1. Heat vegetable oil in a pot over high heat. When it’s really hot, add the beef and brown it. Work in batches if you must – don’t overcrowd the pot, otherwise it won’t brown properly and the beef will lose a lot of moisture.
2. Add the onion, carrots, coriander, cumin, paprika, chilli, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cook for around 5 minutes.
3. Add the saffron to 1 cup of hot water, and then pour it into to the pot, along with the tomatoes, rosemary, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir well.
4. Cut the bottom of a head of garlic, place it directly in the pot, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
5. Remove and reserve the garlic. Spread rice over the meat and cover with beef stock. Depending on how salty your stock is, this is when you would want to add some salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for around 15-20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.
6. Remove the garlic and bay leaves. Stir gently and serve.
The amount of ingredients might seem overwhelming, but this is a one pot dish with no difficult techniques involved – give it a try!
Beef Pilaf
**Ingredients:**
– 650g beef chuck
– 2 large onions, julienned
– 3 medium carrots, grated
– 1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
– 1 tsp cumin seeds, ground
– 1 tsp paprika
– 1 tsp chilli flakes
– 3-5 bay leaves
– 1 cup of water
– 1/4 tsp saffron threads
– 400g chopped tomatoes
– 2 tbsp lemon juice
– 1 tsp fresh rosemary
– 1/2 tsp lemon zest
– 1 head of garlic
– 400g basmati rice
– 600ml beef stock
– Vegetable oil to cook
– Salt and pepper to taste
**Preparation:**
1. Heat vegetable oil in a pot over high heat. When it’s really hot, add the beef and brown it. Work in batches if you must – don’t overcrowd the pot, otherwise it won’t brown properly and the beef will lose a lot of moisture.
2. Add the onion, carrots, coriander, cumin, paprika, chilli, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cook for around 5 minutes.
3. Add the saffron to 1 cup of hot water, and then pour it into to the pot, along with the tomatoes, rosemary, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir well.
4. Cut the bottom of a head of garlic, place it directly in the pot, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
5. Remove and reserve the garlic. Spread rice over the meat and cover with beef stock. Depending on how salty your stock is, this is when you would want to add some salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for around 15-20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.
6. Remove the garlic and bay leaves. Stir gently and serve.
The amount of ingredients might seem overwhelming, but this is a one pot dish with no difficult techniques involved – give it a try!
**Preparation video:** https://youtube.com/shorts/IHe2W8CPlj8?feature=share