Azerbaijani pilaf with dried apricots and raisins

The first step is to prepare the ghee. Put butter in a stewpan with a thick bottom and put it on the stove. Melt the butter to a liquid state and simmer it over low heat until it acquires a golden brown hue. This will cause the oil to give off a nutty flavor. Remove the stewpan from the stove. Rinse raisins and dried apricots well with warm water and place in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the dried fruits with a couple of tablespoons of ghee and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Pour in 250 ml of warm water. We put a saucepan with dried fruits on the stove, bring the contents to a boil and cook for thirty minutes under the lid.

We spread the boiled dried fruits on a plate - the raisins and dried apricots should become completely soft.

Place the rice in a sieve, rinse it under running water until the cereal becomes translucent and the water spills through the rice completely clean. Pour two and a half liters of water into a saucepan and add one and a half tablespoons of salt. Bring the water to a boil and pour the prepared rice into it. Cook it until half cooked for ten to fifteen minutes. The surface of the grains should be soft, but the inside of the rice should still be firm. We put the semi-cooked rice on a sieve and let the broth drain.

Cooking kazmak: break eggs into a small bowl, pour in kefir, add a pinch of salt and turmeric. Shake well with a fork until smooth. Add a few spoons of rice boiled until half cooked. It is necessary to achieve a thick mushy mass.

Pour ghee at the bottom of the cauldron in such an amount that it completely covers the bottom. Then we spread the prepared rice mass for the kazmak and level it over the entire bottom area of ​​the cauldron in the form of a cake. Tamp it slightly.

Put prepared rice on kazmak, sprinkle it with turmeric for a beautiful color and pour over melted butter. The surface of the rice must be additionally generously poured with oil. Wrap the cauldron lid in a clean cotton towel and close the cauldron. This is to ensure that the condensation water is absorbed into the towel during cooking and does not get into the rice. We put the cauldron on the stove at the lowest temperature and cook pilaf for twenty five to thirty minutes.If the stove is gas, we recommend using a flame diffuser to evenly distribute the temperature. Then we turn off the stove and let the pilaf "reach" under the lid for another twenty to twenty five minutes.

The finished pilaf is fluffy and crumbly. Place it on a serving platter. Cut the rice cake at the bottom of the cauldron into sectors with a spatula and carefully remove it. Put the ruddy kazmak crust up on the pilaf laid on a platter.

Serve the previously prepared raisins and dried apricots to the pilaf separately on a plate, or put the dried fruits on the rice next to the kazmak. We serve decorated pilaf hot.