Rice With Currants
The raisin in the picture is one of the most common ingredients that we use in various dishes. We call it kuş üzümü in Turkish. Kuş is for bird, üzüm is for grape. I think it has this name as they are small enough for birds. However, I wasn’t sure how to call them in English. Turkish-English dictionaries say ‘currant’ for it, but when I searched on the net for the visuals of currants, they were totally different from this raisin. Finally Tracey from Tangled Noodle saved me from my confusions and clarified its English translation for me. Thank you Tracey! She says small variety of grapes called ‘champagne grapes‘ are referred to as ‘currants’ when dried. And with the link she suggested, I learnt that “Although it may be confused with common black, red or white currants that grow on bushes, it is similar only in shape and size, but is not the same type of fruit. The dried grape that becomes a currant is often used like raisins as an ingredient when baking cookies and sweets.” So I’ll call them currants from now on.
There are small grapes in a bunch of black grapes and they don’t have seeds as they are not matured enough. These small grapes are picked seperately and dried, then they become currants (kuş üzümü). They give a bit sweet taste to dishes. We use it in cakes, cookies and compotes, but in Turkish cuisine, they are much liked in stuffed vegetables and rice pilaf.
Tip: To clean currants from their straws, coat them with a little flour, put them in a strainer with big holes. When you shake it, the straws will drop with flour.
Kuş Üzümlü Pilav
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 2 cups hot water
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive/vegetable oil
- 1 ¾ cup water
- 2 tbsp currants, straws removed and washed
- 2 tsp salt
-1 tsp lemon juice
Before washing, put the rice in a bowl, pour 2 cups hot water into it and add 1 tsp salt. Wait this for about 15 minutes. You’ll see how it turns out whiter within this time. Then wash it well.
Melt the butter in a pan. Add olive oil. When it is heated, add rice and salt to saute. Add 1 tsp juice of lemon. Lemon juice helps rice not to stick each other, which is so important for Turkish pilaf. Stir it continually for about 5 or 7 minutes on medium heat. Sauting the rice in oil is so important in making pilaf. Otherwise, rice will just be boiled and won’t give the desired taste. Then pour 1 ¾ cup water and currants, stir once and cover it. when it starts to boil after about 3 minutes, bring the heat to the lowest and do not open its cover for about 10 minutes until it absorbs all water. When there isn’t any water left in the pan, take it from fire. Put a big piece of paper towel just on top of pilaf and cover it again. Wait it for about 15 minutes so that the paper towel absorbs all the moist in it. Then uncover it and throw the paper towel away. It’s ready to serve.
You see how currants swell in pilaf although they are crinkle before being cooked. They look so cute that I can put them in any dish.
To serve it in the shape you see here, wet a small bowl. Fill it with rice and turn it upside down carefully on a plate.
Craving For Blue
Here is another cartoon by mom. I think she was inspired by the fascinating sea in front of her house. She loves to have a cup of coffee on her balcony watching and listening that blueness. I missed chatting with her there, I wish we can visit her soon. More words are unnecessary for this cartoon. Just close your eyes, imagine that bluness and feel the gentle breeze licking your face.
Bulgur Pilaf with Green Lentil
Mercimekli Bulgur Pilavi
This pilaf is another rare recipe even in our country. So many people don’t know this pilaf, they generally cook tehm seperately, bulgur pilaf near green lentil stew. I love them, but I also love them combined in the form of a pilaf. If you have a kind of stew, this pilaf will be a perfect side dish.
Ingredients
• 1 cup bulgur
• ¼ cup green lentil, boiled
• 2 cups water
• 2 green pepper, 1 onion
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
Melt the butter in a pan and add olive oil. Saute chopped green pepper and onion until soft, then add bulgur and boiled green lentil in it. Saute them for 5 minutes until bulgur gets crispy. Then pour water and sprinkle salt, black pepper and cinnamon in it and stir. Cover the pan and bring the heat to the lowest. When all the water’s gone, let it rest.
To serve it, put some in a small bowl and reverse it on a plate. You can garnish it with fresh dill or parsley. And if you have a bowl of homemade yogurt near it, you enjoy it more.
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Ash Plov
This is a special pilaf in Osh city of Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia). And this is not my own recipe, a very kind blog friend of mine, Jyldyz Chynybekova sent it to me. In fact, she is so kind that she sent a file of Kyrgyzstan recipes with pictures. I’m always very curious about different Asian dishes, so I’m very pleased to publish her recipes here. And this is just one of those exotic dishes. The rest will come later.
Ingredients
• 1 kg (2.3 lbs) red rice (or any if you can’t find it)
• 1 kg (2.3 lbs) meat – lamb, beef or chicken
• 1 ½ kg (3 1/3 lbs, 5 large carrots) carrots – yellow is the best
• 3 pieces, average sized onion – any type
• 1 cup vegetable oil – sunflower (you can use lamb fat also)
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• About 3 L (3 quarts) water or lamb broth
• 2-3 whole head of garlic
Saute chopped onions in oil until it gets red, then the meat (chopped into many medium pieces) is added. Meat is fried until a tender reddish crust appears.
Add the carrots (shredded) and fry it for about 10 minutes. Pour water and stew it for 20 minutes. Add rice, put heat on high. Bring to a boil and tuck a bunch of unpeeled garlic cloves down into the rice. I use a whole head. Reduce heat a little to prevent burning, add cumin seeds, stir and watch it until the water has evaporated.
Push the rice towards the center. Then poke holes in several places with the handle of a wooden spoon. Cover and simmer until meat, garlic and carrots are tender for 25 minutes and all the water has evaporated. Do not allow the plov to burn.
Serve rice on a plate and put the meat, garlic on top. Pop the garlic out of its skin to enjoy it. Salads with fresh or pickled vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers are good additions for enjoying plov.
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Rice with Carrot
Pilaf is the main side dish in Turkish cuisine. We serve it with meat dishes, chicken dishes, stews. Even some people eat it as a main dish. Sometimes they prefer various kinds of rice pilaf, sometimes bulgur(pounded wheat) pilaf, but mostley they have one kind of pilaf on their tables. 
Unlike Chinese people, who eat rice with sticks, Turkish people eat it with spoon. Now you can understand how we love it much, we can’t wait for long to eat a bowl of rice like the Chinese.
However, in Turkey the price of rice is higher than bulgur. As a result of global warming we’ve water problem, that is our water resources are decreasing day by day, so is the growth of rice in regions of Turkey. The government prefers importing it from other countries. In parallel with this, its price is rising, too. Today, many people can still afford it, but in the future it seems it will be more expensive.
As we can still afford it, let me give a delicious rice pilaf recipe. I learnt his from my friend’s mom and since the day I learnt it, I mostly prefer this one to cook. In fact, there are several kinds of rice pilaf. I’ll add those recipes later. Now you can enjoy this one.
Ingredients
• 1 cup rice
• 1 ¾ cup water (some put 2 cups, but I think that’s too much)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp salt, a pinch of dried mint and black pepper
Wash the rice and wait it in salty hot water for some minutes (15 minutes is enough) and drain. There should be no water.
Melt the butter in a non stick pan. Put chopped onion and carrot and saute them together until tender. Now add drained rice and stir until the rice is little crackly. Sprinkle salt, dried mint and black pepper. Then add 1 ¾ cup water and stir it once. Put the lid on and cook on the lowest heat until all the water’s gone.
Do not serve this immediately, but after 15 or 20 minutes, it will be ok. Serve it with any dish you want.
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Drinking House Pilaf Recipe(Meyhane Pilavı Tarifi)
This pilaf is mainly served in Turkish drinking houses with raki, which is the traditional Turkish alcoholic drink. That’s why its name is drinking house pilaf (meyhane pilavı). However, it is also a very common pilaf cooked in any Turkish home. This pilaf is eaten as a side dish, generally with kidney peas or chickpeas.
Ingredients
• 1 cup pounded wheat (bulgur)
• 1 big onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tbsp tomato or pepper paste
• 1 1/2 cup water
• Pepper flakes
• Salt
Saute chopped onion in olive oil until it gets brown.
Add tomato/pepper paste in it. Then put chopped peppers, tomatoes, salt and pepper flakes in it. Stir it for 5 minutes until they get soft.
Then it’s time to add bulgur (pounded wheat). Saute it for 5 minutes. When you start to feel the smell of bulgur, pour water and stir just once. Put the pot’s lid on. And reduce the heat to the lowest.
It will be ready after about 20 minutes.
Now you can pour raki and water in a glass and enjoy your meal.
Do not throw parsley roots away, use them in soups.
