This Turkish rice with currants and pine nuts (iç pilav) is a wonderful side dish with a rich flavor that can also be served as a meal on its own. It has incredibly well-balanced sweet and savory flavors thanks to the currants, spices (allspice and cinnamon), pine nuts and herbs.
This is a classic side dish also known as ic pilav in Turkish cuisine. It was traditionally used for stuffing chicken, turkey or lamb, but today it is widely enjoyed as a delicious accompaniment to weeknight dinners.
What Is Ic Pilav?
İç Pilav (Turkish), which means stuffing rice, is a type of rice pilaf loaded with flavors. It is made with pine nuts, onions, rice, currants (or raisins) and spices and fresh herbs.
It was traditionally used for stuffing lamb ribs, chicken, turkey and grape leaves to make yaprak sarma, but it has changed a lot over time. Now it is used both for stuffing and as a side dish to accompany chicken dishes and meat dishes.
Besides, ic pilav is sometimes served as a main dish on its own. We mostly add some meat (lamb, beef or chicken) when we want to enjoy it for main meal. So flavorsome and satisfying for all family members!
Why We Love This Recipe
- It has well-balanced flavors. The spices, herbs, currants, pine nuts, and rice creates a great combination of sweet and savory flavors.
- It is a very easy recipe to make. Once the base has been made, all you have to do is cook the rice and allow it to rest – minimal work with maximum flavor.
- This iç pilav recipe is meatless. It can be served as an accompaniment to a wide range of recipes, but you can also make it a complete meal by adding lamb, ground beef, chicken or liver.
About The Ingredients
You can find the full list of ingredients with their exact measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Pine nuts: They have a very mild nutty flavor that blends in seamlessly with the other ingredients. But in some regions, almonds or chestnusts are used instead.
- Rice: We prefer using white rice like Baldo rice because of its characteristics. It is a plump, milled, short-grain variety found in Turkey and Italy. Alternatively, you can use Arborio rice or any long grain rice.
- Water: We use just plain water, but you can use chicken broth or vegetable broth to make it even tastier.
- Currants: This recipe traditionally uses currants, which are a type of small black raisins. We call them kuş üzümü in Turkish. If you can’t find them, use your regular raisins or the smallest raisins you can find.
- Spices: We use allspice, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
- Herbs: We use fresh parsley and fresh dill.
How To Make Ic Pilav
This ic pilav recipe brings together sweet and savory flavors in a very simple way. It’s an easy vegetarian dish, but you can also turn it into a complete meal by serving it with chicken or lamb.
Start by heating the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and pine nuts. Cook for about 3–5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion turns translucent. (You can reserve some pine nuts for topping if you like — see the note below.)
Add the well-rinsed rice and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the spices and currants, and stir well so the rice is evenly coated.
Pour in the boiling water, cover the pan, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let it simmer until the rice is cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed.
Remove the pan from the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then stir in the chopped parsley and dill.
Note: If you like, you can toast extra pine nuts in a small pan until golden and sprinkle them over the iç pilav before serving.
You can find the full instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Our Tips
- No matter what type of rice you use, rinse it well for a wonderful fluffy rice pilaf. You can put rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under hot water by shaking it to remove excess starch.
- It is very important to allow the rice to sweat a bit with the spices (before adding the water). This will help all of the ingredients release their flavor and ultimately create a much more aromatic dish.
- You can substitute chicken stock for plain water to have more flavor.
- Pilaf is a simple rice dish that requires long slow cooking, so please do not rush this by increasing the heat. Continue cooking it over low heat until all of the water has been absorbed.
- You can add 1 tablespoon butter after the water is absorbed and let it melt when rice is still hot.
- You have to leave the rice to rest for 15 minutes. During this time more water is fully absorbed and the rice also develops its fluffy texture.
Variations
This recipe is a vegetarian side dish. However, turning it into a complete meal by simply adding some liver, chicken pieces, or cooked lamb is very common in Middle Eastern cuisine.
There are traditional versions of this dish that include lamb liver or chicken liver. To add cubed liver or any other type of meat, you can simply brown the meat in a pan first, then follow the pilaf steps as is.
Serving Suggestions
Ic Pilav is a staple side dish we love to accompany with Kuzu Tandir. Together, they make a great option for a special dinner.
It also pairs well with many classic Turkish dishes, such as:
We also love serving iç pilav for lunch with a small bowl of cacik or homemade yogurt or a refreshing salad like Turkish Beetroot Salad or shepherd salad on the side.
FAQs
Traditionally this middle eastern rice dish doesn't contain any saffron, however, you can easily add some if you'd like. Saffron will add a delicately sweet and floral taste to it that will go exceptionally great with lamb versions of this dish too.
We wouldn’t recommend it, our rice pilaf recipe is best on the day it has been made.
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📖 Recipe
Ic Pilav (Turkish Rice with Currants and Pine Nuts)
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 35 grams pine nuts plus more for optional topping
- 300 grams rice Rinsed well. We use Turkish Baldo rice. Italian Arborio would work too. If you can't find these, use long grain rice.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon or use more if you want
- 35 grams currants
- 375 ml boiling water
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
- ¼ cup fresh dill chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and pine nuts, and cook until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the rice and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the salt, black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, and currants, and cook for 1 more minute.
- Pour in the boiling water and cover the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let it simmer until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for about 10 minutes. Add the chopped parsley and dill, then gently fluff with a fork or a spoon.
- For the optional topping, toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring often, until golden.
- Serve the ic pilav topped with the toasted pine nuts.
NUTRITION
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Maria says
I love the way the currants spice up the rice!
momgateway says
That's so creative! I'm sure it's delicious.
Cynthia Nelson says
I love the addition of raisins to savoury ingredients such as this.
Turkish Food Passion says
Zerrin, I used to be confused by currants and kus uzumu also. Here in the States, most Turkish people translate 'kuz uzumu' as 'currants'. Your translation is correct. The pilaf looks very inviting!
lisaiscooking says
Your rice looks great with the plumped currants! A pilaf with currants would be delicious with chicken.
Faith says
Lovely photos! I love currants, and I bet this rice is delicious!
Parita says
Looking at the title i thought its a sweet dish but this sounds delicious, i love currants and raisins in rice!
elra says
Hmmm, this rice with currants look so yummy Zerrin. I made rice pilaf with garbanzo and lentil last night. It was delish as well.
Erica says
In Colombia we have a delicious side dish rice recipe with coconut milk and raisins.
Your recipe sounds and looks fantastic!
jenn says
Mmmm...Looks very delicious and really simple to make. I don't think I've had currants before. I can imagine it with baked goods and desserts. I never would have though to put it with any rice recipe. Neat.
btw...cute picture from your mom. 😉
Tangled Noodle says
Oh! I almost forgot to mention that your mother's drawings are always such a joy. My first thought was: "sailfish!"
Tangled Noodle says
I can never get enough of rice! Usually, we eat rice simply steamed, allowing the accompanying meats, fish or vegetables to be provide most of the flavor (although leftover rice fried in garlic is a Filipino favorite). I would like to branch out more with rice and try making pilafs - this is a great recipe to start.
Thanks so much for the mention - I'm happy that the information helped!
Daily Spud says
We often use currants in baking here but I've never used them in pilaf-type dishes. I do love the combination of rice or couscous with dried fruit, but I usually use dried apricot or golden sultanas. I must try this version with currants sometime!
Zerrin says
Oyster- Actually, this rice pilaf is one of our common side dishes that we eat with meat or any kind of stew. That's why no sugar is added.
OysterCulture says
What a great photo. The rice pudding you made sounds delicious and and nutritious. I liked the fact that the only sweetness was provided by the currents themselves and not any additional sugar.