Chicken pilaf in a cauldron

Prepare the chicken for pilaf. To do this, the carcass should be cut into 9-10 pieces. Cut off the legs and thighs. Divide them into the thigh and leg at the joint. Separate the wings and neck. Cut the carcass into fragments of meat and bones.

Peel the carrots for pilaf in a cauldron, cut into half-centimeter thick plates. Cut the plates into strips.

Cut the peeled onions for pilaf into halves and chop into half rings.

Cut the quince for pilaf into four slices and remove the core.

Peel the top layer of husk from the garlic for pilaf with chicken and trim the rhizome. The head should remain intact.

Heat an empty cauldron over a fire. Pour in the oil. Heat it until it starts to smoke. Place the onion in the cauldron and fry it, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns yellow-brown.

Add the chicken pieces to the onion and fry, stirring, until the chicken is browned. Add a teaspoon of salt during frying. Place carrots on top of the meat and onions. Let the carrots dry dry for about three minutes. Pour a liter of drinking water into the cauldron. Add half of the prepared spices except turmeric. Add some salt. You already have one teaspoon of salt, add four more. What is now being cooked in the cauldron is the base of the pilaf, which is called “zirvak”. Once the water under the carrots has begun to boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.

Rinse the rice for pilaf. Transfer it to a large cup. Pour cold water into it repeatedly, stir the rice in the water with your hand and drain the water. Repeat the procedure until the water becomes clear. Fill the rice with water and set the cup aside.

Return to the cauldron. Spread the layer of carrots in the zirvak and immerse the heads of garlic and pepper in it. Add remaining spices except turmeric. Add washed raisins. And again simmer the zirvak for half an hour on low heat.

After half an hour, add turmeric. Boil water in a kettle. Place quince slices cut side down on the zirvak. Drain the water from the rice and place it on the zirvak. Flatten the rice. Increase heat to high. Pour hot boiled water into the cauldron so that it barely covers the top layer of rice.

The zirvak will boil over high heat and the water will evaporate as it passes through the rice. If the rice is not processed evenly, you should stir the layers of rice from the sides to the center, where the steam is stronger. As soon as the water boils so that it is at the level of the zirvak, cover the pilaf with a lid. To check the water level, move the rice layer away from the wall. Gather the rice layer into a half ball. Sprinkle the rice with crushed cumin. Reduce the heat under the cauldron to the very, very minimum. Keep the pilaf in this mode for 30 minutes.

Open the pilaf. Move aside the layer of rice and start stirring the pilaf from bottom to top. At the same time, remove pieces of meat, pepper, quince and heads of garlic into the prepared plate. Peel the garlic. When stirring the rice, shake it to make it fluffy. Place a mound of rice on a large platter. Arrange the quince in a circle. Place the meat on top, with peeled garlic cloves in between. Chicken pilaf is ready!