to the right stage and some of the rice was not totally cooked. Fortunately, the taste was not too bad. No complaints received from the diners though. I shall try it again, it's not too difficult and the mixture of the nuts and raisins gave it a good mix of texture!

Recipe for Pilaf Rice, modified from Cooking-Ez.com
(Makes for 6 people)

Ingredients:
1 large Onion, chopped
2 cups Rice
2 1/2 cups Chicken stock
2 tbsp Olive oil
Some salt
Some pepper
Some paprika
50g Raisins
50g Cashew nuts, coarsely chopped

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, put in the olive oil over moderate heat. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onion, mix well. Add in salt, pepper and paprika and stir well.
   
2. Add in the rice all at once and stir continuously until the rice turned translucent. That will take about 5 minutes or more.
   
3. Then transfer them to a baking dish.
4. Add chicken stock in one go and mix thoroughly.
   
5. Add in the cashew nuts and raisins on top.
6. Cover  with a lid or aluminium foil, and put into the preheat oven of 190C for 30 minutes or until cooked.
7. Serve hot with vegetables or fish or meat of your choice.

Before I end, here's the before and after of my living room.