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Pilaf with chicken hearts in a cauldron

Chicken Heart Pilaf in a Cauldron

An unusual, fragrant, delicious pilaf made with chicken hearts! Most cooks traditionally make pilaf with lamb or pork, sometimes chicken. But some have already discovered pilaf made with chicken hearts. For one, it's budget-friendly, and for another, it's really tasty!

Nika

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Chicken hearts

700

Rice

Onion

Carrots

Garlic (about 1 head)

Turmeric

0.5

Vegetable oil

Water

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 26 % 9 g

Fats 31 % 11 g

Carbohydrates 43 % 15 g

192 kcal

GI: 19 / 81 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather all the ingredients for making chicken heart pilaf in a cauldron. Since hearts are one of the smallest cuts of offal, you can leave them whole and skip the cutting entirely, which makes the pilaf even quicker. Still, I'd suggest not being lazy and halving the hearts as you cook.
Step 2:

Peel the onion, rinse it under water, and cut it into half-rings. Put it in the cauldron you'll cook the pilaf in and sauté in vegetable oil until lightly golden.
Step 3:

Rinse the chicken hearts under running water, trim off the veins, and cut them in half. Add the prepared hearts to the cauldron with the sautéed onion and cook, uncovered, until done, about another 10–15 minutes.
Step 4:

Peel the carrots, rinse them under water, and grate them on the coarse side of a grater. Add them to the hearts and onion and season with salt. Keep cooking for about another 10 minutes, stirring as you go.
Step 5:

Rinse the rice several times under running water until the water runs almost clear. Break the head of garlic into cloves and peel them. Pour the rinsed rice into the cauldron over the sautéed vegetables and hearts, arrange the garlic cloves on top, pour in the water, add the turmeric, and bring to a boil. Once it boils, cover the cauldron, lower the heat, and cook the pilaf until done, about 40–50 minutes, without stirring.
Step 6:

Once the pilaf is done, uncover the cauldron, remove the garlic cloves if you like, stir everything thoroughly, transfer to a platter, and serve.

The hands-on cooking time won't be more than 30–40 minutes; after that the pilaf finishes cooking on its own in the cauldron. For spices, you can use ground coriander, cumin, barberry, and others.
To get consistently delicious rice dishes, it helps to know how to pick the right rice and the tricks to cooking it well.
Every oil is good only up to a certain point — its smoke point, above which it starts to burn and forms harmful compounds, including carcinogens. Choose an oil with a high smoke point for frying.
Since everyone's tolerance for salt, sweetness, bitterness, heat, and acidity is different, always adjust the spices and seasonings to your own taste. If you're using a seasoning for the first time, go easy — some, like chili pepper, are especially easy to overdo.