nowadays it's no longer made with meat. It has been been replaced by chicken. Also nothing of the other stuff you added.. Only chickpeas is added to rice and chicken with salt and pepper. I'm surprised how much the recipe has been changed. 😁😁
Hello from Kazakhstan 🇰🇿. We in my country eat Pilav a lot, my grandfather always cooks a huge pot of pilav for our family. He always says that what makes pilav so special is the combination of different rare spices. In my country we normally say that it comes from the south, or the Uzbeks, I don’t know much history on that part, but I can definitely say that pilav today is a national dish for all of the Turkic people. Really pleased to see a video on a dish, that is really important to my culture and my family! ❤ Edited: also a small fact about the dish that I want to add, that we in Kazakhstan eat horse meat, so sometimes instead of lamb, chicken or beef we might use horse meat for this dish!
I was waiting for a comment from Central Asia here :) I'm from Russia originally, but my grandmother made Uzbek plov at home ever since learning it there on a research trip (she's a scientist). She always used the cast iron kazan dish for it. I now make it for my friends and family in Germany where I live :) It's the ultimate comfort food for us.
@@DipanjanPaul: You might need to throw in paella into that list too. And, while the name is different, I wonder if risotto doesn't have the same roots.
In my Soviet childhood in the Central Asia my favorite feast was a Muslim Ramadan when the ouigoure children brought out from home candies, pastries to share. My God it was the tastiest treat I ve ever tried.
The intended nut in the recipe book may be pine nut instead of pistachio. In the transcript, the recipe simply says "fıstık", which is the common word, at least in modern Turkish, for all kinds of nuts, including pistachio and pine nut. In modern recipes, currant is often paired with pine nut in pilavs. Funnily enough, the words "fıstık" and "pistachio" are both derived from the Middle Persian "pistag".
@@t_y8274 I wonder what sarma would taste with pistachios 🤣 I'm Romanian, so our sarma are boring, but a nice grapevine leaf sarma, with spices and nuts, mmm... that sounds so good.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 the choice of nuts isn't too weird, if you were having this dish near Antep (Antioch) or thereabouts it'd be the common nut available. It certainly wouldn't be my preference over pine nuts of course but I'm biased.
"The Disgusting One", "The Annihilator", "The Reacher", and to a lesser extent "The Shuffler" sound like eldritch gods worshiped by evil sorcerers in some dark fantasy story.
As a Turk, I'm so proud of you Max the way you told the history of the food and the different events in the history of the Ottoman Empire is absolutely SO fascinating. You were also really but I mean really respectful which I truly admire of you. Please do more of the Ottoman Empire series, really loving it! Wish you a excellent day!
@@a.s2205 who are you say other who is from this nationality and that ? just know about your own lineage dont worry about others every one knows about themselves
Beautiful storytelling and research. Thank you. I am Turkish and I only ate this dish once when I was a child at a wedding that my parents attended. Turns out it was so memorable that I sometimes have dreams about it.
I have never watched a better cooking video in my life. Not even from any of the "celebrity" chefs who lack any intellect in the first place. Thank you for this unmatched beautiful and entertaining "lecture".
I must say I love the sound of the Ottoman approach to turning a feast into a tasting party. Everyone gets a little bit of everything but we still get nice and full. Sounds exciting and makes me wonder if the pilaf was developed as a way to fill up if you'd been a bit too polite earlier in the meal.
The idea was actually not about throwing a party for the elites but making lots of food and tasting some of it and distributing among locals the most part as people would even take leftovers home i.e. not wasting the food because in Islam food is respected as gift and mercy from God.
Pilaf dishes are how I survived when I was completely broke. I'd poach a piece of chicken use the poaching liquid to cook the rice with vegetables, cut up the chicken and mixed it all together when I was done. I'd have that for both lunch and dinner at least five days a week sometimes more. They're a great way to eat a complete meal with meager means... though making it with lamb I would consider very fancy. I can't wait to try this!
It’s crazy how delicious food is so much cheaper, delicious and better for your body and mind over grocery store packaged foods or fast food, yet most people still do it.
It all comes down to the time spent. Good food, even when simple, takes time and not everyone is willing to spend it. And then there’s those people who don’t know how to cook.
as someone who makes this dish frequently, i would definitely advise you to try it out with chicken! but make sure you use chicken with bones or a more fatty part because chicken breasts tend to become too dry for this recipe
@@Muljinn you can spend an hour to cook huge pilaf pan for 3 or 4 days ahead, otherwise you would spend about the same time either way with cooking something like ramen and getting it, unless you just hoard it like crazy. it's also one of easiest things to cook.
I’m first gen American, parents from Albania. This was a regular dish in our home growing up! We ate it with salad and spicy pickles on the side. For dessert we had homemade yogurt topped with honey and walnuts. I have thought of this dish for years but never learned how to make it. I’m so glad you made this episode! Thank you ☺️
Acem is the Turkish rendering of Ajam. In the original Arabic, it's literally "deaf-mute," but used to refer to someone whose first language isn't Arabic. Initially, it was a racial pejorative. But later on, it was used by Non-Arab Muslims to refer to Persians. So, an Arabic insult for Persians became the name of a Turkish dish.
Calling speakers of a different language something along the lines of "deaf-mute" probably happens quite a lot. For example, the proper Czech word for a German literally translates to "mute". (I think that goes for Slovak and Polish as well.)
I spent 3 years living in Central Asia and the tribe that controlled the country was know for being bad cooks, particularly baking terrible bread… it’s funny to experience how slurs like that develop.
That's where the term barbarian comes from. To ancient Greeks, everyone who wasn't Greek was considered to be speaking unintelligible mumbles that just sounded like bar bar bar.
The fact that you mute your chewing is why this is one of my favorite cooking channels (aside from the fact history is awesome). The sound of chewing makes my soul cry.
It's honestly such a kind decision on his part. For me, part of my autism manifests as misophonia, and the sound of chewing is a huge trigger for me; it makes my blood boil, my skin crawl, and makes me sick to my stomach. I'm genuinely so grateful that he mutes himself because so many food youtubers don't, and it completely gatekeeps me from watching their videos.
100%. There are other cooking channels I enjoy but I often have to skip the parts of the videos where they're eating. Idk why but it's like nails on a chalkboard to me.
Good Lord ! It’s just as well that you lot,..so finicky about such an elemental ‘ mammalistic ‘ act as ( gasp ! ) CHEWING,..do not live here in Japan ! Or, in fact, virtually anywhere in Asia, really,..as the relished slurps, chews, gnawings, and interminable commentary on the satisfaction ( or otherwise ) of the dish in question would drive you all bonkers ! 😂 😂😂 I’m genuinely curious. As a chap of Asian derivation, what is it, exactly, that appalls denizens of the Anglosphere so mightily about the sounds of hearty eating !? 😂 Best not venture to a yum cha in HK, or, a neighbourhood ramen eatery in suburban Japan, chaps ! 😂
Okay, that story of the old man filling the bag is genuinely really funny, I’m glad there seemed to be good spirits about it rather than embarrassing either person involved.
We Turks don't like embarrassing people. We register it and say something normal to make the embarrassing situation go away. And we don't laugh at embarrassing situations, even if it's funny, so as not to further humiliate the person. That is a culutral thing
I really appreciate that approach to social humor! 💕 A lot of our traditional style of local Kiwi humor is "put-down" humor (mocking and putting others down as a supposed joke) which I really dislike, as I find it far too easily spills over into bullying... Another thing we unfortunately have a cultural problem with here, esp. in our workplaces. An etiquette approach which instead aims to stop people being embarrassed, especially due to accidents they can't help, sounds very thoughtful and hospitable!
I LOVE the idea that George Costanzas have existed in every culture, and in every time period. So even hundreds or thousands of years ago, there was always That Guy that everyone dreaded seeing at a party😂
The French were worse at the time--they not only double-dipped, but they used the bread as a napkin to wipe sauce off their face before double-dipping.
@@batuhandemir9556 yes, stomach cow soup aka ciorba de burta, but this depends very much in your tastes, usually when foreigners hear of this soup , theyr a bit skeptical, but it is quait delicious. It's hard to recomand something from romania to a person from turkey , given how much influence turkey had on our cousine, except for the sour soups I think . Usually served with polenta and are very varied, from potato and beans cold sour soups to meat ball sour soup and all other varieties including beaf chicken fish and pork soups.
@@stefanionutalexandru6916 We have that soup actually called ishkembe (işkembe). But I am sure all countries make it different. Definetely I Will Check it out! Thank you! :)
Pilaf is a very common dish in my country (Romania), my mom makes it rather often and it was a surprise for me when I first learned that it comes from the Ottomans, even though it does make sense seeing how much of a influence they had over our culture. I am really curious to see how similar (or different) this is to what I am used to!
I am also Romanian, and as you probably noticed our variant is a lot different, but it makes sense since you probably couldn't find a lot of these ingredients at that time, so our ancestors had to improvise and replace with other things that they had.
It's really just the name that that we took. In Ottoman pilaf the rice grains have to stay separate from one another which is not how the Romanian pilaf is made.
As far as I know the word "Pilav" comes from Persian. It amazes me to see how different cultures adopt and adapt food. Would definitely want to try the Romanian pilaf :D Love from Turkey.
@@Edi-zp4wp This is one of those dishes were the details can vary alot, different spices, with or without carrots, all kinds of meats, and still be the same dish.
Romanian here, but as a person from the former ottoman empire with gastronomic influence, to help it get off the pan, when it is turned face down to fall from the pan to the plate, you are supposed to hit the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon (to avoid dents)
I suspect a lot of Mrs Ramsey’s displeasure with the meal would have been that there was no conversation to distract her while everyone else was eating. Since she filled up on the second course, she basically had to sit and watch everyone else eating for three hours, so I’m not particularly surprised that she found it unpleasant.
I used to frequent a restaurant that was the domain of a chef from Lebanon. You would pay a set price and your table was yours for the night. There would be course after course, always a surprise. I don't recall pilaf, but the end of the meal was always Turkish coffee. After the dishes were cleared there would be music and dancing, trading of jokes, and inevitability more food and more coffee. I'm so grateful to have had this unique experience, especially since it happened in Wisconsin.
That sounds... absolutely amazing. My university had a random hole-in-the-wall Lebanese kebab place in an otherwise heavily-curated suburban UTC, and I swear it was the best restaurant there by a country mile. They're long gone now, but man, I miss that place.
So you had many mezza plates my friend. We have them at restaurants in Lebanon, many small dishes of hot and cold appetizers. At home we usually just cook stews
When I went to Turkey during a four-week long trip in high school; we had this dish. This was, by far, my favorite dish on the entire trip. I never knew the name and always assumed it was a special dish made by whichever restaurant we were at. Now I know. Thanks!
The proverb "Humans are not rare, but humanity is rare." Speaks volumes for all the disgusting things going on in the world today. I replayed that multiple times to make sure I heard it right, and read it right. This is not because I couldn't comprehend, It felt like something I needed to hear in I'm soul.
I appreciate that you do not edit the videos to just show the end presentation, but show us the initial mess of the dish falling. It's encouraging that none of us are impervious to cooking mishaps
Ben bir Türküm ve atalarım ve yemek kültürümüz hakkında hazırlamış olduğunuz bu güzel video için size teşekkür ederim. / I am a Turk and I would like to thank you for this beautiful video you have prepared about my ancestors and our food culture.
Took my wonderful wife to a Turkish restraint a few years ago, never thought I could recreate the amazing flavors. Thank you Max, you bring the world to our tables.
Hey! Thank you for doing this! I am Turkish and did not know about a lot of this. I was always taught strictly to never pick and choose from a serving dish - just take whatever is closest to you. I think about this every time I’m at a dinner… I know that in Chinese culture you are also not supposed to cut your food at the table, it was considered disrespectful to the food itself. Also, I had read (not sure where!) that back when Turks were still in Central Asia, it was customary for guests to bring their own spoons, which were often very ornate and carried in their own silk bag. Not sure if you came across that. Anyway, thank you, this was wonderful.
In Russia, Ukraine and many Asian republics, this dish is called plov. Cumin, raisins, barberry and saffron are also added there. All this is done on fat tail fat.
So true! I would spend three weeks at a time there in Kiev, and a housekeeper would come in and make plov at least twice a week. Yum. Not much meat, though!
The dough might or might not be an improved lid but there is also "perde pilavi" - curtain pilaf - where the entire meal is encased in a crispy "curtain" of dough like some kind of a pie. That is in fact a fancier and rarer presentation of pilaf. I wonder if the original recipe might have been going for something like that.
Valla, perde adıyla ilgili soru işaretleri var çünkü koyunun karın kısmındaki yağa kimi yerde çember kimi yerde de perde derler ve bu pilavın yapımında kullanılır, adı geçen karın yağı bazı organları çember şeklinde perdeler. 😊
It’s so, so reassuring to hear someone with considerable reach talk about their misophonia. So many people don’t know about it, and it’s always so hard for me to tell people about it, so I often just suffer through meals with groups without any music and just chewing noises and silence. Thank you for making people a little more familiar with this.
there are places and cultures where chewing loudly and belching after a meal is considered good manners. I am come from a country with many sub cultures that practice this. I find it to be absolutely hellish.
Yep , misophonia sucks. I get angry hearing people chew , myself chewing isn't too bad but others makes me soooo angry. Same with dripping taps , ticking clocks and a few other things. Some people don't understand it which makes it difficult..
There is a reason Uyghur etiquette kept being followed through Ottoman. "Uygur" or "Uygar" means civilized in Turkish, previous Turkish cultures were mostly nomadic while Uygur culture formed actual cities and settled. Same culture continued with Seljuks and Ottomans when they migrated to Anatolia and settled there. Turkish culture adopted the western method of everyone having their own plates now, but we still prefer having a lot of smaller side dishes and putting it into our plate rather than having 5 course meals. Closest example would be a thanksgiving meal where everyone eats small portions of their favorite dishes from a big selection from the table. Pilav is no longer the last dish of a Turkish meal tough it is still quite popular. And even when you eat meals with your hand you usually use bread to pick food up rather than trying to pick rice up with your hands. Drinking coffe after the meal is common and quite practical. Caffeine instantly moves the digestive tract by relieving stomach and instestine muscles. It is quite effective to drink coffee 40-50 minutes after a meal.
Riso pilaf and arroz pilaf were quite popular in Italy and Spain as well. I remember my mamma (I am Italian) making it for guests at dinner quite often. But then, in the past twenty or thirty years it must have gone out of fashion since I never had it again. I had not thought about this recipe for a very long time until I saw this video. Thank you Max for bringing back childhood memories
I wonder who came up with the recipe first. Considering a lot of Southern Europe was overrun by the folks who make up the Ottoman Empire, the Ottomans could have copied this recipe from the Spanish or wherever else they conquered in Europe that the dish originated in.
As a Turk, your pilav looked delicious. The pilav as it is known today in Turkey usually accompanies another dish such as beans or dried chickpeas, or it is eaten with meat (red or white, many different recipes). Yours is a less known or made variant in modern Turkey but it is among one of the best in my opinion.
Fascinating! Just for cultural exchange, I feel compelled to point out that in many East Asian cultures, slurping soup and/or noodles is considered a sign of appreciation, not rudeness. The idea of food being cut up small enough to not need a knife reminds me a lot of how stir-fries are supposed to be made, though!
I am also a big Fan of having everything small enough to BE easely eating With Just one Utensil, spoon, fork, chopsticks or hands. Not a Fan of Always needing knife and fork or all three AS ITS usual where I am from. If you already Cut stuff in the kitchen, you can do IT all the way. I am "lazy" Like that 😂
That, stir-fry being bite sized, is also for a similar reason, Confucian thought held that only an individual of coarse sentiments wouldn't be upset by a knife at the table, since it would serve as a reminder of the slaughter of the animal.
thats because in eastern cultures soup always consists a form of noodle. its understandable. but in turkish or generally middle east culture soups are thicker. some are so thick they can be confused with porridge.
@@mehmetgurdal It might be more accurate to say that many regions of China for a specific example just love soups, so noodles are frequently in the form of a soup. Other noodle dishes are called "dry" noodles even if they have a sauce, because it's referenced more as being a dry soup, but there are also egg soups, vegetable soups, bamboo shoot soups, and many more that don't have noodles. In addition to this you have hotpot, where you have ingredients you put into a broth to cook them at the table, which can include pretty much anything.
Pilaf or plov is an extremely widespread dish across Eastern and Southern Europe and big chunk of Asia. Versatile too, because it can be cooked in innumerable ways.
Personally, I associate it to the Antilles ^^ And it's a classic of french cuisine, but it's just a method of cooking plain rice, no flavourings, so it's boring XD
As a Turk myself, we loove eating and creating and trying new dishes from different parts of the country. I really appreciate you mentioned ancient Turkish resources such as Kutadgu Bilig which is taught to students from middle school. And as a little tip for the turning the pilav - which is pronounced like pea-love instead of f - you cook it just enough to leave some water encapsulated in rice which adds cohesion to the meal and makes turning easier well done and thank you
Oh, and here I thought you were just being polite in your videos by chewing silently but THANK YOU FOR BEING THAT PERSON AND MUTING THE CHEWING - THE SOUND HURTS SO MUCH THANK YOU THANK YOU
I'm with you on the chewing thing! I don't know if you've ever looked into it, but there's something something called misophonia, which is an auditory processing issue where certain sounds trigger the fight or flight response instead of reacting normally in your brain. I also have to listen to TV or music while eating, especially with family! I actually noticed that you don't usually have exaggerated or loud chewing noises in your videos and it's part of why I like your channel so much :) Plus you're always well-researched and as a foodie and an archaeologist, it always hits the spot. Great video!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia Yes, misophonia is real, and is likely to be how the brain is "wired". It is lifelong, and not anxiety driven although it can be anxiety inducing. I have misophonia, which made family dinners growing up miserable for me! My Mother played music, allowed me to wear sound reducing gear, and eat so slowly I could finish my meal in quiet bliss after the noisy eaters left the table. Thank you, Mom, for being understanding and helpful. And bless you for editing out those sounds! Hurray, such consideration.
I have developed this over the last 25 years or so. (I'm 66.) So annoying, I really wish it hadn't happened but, oh well. My daughter and I watch TH-cam while we eat dinner, which when you talked about your dislike, I pointed at the TV and said, "see, it's a real thing." Lol.
Was coming here to say this; glad I looked through the comments first ;) Misophonia is an active field of research with people trying to understand how it develops.
TH-cam recommended this channel and when I saw its content, I decided to watch it immediately. The Ottoman Empire has many legacies that have survived to this day, combined with modern Turkish cuisine, and it is truly proud to see a foreigner making one of them and also conveying its history! Thank you ❤
I love all your videos, but I’m always especially excited for ones that feature areas outside of the US/West Europe. Thanks for helping me learn about all the places school didn’t bother teaching me about!
8:40 - Believe Ye me .... I literally thought of George Costanza too when I heard of the infamous Double Dipper ..... Imagine having a knave like George in old Ottoman Turkish time too ..... truly a timeless character ......
Oh I can just imagine it, he's a bumbling ottoman bureaucrat who spends the entire episode trying to eat the food around the room instead of discussing serious business with the rest of the government officials. Sneaking around taking spoonfuls off of people's plates to everyone's annoyance.
there are actuaally a couple of tricks to getting the flip right, 1, tadig method, layer rice, meat, onions, nut, rice, toast the bottom and flip. 2, do as you have it, onions and meat, nuts, rice, but make sure everything is packed tight, also, make sure there's enough fat to fry whats in the pot so that it will release when flipping, 3 dont wait too long before flipping. also you gotta show the plate who's boss, confidence is key when unmolding
I’m wondering if maybe the gap between the top of the food in the pot and the surface of the plate was part of Max’s problem? If the food went all the way to the edge of the pot, and the flat center of the plate could completely cover the top of the pot, maybe he could directly transfer without things reshuffling in the gap in between?
I own only one non-stick skillet of a very specific size with straight sides - just for tadig! Sure gives you a better chance of flipping out the dish and not cracking the lovely rice crust. And getting the right size/depth platter to fit the skillet can take a try or two if you've never done it before. And boy, are you right about showing the plate who's boss - you gotta be confident and just FLIP IT! i can't wait to try THIS recipe!
Aha! Time for a bit of kitchen pedantry. Re.sealing your pot with dough. It is still done in some French dishes, even though our pots close well. I happen to have the same orange Le Creusot pot you can see in Max’s background. Yet some recipes call for a « cocotte lutée », the « lutée » bit meaning sealed with a dough of flour and water. It does concentrate the aromas. And for a pilaf, it will make your layers stick together. I use that pot, and that technique, for pilaf. Loved the video and the recipe. Brilliant research and so entertaining. Thanks Max!
This was one of your most hilarious videos! Regarding the 'mess' thing: A) you seem to have no idea what a mess of this move actually could be. You actually did it so elegantly! B) i think a possible reason that they could it do it more neatly could actually be what you had said earlier, that their lids didn't really fit their pots. So they might have had a much larger lid for their pot which could have made the flipping part easier.
Years ago I used to know a girl who was half Persian and she used to cook this. She called it Tadik, if I remember correctly. She always had rice at the bottom of the pan and round the sides. It was cooked slowly until the rice had absorbed all the liquid (got to get the amount of liquid right) then cooked on further so that the rice at the bottom and sides started to brown, but not burn, a bit like the delicious crust that you get at the bottom of a Paella, which the Spanish call the socarrat. It must be done in the oven so the rice browns all round. When it's ready it will turn out onto a dish, a dome or cylinder of toasted rice which reveals all when you cut into it.
It is, bi bim bop (or bab, or bap, depending on who is translating) is the national dish of South Korea. Dolsot indicates that the bi bim bop is served in a very hot stone bowl, which makes the rice on the bottom develop a tasty crust.@@tombristowe846
Tahdig is the rice layer that crisps up, likely she was making a Tahchin dish which is the dish you’re describing that needs the Tahdig layer to create the dome shape your referencing. Iranians have tons of polo recipes that always includes the tahdig layer.
Great video , I am Egyptian and it was very interseting seeing that the original recipe used 'Egyptian ( short grain) rice ' ..We still cook that recipe in Egypt specially at banquets but the funny thing is that we use Basmati long grain Asian rice not the Egyptian one ...😸
Egypt, which came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in 1517, officially remained part of the Empire until 1914. So they stayed too much in there also they have a habit to grab the best of the best from the each country that they controlled.
Ottoman times best quality rice came from Fizan city ( I think it’s in Egypt). Usually only rich could effort it. Turkish ottomans only ate bulgur wheat .
@@emre28oz79 Very true and still Egyptian rice one of the best qualities in the world and a major crop here which comes second in importance after wheat to Egyptians ,but the best thing is that we export it too ,,some recipes specially Egyptian ones like Mahshi محشي and Koshari كوشري (our national dish ) , sweet rice puddings can't be made with any other kind of rice . The Asian kinds are good for banquets with meats and poultery only , but not an everyday dish . My family used to grow cotton & rice as I live in the Nile Delta ..I remember one of my Grandfathers used to grow a very rare kind of pricey rice that we call it عنبري (amber like ) as it has special aroma to it .Egypt is a beautiful country full of goodness .Blessings 🙏❤🇪🇬🌷
@@admear Egypt did not only came under the rule of Ottoman Empire. Before this there Mamelukes (Ed - Devletü't Türkiyye). And this food is a Turkish food, not only Ottomans.
Ode to Max and Tasting History Max Miller, what a history buff Also cooking up lots of tasty stuff, And on top of that, we get lessons in history Now many foods are no longer a mystery! Where did Lobscouse or Pilaf come from you ask? Max will explain, he’s up to the task. He makes us smarter, that Max Miller His content is not boring or empty filler He entertains with knowledge and wit And his culinary skills are quite legit The little Pokémon stuffies give us cuteness attack And do not forget the clack clack of the hard tack So thank you Max, you are the best To this all your subscribers can attest
Not sure it's the right niche but if anyone's interested in Ottoman and Turkish history and culture in general I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's videos series
The best pilaf I've ever eaten was in Uzbekistan. I was there for only a week and every single day I tried a different one in a different place. They were all awesome. It's something of a specialty for them. If you know a good restaurant with Uzbek cuisine, you got to do yourself a favor and try pilaf (plov) there.
My father is from the region, i recommend it ive hosted many dinner parties with plov and ive never had anyone dislike it, ill comment the recipe give me a sec
PLOV (OSH) RECIPE (РЕЦЕПТ ПЛОВА) Ingredients: 1kg lamb/beef- cut into large pieces bone 100g beef fat 300ml sunflower oil 2-3 onions- chopped(if very big onion only one needed) 2 cups Rice (you can get away with 3 if you like, but the ratio works better with 2 i think) 1kg carrots 300g raisins like 4 spoons salt 1 spoon cumin Notes: -the rice I use for this recipe is a longer grain (basmati as it is readily available for all), there are better more shorter grains for palov but they are extremely difficult to find, and require a lot more work and effort which even I personally don’t do. -we add golden raisins (qishmish) large black raisins and (optionally although i personalltydislike it) barberry (2:1:0.25 ratio), if you are going to freeze this i do not recommend adding raisins, instead either add more sugar, or if you want when you are reheating add the raisins then. -add garlic if u want, some people in my family added it but i personally dislike the taste -the raw cane brown sugar is a difficult find, you don’t need much, you can omit it if you don’t have, add regular sugar if you must. -the measuring spoon I use is the large end found in medicine bottles, which I believe is 5ml. Recipe: 1. Heat beef fat till it has seperated into liquid oil and take out the non liquid stuff (very tasty unhealthy snack), then add the sunflower oil 2. Add 1-2 onions and fry till golden 3. Fry lamb or beef with 2 spoons salt in the oil with the onions (big chunks, most of the time we use lamb shoulder as beef is poor quality in butcher shops where i live, but if you can get beef its preffered). Add 1 more fresh raw onion. 4. Add carrots and fry a small amount of time(do not move it and only for a few mins). 5. Add raisins and (brown sugar if u wish.) 6. Add cumin and add another spoon of salt. 7. Add like 3 cups water. 8. Let it cook for like 30 mins. 9. Add rice (wash for 30 mins doesnt need to be completely clear water its okay). 10. Water ratio depends on what kinda rice u got, basmati takes less but generally u want like 1.5cm or so slightly above the rice. 11. Once water no longer chilling on top of rice, poke holes. 12. Keep heat on until all that water goes. Low heat. 13. Wet a cloth and wrap it around lid, then cover the pan for 20 min. Mix the ingredients from the bottom to the top. 14. Serve!! and enjoy!
@@Kedicikcilek For me, the whole head of garlic, which softens and sweetens in the cooking, is a must! I also rather like the barberries, because their sharpness goes well with the fattiness of the meat. But I think a lot of it is what one grew up eating: every family seems to have their own variation of the recipe throughout central Asia. I wish these cuisines were better known in the West!
How interesting! I follow a channel called 'Inside Russia', run by a Russian exile who started a group called 'Tashkent Breakfast Club'. He put up a video of their visit to a pilaf restaurant there, where he was allowed to film some in the kitchen.
I'm really happy I discovered this channel in 2020. I really like the style, the history and cuisine combination and the way Max presents and narrates each video. Great job, Max.
I was taught by an Iranian friend to cook various similar dishes and one of her favourites starts the assembly of the pilav with thinly sliced potato. When you turn the dish out the top is a beautiful golden layer of potato. A layer of apricots with chicken, onion, spices and rice is a lovely alternative.
Elinize Saglik! This is said to the cook by any appreciative diners in Turkey and means health and/or blessings to your hands. Seems apropos here. Çok teşekkürler Max.
Living in the Arab world and married to one, this dish has been one of my favorites. It’s called in Arabic ma’loubeh instead of pilaf because it’s pointing to the fact that the dish will be flipped upsidedown. I’ve never had a failure in flipping but one main reason may be that you need to beat on the bottom of the pot to loosen the food. I do it with my hands and/or a wooden spoon. I’ve also made many kinds of it besides the usual eggplant or cauliflower ones typical here (Jordan/Palestine). Now I’m into making vegan ones with mushrooms and allspice. I have never had one like you described in this video. I’m all for making it your way, ahem, the Ottoman way. Great video.
This is not Maklube. It is similar but Maklube is different. :) Turks has maklube as well since it came from the arabic part of Ottomans. But make no mistake becouse of the "flip" move. :)
Thank you for the more formal history of one of my favorite childhood comfort foods. Mom would make Ajem pilaf with any leftover lamb or chicken we had. We are of Armenian descent but my grandparents were born in Turkey. Our pilaf was more savory-long grain rice, thin noodles and maybe some pine nuts sautéed in butter/olive oil until brown then cooked in chicken broth. Only as an adult did I start to add some middle eastern spices and a well browned onion to my broth. As an everyday dish made with leftovers, we didn’t mold it - just served it right out of the pot.
A heads up, I believe that Pilaf nowadays mostly refers to rice cooked in butter with little Vermicelli noodles. It's a side dish you often eat with soup. Edit: this is not 100% true, see the commenter below.
@@martinn.6082 Another heads up, an ordinary Pilav is what you just described Vermicelli is optional. It is never a side dish you eat with soup. Its either a meal itself with ingredients as in this video or part of a meal like lets say a beef in a plate served with pilav. Im not completely %100 if i understand the term side dish cuz it feels like an another component served in a different plate complimenting your main plate thus i didnt refer it as a side dish because wherever i have been the pilav is served on the main plate.
@@sabbutthesabiruone9082 thanks, I've actually never been to Turkey, but I live in Berlin, Germany, and have often had Turkish food. I say soup because the "main course" often consisted of some kind of meat and potatoes in sauce and another plate of pilav. I also asked a friend of mine from Turkey (southern Turkey) to show me how to make pilav, and it was just rice, butter and Vermicelli. Thanks for the insights, I will amend my comment.
@@martinn.6082 pilav is a generic term for cooked rice(actually, we have other pilavs that aren't actually rice), and the recipe your friend showed you is the "plain rice" dish we have. We sometimes do more special stuff like this, but we usually still just call it pilav, so I understand the confusion!
I learned so much from this video, thank you! An Iranian friend makes something very similar but uses a deep, cast iron (rather than stainless steel) pot. The cast iron better helps the rice create a thin shell which keeps it standing up tall when you flip it over.
Fun Fact Name of This Ottoman Dish is "Acem Pilav" Which Means "Persian Rice" "Pilaf Pilav or Polo" is Persian Dish in Orgin it's Not Turkish !!! Many of Our Foods labeled as Turkish because of our government don't care about our culture
I am a foodie by no means, but I love your videos so much! As a fan of Roman and Ottoman history, something about these videos really connects me with the people that I have studied for so long. Thank you for sharing all of this amazing content for free.
By the way the Roman empire and the Ottoman Empire were twins , They were similar to each other in many respects, one was a Christian reign and the other was a Muslim reign, that was the only difference between them.
My Christian Arab hosts served this dish to my pilgrimage group in Bethlehem. It plopped out from a gigantic pot, easily 8 gallons. And they were very proud that it all stayed together. Delicious as well.
What a fantastic video! Just great to watch! Thank you. Only, one wish. A chocolate cake that you would have take a couple of bites of first would have been very satisfying to watch! My grandmother would tell me when I was little that the French ate their desserts first!
There's just something wholesome about dishes made with simple ingredients, cooked well, and presented well. You might not have presented it as "properly" Turkish, but it looked excellent, and by your expression tasted quite nice, so I count that as a success. While some cultures went for incredibly exotic ingredients and mounds of spice, others used simple fare but in such a way as it appeared and tasted incredible. Maybe it's because I grew up on the poor side of things, but I've always enjoyed those simple dishes far more than the "fancy" ones. Another excellent episode Max!
My grandmother still makes this, almost the same recipe. its soooooo good. You gotta make it with the meat of a free grazing sheep tho, farm grown sheep taste less(?). Don't know how else to describe it, less sheep-ey i guess. also the trick is to bang on the pot with a wooden spoon a bit before lifting it lol. comes out perfect every time.
OMG, while you were describing the table manners book, I was thinking to myself, "It's like an ancient Goofus and Gallant thing," and then you said it! I'm always surprised to hear someone much younger than me who knows about stuff from my childhood! This dish looks delicious, too. And regards the absence of knives, I once heard the use of chopsticks being explained to me by saying that it was extremely rude to expect your guest to have to do the butchery of their food at the table. And THANK YOU VERY MUCH for muting the chew noises! I used to feel so guilty when my elderly mom lived with me because I liked to eat with her but had to wear earplugs when we had dinner. I simply cannot tolerate chew noises, and it's very thoughtful of you to mute them in your videos.
In Aleppo, similar rice was always a part of dinner. Small differences depending on the other mains: pine nuts, other nuts, Lighty toasted. Can be made on top of stove. Parboiled rice is easy.
Loved hearing about the problem of food noises. My daughters suffers from this and for years thought she was crazy until sometime in high-school she found out about mysophonia online and realized she wasn't the only one
I am a turk and I loved your video about the original recipe and the historical storys I just loved them. I learned so much of your video so keep going 👍
My mother’s family has a recipe for what we called holiday pilaf. It was served with roast leg of lamb for Easter and uses ground lamb and almonds and fideo browned in rendered lamb fat before the rice is added in. Seasonings are salt, pepper and allspice.
@@TastingHistory Yay! Quite excited for baklava! In my previous place of residence the greengrocer was selling it, and I would every now and then buy some - I loved that it often came in bite-sized pieces so I could really have it just as a little treat - and now I rather miss it. 😥 So I'm quite curious about its history. 😉
@@TastingHistory yay! I love rose flavored Turkish delight but have been to scared to try random recipes from the internet, though I do have the rosewater for another desert already
I enjoy your channel so much. I'm a vegetarian and I really don't drink alcohol, but I watch all the videos. Your presentation is engaging, and I love the history.
Cool to see this. I usually cook a Uzbek style plov, and I see the cooking method is very similar, just a little difference in the spices, the addition of pistachios and currants, and the removal of the carrots and garlic.
Another great episode on Ottomans!! Here are some further episode ideas on the Ottoman culinary culture; Sarma and/or Dolma (stuffed grape, cabbage leaves and pepper), Tavuk Göğsü (chicken breast desert), Tarhana Soup (yogurt based dried and rehydrated soup with hundred regional variations), Hünkar Beyendi (best eggplant dish ever!), Ottoman Mezes (kind of like appetizers), Mücver (zucchini fritters) etc. The list is endless due to the multicultural nature of the empire and the geography it covered.
I ate a lot of "pilau" made by locals while serving in Afghanistan and have made similar dishes at home from time to time. It differs somewhat from this as it contains grated carrots boiled with the rice, but the spices are mostly the same. I will definately try this recipe soon, as it actually reminds me of one of the few good things of spending time there during the "war on terror". I will try to make it layered as it is supposed to be, but I guess the final presentation is going to be the same as your presentation of the dish.
Pilav/Pulao/pilaf has so many regional varieties from Turkey to central Asia to Iran to Pakistan/India. Different meats, spices and varieties of rice. I think every country and every region will have their own twist on it. But one thing is common, its one of the perfect dishes to finish a meal :)
I think that would be a fantastic deep dive, if nothing else. Because if you wanna get wild with it, I suppose you could argue that cave paintings or neolithic art depicting meat being fire roasted could technically count. It details the only ingredient and tool needed, makes the method clear, and is missing no steps. Could be fun as a thought experiment even if it is difficult to nail down for sure
Max, I cannot thank you enough for intentionally muting chewing sounds. I have the same issues and now that I know that you go above and beyond to edit the vid makes me appreciate this channel alot more
Excellent video as usual Max! This style of pilaf was interesting to compare to my dad's recipe. As far as spices; cumin, coriander, and black and red pepper are what he uses. The primary cooking oil he uses is ghee, and he usually adds chickpeas. When it's in season, he uses quince apple for it's fragrance and unique flavor. The meat can vary between beef, lamb, and more rarely pork; and I recall when he used rabbit meat as an experiment. For the rice, he uses parboiled, long grain Uncle Ben's.
Pilaf is very common in the Indian subcontinent. It is the cousin of biryani and while in the pilaf or pulao as it is also known as, the rick cooks in the stock with the meat, in the biryani rice is semi cooked separately and then added to the meat. This pilaf is very well done and reminds me of Kabuli pilaf. I would only sear the meat a bit more till a brown crush forms and slice the onions and brown them for the caramelized flavours.
I'm in awe that you dive this deep for an Ottoman Dish. But I'll also try to elaborate against the westerners experiences. First of all Turkish flat bread is primary element of Turkish cuisine at the time. This bread let you to have origami style folding options to use it like spoon or a fork depending on the meal you're having. Meaning it might look like you're eating with your hands but in reality you're utilizing the flat bread. I also can't talk about anyone's experience under the age of 40 but I personally experienced the customary education when I was much younger about how to use the flatbread to scoop soup or yogurt or pilaf or just the dish you are having using just the bread. I can't talk about the palace people but I can talk about the ordinary people where they don't use their hands but use their spoons as depicted in many of those miniatures from Ottoman era. Because that was the main way to eat for a regular person and their family. There will be one dish it may be a pilav or a stew or a soup or whatever... Whole family get together to consume it using their wooden spoons. Funnily enough we also have a saying that goes like "Chicken, Fish and Head(of cows or sheep) these are supposed to be eaten by hand"/"Tavuk,Balık,Kelle, bunlar yenir elle...". So in Turkish cuisine eating by hand is a very complicated issue. For example I remember going to Konya city when I was like around 6 or 7 years old to visit Mevlana/Rumi's tomb. We went to a restaurant that do classical Turkish tandoori lamb. They refused to give us utensils like forks or spoons saying we need to eat with our hands to properly enjoy the food but they supplied more than enough flat breads. Any ways I might have digressed from the main issue but I just wanted to share my personal experience as Turkish person.
Hocam, sizi bilmiyorum ama biz Uygurlar çok yakın zamanlara kadar pilavı elle yerdik. Düğünlere giderken kapıdan girdiğimiz an ellerimize so dökmek için bekleyen biri olurdu, yıkar öyle geçerdik sofraya mesala...
Thanks for your comment! That flat bread looks so delicious! Every time Ertugrul Bey or Osman Bey sit at the head of the table and break the bread on TV, I want to be there to smell and taste it! I so enjoy the historical TV shows from TNT. I just finished watching two seasons of Mevlana, after ten seasons of Ertugrul and Osman.
Such a high quality and entertaining video trough out, just like your every other video. As a Turkish person I enjoy all of your ottoman related videos greatly.
Both are common. Often times both are offered if the visit lasts long. Completely depends on the host, there's no definitive thing as people offer tea instead of coffee.
I've heard this. Yet, in Balkans, places like Bosnia and Serbia we still drink Turkish coffee. And they drink a lot of it in Bosnia! My parents and grandparents used to make a large cezve of coffee. So each person can have more than one cup. In size these cups were very similar to tea cups. At the end if they wanted more they would add more ground coffee and water to cezve and make it again. They did this a few times a day. Breakfast, at work, after dinner. And they smoked cigarettes while drinking coffee. They drank tea but rarely. Sometimes with breakfast or if they were sick. In Serbia they serve only one cup per person.
I remember having books with fairytales from different parts of the world. I had to have a one with persian stories where pilaf played a role in the story and I wanted to try it so much. I still haven't but I might attempt to finally make it myself after all those years. Thank you Max 😊❤
I've loved your channel from the very beginning. I'm a retired chef and love cultural history, so you check nearly all the boxes for what I find entertaining to watch. I find your repertoire fascinating, but I must admit, I am left yearning to see more pre-Columbian recipes from the Americas, and more recipes from the period of Western expansion, though you really nailed hard tack. 😅 I'm most interested in learning more recipes that used indigenous plants, especially from North America. I'm quite familiar with acorn flour, corn of the period, and many varieties of squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and wheat. I know some vegetables and their prep that have remained in use, especially in the rural midwest, like polk greens, lamb's quarter, and sunchokes, as well a the common edible berries that foragers know, like pawpaw, blackberry, elderberry, mulberry, and huckleberry. I am vaguely familiar with a few others. I'd like to learn of more foragable ingredients used in North America before modern agriculture, foraging guides and recipes that would have been available to early pioneers, and recipes used by North American tribes which predate colonialism. I didn't mention game, as I have been a practicing vegetarian for 11 years, due to protein allergies to several kinds of flesh, especially red meat, including elk, moose, and venison. From a culinary professional perspective, I do still find watching such dishes prepared fascinating, so please don't feel any pressure to not include them. I do still prepare non-vegetarian dishes for non-vegetarian family members, so they would still have merit to me. Anyway, forgive my yammering and oversharing, please, and consider more content on these locales and dishes, in the future. Early American cultural history is an arena in which I feel undereducated, and that feels wrong, being an American- born individual. I met survivors of the Civil War, and I feel comfortable with my cultural knowledge after that point in our history, and naturally, the American Education system did a great job teaching about pivotal political and geographical history, but that's just a framework upon which society could flourish. The meat and bones of how people lived, produced their food, clothing, shelter, and entertainment, and were motivated outside institutional factors like religion and government is much more interesting to me, and yet, it almost seems easier to learn about the rest of the world in those bygone eras than our own American frontier. There's so much fiction about that era that a lot gets muddied. I want to know more of the typical day of somebody on the Oregon Trail or the Yukon gold Rush, or even the California Gold Rush. It inspired so much media for decades, but Hollywood is Hollywood, and even the writers of great works from that era were known to embellish their tales to varying degrees. That makes pinning down realistic examples of something like a real chuck wagon meal during the various western expansions difficult. It was overlapping the Victorian Era, where high-fashion was recounting tales with extravagant embellishments, so getting a real, down-to-earth picture of the survival lifestyle those people endured is challenging, even to a professional writer, like myself. I've commenced yammering again, and apologize, so let me conclude by simply saying I love your content, and you're better off having left Disney. I have lived in the shadow of that deified rat, myself, if you catch my drift. Celebrate your creative independence and keep cranking out this wonderful content.
I love this channel already!! The way you're tasting history is both eye pleasing and brain stuffing at the same time. And I'm also surprised knowing how good the Ottomans were at their etiquettes and manners. As someone who loves both history and food, your channel is a must visit.
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Love your content max! You always make My day 😊😊😊❤❤❤
nowadays it's no longer made with meat. It has been been replaced by chicken. Also nothing of the other stuff you added.. Only chickpeas is added to rice and chicken with salt and pepper. I'm surprised how much the recipe has been changed. 😁😁
@@ramaahbk6596 wow! That is different. I’d miss the spices.
I just purchased a French press and coffee bean grinder, I’m going to try this coffee. Thank you Max!❤
I spotted your Lunaroc
Kinda crazy how many examples of "bad manners" are still relevant. Apparently double dipping has been an issue for much longer than I suspected.
😅😅😅 - so true.
Oogg Krudd see Grobb double dip mammoth meat in dino slurry. that cave party foul.
FWIW, "double dipping" is one of the things that makes me CRAZY.
So unsanitary !!
So many places remove this as a choice. Many of the Mexican places we eat at serve every one their own salsa bowl and a small vat of salsa.
people need to double dip more I love sharing everyone's spittle...yum
Hello from Kazakhstan 🇰🇿. We in my country eat Pilav a lot, my grandfather always cooks a huge pot of pilav for our family. He always says that what makes pilav so special is the combination of different rare spices. In my country we normally say that it comes from the south, or the Uzbeks, I don’t know much history on that part, but I can definitely say that pilav today is a national dish for all of the Turkic people. Really pleased to see a video on a dish, that is really important to my culture and my family! ❤
Edited: also a small fact about the dish that I want to add, that we in Kazakhstan eat horse meat, so sometimes instead of lamb, chicken or beef we might use horse meat for this dish!
Love hearing information from the central-asian countries! Thank you!
Hi from Türkiye, we have Uzbek pilav in our cuisin also
I was waiting for a comment from Central Asia here :) I'm from Russia originally, but my grandmother made Uzbek plov at home ever since learning it there on a research trip (she's a scientist). She always used the cast iron kazan dish for it. I now make it for my friends and family in Germany where I live :) It's the ultimate comfort food for us.
Pilav , pilaf, pulav, polo, pilao all these rice dishes originated in Persia.
@@DipanjanPaul: You might need to throw in paella into that list too. And, while the name is different, I wonder if risotto doesn't have the same roots.
In my Soviet childhood in the Central Asia my favorite feast was a Muslim Ramadan when the ouigoure children brought out from home candies, pastries to share. My God it was the tastiest treat I ve ever tried.
The intended nut in the recipe book may be pine nut instead of pistachio. In the transcript, the recipe simply says "fıstık", which is the common word, at least in modern Turkish, for all kinds of nuts, including pistachio and pine nut. In modern recipes, currant is often paired with pine nut in pilavs. Funnily enough, the words "fıstık" and "pistachio" are both derived from the Middle Persian "pistag".
I hope we don't see him trying to make sarma with pistachios next time haha
how interesting!! thank you, amother food, history and language addict
@@t_y8274 I wonder what sarma would taste with pistachios 🤣 I'm Romanian, so our sarma are boring, but a nice grapevine leaf sarma, with spices and nuts, mmm... that sounds so good.
That sounds better than pistachios! I thought this dish looked really freaking bizarre as soon as he listed all the ingredients.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 the choice of nuts isn't too weird, if you were having this dish near Antep (Antioch) or thereabouts it'd be the common nut available. It certainly wouldn't be my preference over pine nuts of course but I'm biased.
"The Disgusting One", "The Annihilator", "The Reacher", and to a lesser extent "The Shuffler" sound like eldritch gods worshiped by evil sorcerers in some dark fantasy story.
😂
Indeed they do, definitely not about bad table guests
They sounds so serious in English! In Ottoman Turkish they sound almost humorous.
If you do not like "The Reacher", never attend ANY meal served by a Norwegian...
@@Jallamedalla We were always reprimanded for using 'boarding house reach' instead of asking to have a dish passed.
As a Turk, I'm so proud of you Max the way you told the history of the food and the different events in the history of the Ottoman Empire is absolutely SO fascinating. You were also really but I mean really respectful which I truly admire of you. Please do more of the Ottoman Empire series, really loving it!
Wish you a excellent day!
@@a.s2205 who asked?
@@a.s2205 You are most likely a bastard. Do you know who your father is or could it be anyone in town?
@@a.s2205 who are you say other who is from this nationality and that ? just know about your own lineage dont worry about others every one knows about themselves
I agree 💯
@@a.s2205 Such ignorant comment.
Also where are you from?
Beautiful storytelling and research. Thank you. I am Turkish and I only ate this dish once when I was a child at a wedding that my parents attended. Turns out it was so memorable that I sometimes have dreams about it.
Wow! Thank you so much. I love that you’ve tried the modern version. I’m curious how close it was to this one.
I truly hope you can make it for yourself!
It is pretty close, but these days people use chestnuts and pinenuts instead of pistachios.@@TastingHistory
I AM THE SENATE
That must have been some pilaf!
I have never watched a better cooking video in my life. Not even from any of the "celebrity" chefs who lack any intellect in the first place. Thank you for this unmatched beautiful and entertaining "lecture".
Thank you so much!
I must say I love the sound of the Ottoman approach to turning a feast into a tasting party. Everyone gets a little bit of everything but we still get nice and full. Sounds exciting and makes me wonder if the pilaf was developed as a way to fill up if you'd been a bit too polite earlier in the meal.
I like that idea!
You can try Turkish breakfast as well. A small feast, especially on long Sunday breakfasts.
It was a true buffet
Yea kind of why it is that way.
The idea was actually not about throwing a party for the elites but making lots of food and tasting some of it and distributing among locals the most part as people would even take leftovers home i.e. not wasting the food because in Islam food is respected as gift and mercy from God.
Pilaf dishes are how I survived when I was completely broke. I'd poach a piece of chicken use the poaching liquid to cook the rice with vegetables, cut up the chicken and mixed it all together when I was done. I'd have that for both lunch and dinner at least five days a week sometimes more. They're a great way to eat a complete meal with meager means... though making it with lamb I would consider very fancy. I can't wait to try this!
A much healthier way to eat cheaply than ramen.
It’s crazy how delicious food is so much cheaper, delicious and better for your body and mind over grocery store packaged foods or fast food, yet most people still do it.
It all comes down to the time spent. Good food, even when simple, takes time and not everyone is willing to spend it. And then there’s those people who don’t know how to cook.
as someone who makes this dish frequently, i would definitely advise you to try it out with chicken! but make sure you use chicken with bones or a more fatty part because chicken breasts tend to become too dry for this recipe
@@Muljinn you can spend an hour to cook huge pilaf pan for 3 or 4 days ahead, otherwise you would spend about the same time either way with cooking something like ramen and getting it, unless you just hoard it like crazy. it's also one of easiest things to cook.
I’m first gen American, parents from Albania. This was a regular dish in our home growing up!
We ate it with salad and spicy pickles on the side. For dessert we had homemade yogurt topped with honey and walnuts. I have thought of this dish for years but never learned how to make it. I’m so glad you made this episode! Thank you ☺️
Whole Balkan region grown up like you bruh, we called it the ottoman effect in Türkiye.
Albania is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever visited.
It called ottoman effect
This is still alive at some Turkish homes as well
the ottoman elite was actually in large parts albanian as well
Acem is the Turkish rendering of Ajam. In the original Arabic, it's literally "deaf-mute," but used to refer to someone whose first language isn't Arabic. Initially, it was a racial pejorative. But later on, it was used by Non-Arab Muslims to refer to Persians. So, an Arabic insult for Persians became the name of a Turkish dish.
Calling speakers of a different language something along the lines of "deaf-mute" probably happens quite a lot. For example, the proper Czech word for a German literally translates to "mute". (I think that goes for Slovak and Polish as well.)
I spent 3 years living in Central Asia and the tribe that controlled the country was know for being bad cooks, particularly baking terrible bread… it’s funny to experience how slurs like that develop.
@@Catmom-gl5nt"tribe" they are nations you know
@@sarubet8725They said "Tribe that controlled the country".
That's where the term barbarian comes from. To ancient Greeks, everyone who wasn't Greek was considered to be speaking unintelligible mumbles that just sounded like bar bar bar.
The fact that you mute your chewing is why this is one of my favorite cooking channels (aside from the fact history is awesome). The sound of chewing makes my soul cry.
Agreed! Thank you for not chewing at us.
It's honestly such a kind decision on his part. For me, part of my autism manifests as misophonia, and the sound of chewing is a huge trigger for me; it makes my blood boil, my skin crawl, and makes me sick to my stomach.
I'm genuinely so grateful that he mutes himself because so many food youtubers don't, and it completely gatekeeps me from watching their videos.
Misophones represent! ✊🏼 Max, you are not alone.
100%. There are other cooking channels I enjoy but I often have to skip the parts of the videos where they're eating. Idk why but it's like nails on a chalkboard to me.
Good Lord ! It’s just as well that you lot,..so finicky about such an elemental ‘ mammalistic ‘ act as ( gasp ! ) CHEWING,..do not live here in Japan ! Or, in fact, virtually anywhere in Asia, really,..as the relished slurps, chews, gnawings, and interminable commentary on the satisfaction ( or otherwise ) of the dish in question would drive you all bonkers ! 😂 😂😂 I’m genuinely curious. As a chap of Asian derivation, what is it, exactly, that appalls denizens of the Anglosphere so mightily about the sounds of hearty eating !? 😂 Best not venture to a yum cha in HK, or, a neighbourhood ramen eatery in suburban Japan, chaps ! 😂
Okay, that story of the old man filling the bag is genuinely really funny, I’m glad there seemed to be good spirits about it rather than embarrassing either person involved.
We Turks don't like embarrassing people. We register it and say something normal to make the embarrassing situation go away. And we don't laugh at embarrassing situations, even if it's funny, so as not to further humiliate the person. That is a culutral thing
I really appreciate that approach to social humor! 💕 A lot of our traditional style of local Kiwi humor is "put-down" humor (mocking and putting others down as a supposed joke) which I really dislike, as I find it far too easily spills over into bullying... Another thing we unfortunately have a cultural problem with here, esp. in our workplaces. An etiquette approach which instead aims to stop people being embarrassed, especially due to accidents they can't help, sounds very thoughtful and hospitable!
I LOVE the idea that George Costanzas have existed in every culture, and in every time period. So even hundreds or thousands of years ago, there was always That Guy that everyone dreaded seeing at a party😂
Hey, if someone from the past were sent here I would first grab a good meal with perhaps an alcoholic beverage or two myself.
Festivus for the rest of us!
The French were worse at the time--they not only double-dipped, but they used the bread as a napkin to wipe sauce off their face before double-dipping.
the horror
"You stole the Rice Pilaf?!"
"I didn't steal it, they never put it out."
As a Romanian I gotta say I'm fascinated about ottoman cuisine and culture. Not to mention modern Turkish cuisine and culture. Great people the turks.
As a Turk I am trying different countries' quisines. Can you recoomend a romanian food that doesn't include any cheese ? Thanks!
@@batuhandemir9556 yes, stomach cow soup aka ciorba de burta, but this depends very much in your tastes, usually when foreigners hear of this soup , theyr a bit skeptical, but it is quait delicious. It's hard to recomand something from romania to a person from turkey , given how much influence turkey had on our cousine, except for the sour soups I think . Usually served with polenta and are very varied, from potato and beans cold sour soups to meat ball sour soup and all other varieties including beaf chicken fish and pork soups.
Thank you I personally don't think you are a gypsy and tuica is amazing
@@jaguareagle7026 that's just propaganda online spread by the russians so our allies would hate us and not support us in case they invaded
@@stefanionutalexandru6916 We have that soup actually called ishkembe (işkembe). But I am sure all countries make it different. Definetely I Will Check it out! Thank you! :)
Pilaf is a very common dish in my country (Romania), my mom makes it rather often and it was a surprise for me when I first learned that it comes from the Ottomans, even though it does make sense seeing how much of a influence they had over our culture. I am really curious to see how similar (or different) this is to what I am used to!
I am also Romanian, and as you probably noticed our variant is a lot different, but it makes sense since you probably couldn't find a lot of these ingredients at that time, so our ancestors had to improvise and replace with other things that they had.
It's really just the name that that we took. In Ottoman pilaf the rice grains have to stay separate from one another which is not how the Romanian pilaf is made.
As far as I know the word "Pilav" comes from Persian. It amazes me to see how different cultures adopt and adapt food. Would definitely want to try the Romanian pilaf :D Love from Turkey.
@@Edi-zp4wp This is one of those dishes were the details can vary alot, different spices, with or without carrots, all kinds of meats, and still be the same dish.
Pilaf is popular all over the Islamic world.
Romanian here, but as a person from the former ottoman empire with gastronomic influence, to help it get off the pan, when it is turned face down to fall from the pan to the plate, you are supposed to hit the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon (to avoid dents)
Yes, it is an old Ottoman trick in Türkiye as well.
Multumesc mult😊
Sounds like what you need to do with a pineapple upside-down cake.
I suspect a lot of Mrs Ramsey’s displeasure with the meal would have been that there was no conversation to distract her while everyone else was eating. Since she filled up on the second course, she basically had to sit and watch everyone else eating for three hours, so I’m not particularly surprised that she found it unpleasant.
She complains about having to whisper. She also hated that everyone around her spoke Turkish 😂
@@TastingHistoryso she is earliest travelling karen recorded
@@TastingHistory And they call *us* Ugly Americans.
@@TastingHistory yeah, I’m not saying she wasn’t an arrogant idiot, just that not having anything to do probably exacerbated the condition.
@@Iqbalkhan-en1oo i came here to say the same. 😂 you beat me to it. 🤣
I used to frequent a restaurant that was the domain of a chef from Lebanon. You would pay a set price and your table was yours for the night. There would be course after course, always a surprise. I don't recall pilaf, but the end of the meal was always Turkish coffee. After the dishes were cleared there would be music and dancing, trading of jokes, and inevitability more food and more coffee. I'm so grateful to have had this unique experience, especially since it happened in Wisconsin.
Where at in Wisconsin?
@@finnshepherd97 - LaCrosse
That sounds... absolutely amazing. My university had a random hole-in-the-wall Lebanese kebab place in an otherwise heavily-curated suburban UTC, and I swear it was the best restaurant there by a country mile. They're long gone now, but man, I miss that place.
So you had many mezza plates my friend. We have them at restaurants in Lebanon, many small dishes of hot and cold appetizers. At home we usually just cook stews
Sound like a normal Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurant to me 😂
That's why I love visiting these countries, they always remind me of Turkey 🙂
When I went to Turkey during a four-week long trip in high school; we had this dish. This was, by far, my favorite dish on the entire trip. I never knew the name and always assumed it was a special dish made by whichever restaurant we were at. Now I know. Thanks!
Thank you Max. I had made it this far in my life without consciously thinking about how many mouths a restaurant fork had been in.
same lol
@@ThinWhiteAxe I put the food in my mouth, not the fork.
I think I'll be carrying my own from now on.
They wash the forks...
Hahaha
The proverb
"Humans are not rare, but humanity is rare."
Speaks volumes for all the disgusting things going on in the world today.
I replayed that multiple times to make sure I heard it right, and read it right. This is not because I couldn't comprehend, It felt like something I needed to hear in I'm soul.
"Kutagdu bilig" means "knowledge of happiness". It is one of the oldest works written in Turkish.
I appreciate that you do not edit the videos to just show the end presentation, but show us the initial mess of the dish falling. It's encouraging that none of us are impervious to cooking mishaps
He does this a lot, and I agree with it as a massive upside for viewers
Ben bir Türküm ve atalarım ve yemek kültürümüz hakkında hazırlamış olduğunuz bu güzel video için size teşekkür ederim. / I am a Turk and I would like to thank you for this beautiful video you have prepared about my ancestors and our food culture.
Took my wonderful wife to a Turkish restraint a few years ago, never thought I could recreate the amazing flavors. Thank you Max, you bring the world to our tables.
Turkish restraint?
@@14031993 I think he meant restaurant
@@14031993 he had turkish men restrain her so he could savour the flavour
@@14031993 yea its a new thing
That typo sounds like something someone in dwarf fortress would do.
"I was near a masterful restraint once. It was enlightening."
Hey! Thank you for doing this! I am Turkish and did not know about a lot of this. I was always taught strictly to never pick and choose from a serving dish - just take whatever is closest to you. I think about this every time I’m at a dinner… I know that in Chinese culture you are also not supposed to cut your food at the table, it was considered disrespectful to the food itself. Also, I had read (not sure where!) that back when Turks were still in Central Asia, it was customary for guests to bring their own spoons, which were often very ornate and carried in their own silk bag. Not sure if you came across that. Anyway, thank you, this was wonderful.
In Russia, Ukraine and many Asian republics, this dish is called plov. Cumin, raisins, barberry and saffron are also added there. All this is done on fat tail fat.
So true! I would spend three weeks at a time there in Kiev, and a housekeeper would come in and make plov at least twice a week. Yum. Not much meat, though!
They have the dish due to the Tatars.
This should be not the ordinary pilav, but cooked in dough, "otkidnoy", very similar to Azery pilav.
Raisins, barberry and saffron, that is exceedingly Persian.
That explains why Max couldn't flip his pilaf, he used what looks like pretty lean lamb, not the glorious fatty stuff.
The dough might or might not be an improved lid but there is also "perde pilavi" - curtain pilaf - where the entire meal is encased in a crispy "curtain" of dough like some kind of a pie. That is in fact a fancier and rarer presentation of pilaf. I wonder if the original recipe might have been going for something like that.
I assumed that it was similar to medieval (I think?) times when a "coffin" of bread was often used to serve things but was not intended to be eaten
@@StonedtotheBones13i thought it was called trench.
But yeah, it sounds like something like "coffin"
Nah, we still use dough to close the pan adequately in our village
Valla, perde adıyla ilgili soru işaretleri var çünkü koyunun karın kısmındaki yağa kimi yerde çember kimi yerde de perde derler ve bu pilavın yapımında kullanılır, adı geçen karın yağı bazı organları çember şeklinde perdeler. 😊
It’s so, so reassuring to hear someone with considerable reach talk about their misophonia. So many people don’t know about it, and it’s always so hard for me to tell people about it, so I often just suffer through meals with groups without any music and just chewing noises and silence. Thank you for making people a little more familiar with this.
there are places and cultures where chewing loudly and belching after a meal is considered good manners. I am come from a country with many sub cultures that practice this. I find it to be absolutely hellish.
Yep , misophonia sucks. I get angry hearing people chew , myself chewing isn't too bad but others makes me soooo angry. Same with dripping taps , ticking clocks and a few other things. Some people don't understand it which makes it difficult..
just bring earplugs and let people enjoy their meals smh
There is a reason Uyghur etiquette kept being followed through Ottoman. "Uygur" or "Uygar" means civilized in Turkish, previous Turkish cultures were mostly nomadic while Uygur culture formed actual cities and settled. Same culture continued with Seljuks and Ottomans when they migrated to Anatolia and settled there. Turkish culture adopted the western method of everyone having their own plates now, but we still prefer having a lot of smaller side dishes and putting it into our plate rather than having 5 course meals. Closest example would be a thanksgiving meal where everyone eats small portions of their favorite dishes from a big selection from the table. Pilav is no longer the last dish of a Turkish meal tough it is still quite popular. And even when you eat meals with your hand you usually use bread to pick food up rather than trying to pick rice up with your hands. Drinking coffe after the meal is common and quite practical. Caffeine instantly moves the digestive tract by relieving stomach and instestine muscles. It is quite effective to drink coffee 40-50 minutes after a meal.
Pilav never was a last dish, I think lady documented just happened to been such dinners.
-9000000000 social credits
Есть ещё полукочевая
Riso pilaf and arroz pilaf were quite popular in Italy and Spain as well. I remember my mamma (I am Italian) making it for guests at dinner quite often. But then, in the past twenty or thirty years it must have gone out of fashion since I never had it again. I had not thought about this recipe for a very long time until I saw this video. Thank you Max for bringing back childhood memories
It’s almost a Sicilian flavor profile.
I wonder who came up with the recipe first. Considering a lot of Southern Europe was overrun by the folks who make up the Ottoman Empire, the Ottomans could have copied this recipe from the Spanish or wherever else they conquered in Europe that the dish originated in.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 not really....it's originally a Middle Eastern dish
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 Persia.
I wonder if the Spanish paella has its roots in the pilaf as well?
As a Turk, your pilav looked delicious. The pilav as it is known today in Turkey usually accompanies another dish such as beans or dried chickpeas, or it is eaten with meat (red or white, many different recipes). Yours is a less known or made variant in modern Turkey but it is among one of the best in my opinion.
How it is less known? We eat these kind of pilav a lot in central anatolia.
@@mehmetkoroglu4597 Less known in mediterranian and aegean.
@@SmokeyMountain0As an Aegean I agree
I think it’s time consuming for that reason, nowadays in big cities households they don’t cook off then this Acem Pilav.
Fascinating! Just for cultural exchange, I feel compelled to point out that in many East Asian cultures, slurping soup and/or noodles is considered a sign of appreciation, not rudeness. The idea of food being cut up small enough to not need a knife reminds me a lot of how stir-fries are supposed to be made, though!
I am also a big Fan of having everything small enough to BE easely eating With Just one Utensil, spoon, fork, chopsticks or hands. Not a Fan of Always needing knife and fork or all three AS ITS usual where I am from. If you already Cut stuff in the kitchen, you can do IT all the way.
I am "lazy" Like that 😂
Yeah. My mom used to tell me that, by slurping, we can show "how good the food is" much better than any words.
That, stir-fry being bite sized, is also for a similar reason, Confucian thought held that only an individual of coarse sentiments wouldn't be upset by a knife at the table, since it would serve as a reminder of the slaughter of the animal.
thats because in eastern cultures soup always consists a form of noodle.
its understandable. but in turkish or generally middle east culture soups are thicker. some are so thick they can be confused with porridge.
@@mehmetgurdal It might be more accurate to say that many regions of China for a specific example just love soups, so noodles are frequently in the form of a soup. Other noodle dishes are called "dry" noodles even if they have a sauce, because it's referenced more as being a dry soup, but there are also egg soups, vegetable soups, bamboo shoot soups, and many more that don't have noodles. In addition to this you have hotpot, where you have ingredients you put into a broth to cook them at the table, which can include pretty much anything.
Pilaf or plov is an extremely widespread dish across Eastern and Southern Europe and big chunk of Asia. Versatile too, because it can be cooked in innumerable ways.
Huge in Central Asia
Basically each county in Central Asia gеt their version of that dish.
Personally, I associate it to the Antilles ^^
And it's a classic of french cuisine, but it's just a method of cooking plain rice, no flavourings, so it's boring XD
@@theaizerethat’s because it originated there.
Could call it "Rice with meat and whatever else"
As a Turk myself, we loove eating and creating and trying new dishes from different parts of the country. I really appreciate you mentioned ancient Turkish resources such as Kutadgu Bilig which is taught to students from middle school. And as a little tip for the turning the pilav - which is pronounced like pea-love instead of f - you cook it just enough to leave some water encapsulated in rice which adds cohesion to the meal and makes turning easier well done and thank you
Oh, and here I thought you were just being polite in your videos by chewing silently but THANK YOU FOR BEING THAT PERSON AND MUTING THE CHEWING - THE SOUND HURTS SO MUCH THANK YOU THANK YOU
I'm with you on the chewing thing! I don't know if you've ever looked into it, but there's something something called misophonia, which is an auditory processing issue where certain sounds trigger the fight or flight response instead of reacting normally in your brain. I also have to listen to TV or music while eating, especially with family! I actually noticed that you don't usually have exaggerated or loud chewing noises in your videos and it's part of why I like your channel so much :) Plus you're always well-researched and as a foodie and an archaeologist, it always hits the spot. Great video!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia
Yes, misophonia is real, and is likely to be how the brain is "wired". It is lifelong, and not anxiety driven although it can be anxiety inducing.
I have misophonia, which made family dinners growing up miserable for me! My Mother played music, allowed me to wear sound reducing gear, and eat so slowly I could finish my meal in quiet bliss after the noisy eaters left the table. Thank you, Mom, for being understanding and helpful.
And bless you for editing out those sounds! Hurray, such consideration.
I have developed this over the last 25 years or so. (I'm 66.) So annoying, I really wish it hadn't happened but, oh well. My daughter and I watch TH-cam while we eat dinner, which when you talked about your dislike, I pointed at the TV and said, "see, it's a real thing." Lol.
Was coming here to say this; glad I looked through the comments first ;)
Misophonia is an active field of research with people trying to understand how it develops.
TH-cam recommended this channel and when I saw its content, I decided to watch it immediately. The Ottoman Empire has many legacies that have survived to this day, combined with modern Turkish cuisine, and it is truly proud to see a foreigner making one of them and also conveying its history! Thank you ❤
Gurur verici, aynen😀
I love all your videos, but I’m always especially excited for ones that feature areas outside of the US/West Europe. Thanks for helping me learn about all the places school didn’t bother teaching me about!
Indeed, tis good to have a healthy mix of historical dishes around the world 🌎 😋
8:40 - Believe Ye me .... I literally thought of George Costanza too when I heard of the infamous Double Dipper ..... Imagine having a knave like George in old Ottoman Turkish time too ..... truly a timeless character ......
Oh I can just imagine it, he's a bumbling ottoman bureaucrat who spends the entire episode trying to eat the food around the room instead of discussing serious business with the rest of the government officials. Sneaking around taking spoonfuls off of people's plates to everyone's annoyance.
It's amazing how popular various pilav recipes are over such a large area, from Eastern Europe through the Middle East and into Central Asia.
originate from Persia, Central Asia
I was just saying it reminds me so much of biryani from India. It spread for a reason lol, so tasty 🤤
there are actuaally a couple of tricks to getting the flip right, 1, tadig method, layer rice, meat, onions, nut, rice, toast the bottom and flip. 2, do as you have it, onions and meat, nuts, rice, but make sure everything is packed tight, also, make sure there's enough fat to fry whats in the pot so that it will release when flipping, 3 dont wait too long before flipping. also you gotta show the plate who's boss, confidence is key when unmolding
I’m wondering if maybe the gap between the top of the food in the pot and the surface of the plate was part of Max’s problem?
If the food went all the way to the edge of the pot, and the flat center of the plate could completely cover the top of the pot, maybe he could directly transfer without things reshuffling in the gap in between?
he needed more fat so bottom would not stick but also rice would stick together.
I own only one non-stick skillet of a very specific size with straight sides - just for tadig! Sure gives you a better chance of flipping out the dish and not cracking the lovely rice crust. And getting the right size/depth platter to fit the skillet can take a try or two if you've never done it before. And boy, are you right about showing the plate who's boss - you gotta be confident and just FLIP IT! i can't wait to try THIS recipe!
I think Max deserves some credit. Everyone knows it's super tough to stick it on the dismount.
@@BadCatCafesame! A friend who lived in an area that made this a lot said the same. Nonstick pan means you don’t need as much oil.
Aha! Time for a bit of kitchen pedantry. Re.sealing your pot with dough. It is still done in some French dishes, even though our pots close well. I happen to have the same orange Le Creusot pot you can see in Max’s background. Yet some recipes call for a « cocotte lutée », the « lutée » bit meaning sealed with a dough of flour and water. It does concentrate the aromas. And for a pilaf, it will make your layers stick together. I use that pot, and that technique, for pilaf.
Loved the video and the recipe. Brilliant research and so entertaining. Thanks Max!
I was just going to comment that I've seen this in France.
This was one of your most hilarious videos!
Regarding the 'mess' thing:
A) you seem to have no idea what a mess of this move actually could be. You actually did it so elegantly!
B) i think a possible reason that they could it do it more neatly could actually be what you had said earlier, that their lids didn't really fit their pots. So they might have had a much larger lid for their pot which could have made the flipping part easier.
Years ago I used to know a girl who was half Persian and she used to cook this. She called it Tadik, if I remember correctly. She always had rice at the bottom of the pan and round the sides.
It was cooked slowly until the rice had absorbed all the liquid (got to get the amount of liquid right) then cooked on further so that the rice at the bottom and sides started to brown, but not burn,
a bit like the delicious crust that you get at the bottom of a Paella, which the Spanish call the socarrat. It must be done in the oven so the rice browns all round. When it's ready it will turn out onto a dish, a dome or cylinder of toasted rice which reveals all when you cut into it.
Also like the crust on dolsot bi bim bop.
@@stevenworden7890 You've got me there...is that Korean?
It is, bi bim bop (or bab, or bap, depending on who is translating) is the national dish of South Korea. Dolsot indicates that the bi bim bop is served in a very hot stone bowl, which makes the rice on the bottom develop a tasty crust.@@tombristowe846
Tahdig is the rice layer that crisps up, likely she was making a Tahchin dish which is the dish you’re describing that needs the Tahdig layer to create the dome shape your referencing.
Iranians have tons of polo recipes that always includes the tahdig layer.
@@tombristowe846 - Although I have not had that dish, I am sure that I have seen it on the menu at Korean restaurants.
Great video , I am Egyptian and it was very interseting seeing that the original recipe used 'Egyptian ( short grain) rice ' ..We still cook that recipe in Egypt specially at banquets but the funny thing is that we use Basmati long grain Asian rice not the Egyptian one ...😸
Egypt, which came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in 1517, officially remained part of the Empire until 1914. So they stayed too much in there also they have a habit to grab the best of the best from the each country that they controlled.
@@admear Sadly true ...
Ottoman times best quality rice came from Fizan city ( I think it’s in Egypt). Usually only rich could effort it. Turkish ottomans only ate bulgur wheat .
@@emre28oz79 Very true and still Egyptian rice one of the best qualities in the world and a major crop here which comes second in importance after wheat to Egyptians ,but the best thing is that we export it too ,,some recipes specially Egyptian ones like Mahshi محشي and Koshari كوشري (our national dish ) , sweet rice puddings can't be made with any other kind of rice . The Asian kinds are good for banquets with meats and poultery only , but not an everyday dish . My family used to grow cotton & rice as I live in the Nile Delta ..I remember one of my Grandfathers used to grow a very rare kind of pricey rice that we call it عنبري (amber like ) as it has special aroma to it .Egypt is a beautiful country full of goodness .Blessings 🙏❤🇪🇬🌷
@@admear Egypt did not only came under the rule of Ottoman Empire. Before this there Mamelukes (Ed - Devletü't Türkiyye). And this food is a Turkish food, not only Ottomans.
the ottoment proverbs with characters with bad manners is such an interesting concept
Ode to Max and Tasting History
Max Miller, what a history buff
Also cooking up lots of tasty stuff,
And on top of that, we get lessons in history
Now many foods are no longer a mystery!
Where did Lobscouse or Pilaf come from you ask?
Max will explain, he’s up to the task.
He makes us smarter, that Max Miller
His content is not boring or empty filler
He entertains with knowledge and wit
And his culinary skills are quite legit
The little Pokémon stuffies give us cuteness attack
And do not forget the clack clack of the hard tack
So thank you Max, you are the best
To this all your subscribers can attest
😍 thank you!
Beautifully written 👏🏾
Brava!
Very well written, bravo!
this is so perfect! I can attest!!
Not sure it's the right niche but if anyone's interested in Ottoman and Turkish history and culture in general I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's videos series
Thanks for that, will check !
As a Turk, thank you chief for providing real and objective information.🇹🇷🧿☕️🙏
The best pilaf I've ever eaten was in Uzbekistan. I was there for only a week and every single day I tried a different one in a different place. They were all awesome. It's something of a specialty for them. If you know a good restaurant with Uzbek cuisine, you got to do yourself a favor and try pilaf (plov) there.
My father is from the region, i recommend it ive hosted many dinner parties with plov and ive never had anyone dislike it, ill comment the recipe give me a sec
PLOV (OSH) RECIPE (РЕЦЕПТ ПЛОВА)
Ingredients:
1kg lamb/beef- cut into large pieces bone
100g beef fat
300ml sunflower oil
2-3 onions- chopped(if very big onion only one needed)
2 cups Rice (you can get away with 3 if you like, but the ratio works better with 2 i think)
1kg carrots
300g raisins
like 4 spoons salt
1 spoon cumin
Notes:
-the rice I use for this recipe is a longer grain (basmati as it is readily available for all), there are better more shorter grains for palov but they are extremely difficult to find, and require a lot more work and effort which even I personally don’t do.
-we add golden raisins (qishmish) large black raisins and (optionally although i personalltydislike it) barberry (2:1:0.25 ratio), if you are going to freeze this i do not recommend adding raisins, instead either add more sugar, or if you want when you are reheating add the raisins then.
-add garlic if u want, some people in my family added it but i personally dislike the taste
-the raw cane brown sugar is a difficult find, you don’t need much, you can omit it if you don’t have, add regular sugar if you must.
-the measuring spoon I use is the large end found in medicine bottles, which I believe is 5ml.
Recipe:
1. Heat beef fat till it has seperated into liquid oil and take out the non liquid stuff (very tasty unhealthy snack), then add the sunflower oil
2. Add 1-2 onions and fry till golden
3. Fry lamb or beef with 2 spoons salt in the oil with the onions (big chunks, most of the time we use lamb shoulder as beef is poor quality in butcher shops where i live, but if you can get beef its preffered). Add 1 more fresh raw onion.
4. Add carrots and fry a small amount of time(do not move it and only for a few mins).
5. Add raisins and (brown sugar if u wish.)
6. Add cumin and add another spoon of salt.
7. Add like 3 cups water.
8. Let it cook for like 30 mins.
9. Add rice (wash for 30 mins doesnt need to be completely clear water its okay).
10. Water ratio depends on what kinda rice u got, basmati takes less but generally u want like 1.5cm or so slightly above the rice.
11. Once water no longer chilling on top of rice, poke holes.
12. Keep heat on until all that water goes. Low heat.
13. Wet a cloth and wrap it around lid, then cover the pan for 20 min. Mix the ingredients from the bottom to the top.
14. Serve!! and enjoy!
Plov and manti are favorites
@@Kedicikcilek For me, the whole head of garlic, which softens and sweetens in the cooking, is a must! I also rather like the barberries, because their sharpness goes well with the fattiness of the meat. But I think a lot of it is what one grew up eating: every family seems to have their own variation of the recipe throughout central Asia. I wish these cuisines were better known in the West!
How interesting! I follow a channel called 'Inside Russia', run by a Russian exile who started a group called 'Tashkent Breakfast Club'. He put up a video of their visit to a pilaf restaurant there, where he was allowed to film some in the kitchen.
I'm really happy I discovered this channel in 2020.
I really like the style, the history and cuisine combination and the way Max presents and narrates each video.
Great job, Max.
I was taught by an Iranian friend to cook various similar dishes and one of her favourites starts the assembly of the pilav with thinly sliced potato. When you turn the dish out the top is a beautiful golden layer of potato. A layer of apricots with chicken, onion, spices and rice is a lovely alternative.
As someone who is also sensitive to chewing and slurping noises, Im super grateful to your editing job. Thank you!!!
Elinize Saglik! This is said to the cook by any appreciative diners in Turkey and means health and/or blessings to your hands. Seems apropos here. Çok teşekkürler Max.
Living in the Arab world and married to one, this dish has been one of my favorites. It’s called in Arabic ma’loubeh instead of pilaf because it’s pointing to the fact that the dish will be flipped upsidedown. I’ve never had a failure in flipping but one main reason may be that you need to beat on the bottom of the pot to loosen the food. I do it with my hands and/or a wooden spoon. I’ve also made many kinds of it besides the usual eggplant or cauliflower ones typical here (Jordan/Palestine). Now I’m into making vegan ones with mushrooms and allspice. I have never had one like you described in this video. I’m all for making it your way, ahem, the Ottoman way. Great video.
This is not Maklube. It is similar but Maklube is different. :) Turks has maklube as well since it came from the arabic part of Ottomans. But make no mistake becouse of the "flip" move. :)
Thank you for the more formal history of one of my favorite childhood comfort foods. Mom would make Ajem pilaf with any leftover lamb or chicken we had. We are of Armenian descent but my grandparents were born in Turkey. Our pilaf was more savory-long grain rice, thin noodles and maybe some pine nuts sautéed in butter/olive oil until brown then cooked in chicken broth.
Only as an adult did I start to add some middle eastern spices and a well browned onion to my broth. As an everyday dish made with leftovers, we didn’t mold it - just served it right out of the pot.
afiyet olsun 💜
turkey is your home too brother❤
With a trip to Istanbul coming up, this was just what I needed! Thanks for everything as always!
Oooh have a great trip!
A heads up, I believe that Pilaf nowadays mostly refers to rice cooked in butter with little Vermicelli noodles. It's a side dish you often eat with soup.
Edit: this is not 100% true, see the commenter below.
@@martinn.6082 Another heads up, an ordinary Pilav is what you just described Vermicelli is optional. It is never a side dish you eat with soup. Its either a meal itself with ingredients as in this video or part of a meal like lets say a beef in a plate served with pilav. Im not completely %100 if i understand the term side dish cuz it feels like an another component served in a different plate complimenting your main plate thus i didnt refer it as a side dish because wherever i have been the pilav is served on the main plate.
@@sabbutthesabiruone9082 thanks, I've actually never been to Turkey, but I live in Berlin, Germany, and have often had Turkish food. I say soup because the "main course" often consisted of some kind of meat and potatoes in sauce and another plate of pilav. I also asked a friend of mine from Turkey (southern Turkey) to show me how to make pilav, and it was just rice, butter and Vermicelli.
Thanks for the insights, I will amend my comment.
@@martinn.6082 pilav is a generic term for cooked rice(actually, we have other pilavs that aren't actually rice), and the recipe your friend showed you is the "plain rice" dish we have. We sometimes do more special stuff like this, but we usually still just call it pilav, so I understand the confusion!
I learned so much from this video, thank you!
An Iranian friend makes something very similar but uses a deep, cast iron (rather than stainless steel) pot. The cast iron better helps the rice create a thin shell which keeps it standing up tall when you flip it over.
Fun Fact Name of This Ottoman Dish is "Acem Pilav" Which Means "Persian Rice"
"Pilaf Pilav or Polo" is Persian Dish in Orgin it's Not Turkish !!! Many of Our Foods labeled as Turkish because of our government don't care about our culture
@@PatriotOfPersiathey meant the type of rice used, not the dish😂.
I am a foodie by no means, but I love your videos so much! As a fan of Roman and Ottoman history, something about these videos really connects me with the people that I have studied for so long. Thank you for sharing all of this amazing content for free.
By the way the Roman empire and the Ottoman Empire were twins , They were similar to each other in many respects, one was a Christian reign and the other was a Muslim reign, that was the only difference between them.
My Christian Arab hosts served this dish to my pilgrimage group in Bethlehem. It plopped out from a gigantic pot, easily 8 gallons. And they were very proud that it all stayed together. Delicious as well.
I assume you mean Maqlouba which is a Palestinian dish and is different from this pilaf.
@@salut1810rice and meat
maqlooba is arab dish well they are all some related as we learn from each others
it doesn't look like
What a fantastic video! Just great to watch! Thank you. Only, one wish. A chocolate cake that you would have take a couple of bites of first would have been very satisfying to watch! My grandmother would tell me when I was little that the French ate their desserts first!
There's just something wholesome about dishes made with simple ingredients, cooked well, and presented well. You might not have presented it as "properly" Turkish, but it looked excellent, and by your expression tasted quite nice, so I count that as a success. While some cultures went for incredibly exotic ingredients and mounds of spice, others used simple fare but in such a way as it appeared and tasted incredible. Maybe it's because I grew up on the poor side of things, but I've always enjoyed those simple dishes far more than the "fancy" ones. Another excellent episode Max!
My grandmother still makes this, almost the same recipe. its soooooo good. You gotta make it with the meat of a free grazing sheep tho, farm grown sheep taste less(?). Don't know how else to describe it, less sheep-ey i guess. also the trick is to bang on the pot with a wooden spoon a bit before lifting it lol. comes out perfect every time.
OMG, while you were describing the table manners book, I was thinking to myself, "It's like an ancient Goofus and Gallant thing," and then you said it! I'm always surprised to hear someone much younger than me who knows about stuff from my childhood! This dish looks delicious, too. And regards the absence of knives, I once heard the use of chopsticks being explained to me by saying that it was extremely rude to expect your guest to have to do the butchery of their food at the table.
And THANK YOU VERY MUCH for muting the chew noises! I used to feel so guilty when my elderly mom lived with me because I liked to eat with her but had to wear earplugs when we had dinner. I simply cannot tolerate chew noises, and it's very thoughtful of you to mute them in your videos.
In Aleppo, similar rice was always a part of dinner. Small differences depending on the other mains: pine nuts, other nuts, Lighty toasted. Can be made on top of stove. Parboiled rice is easy.
Loved hearing about the problem of food noises. My daughters suffers from this and for years thought she was crazy until sometime in high-school she found out about mysophonia online and realized she wasn't the only one
I am a turk and I loved your video about the original recipe and the historical storys I just loved them. I learned so much of your video so keep going 👍
My mother’s family has a recipe for what we called holiday pilaf. It was served with roast leg of lamb for Easter and uses ground lamb and almonds and fideo browned in rendered lamb fat before the rice is added in. Seasonings are salt, pepper and allspice.
Watching video right now, fascinating stuff. Hope in the future you cover turkish desserts like baklava or turkish delight 😊
I’ve already done the research for both, so they’re coming.
@TastingHistory Awesome Max, anyway have a good Tuesday 👍
@@TastingHistory Yay! Quite excited for baklava! In my previous place of residence the greengrocer was selling it, and I would every now and then buy some - I loved that it often came in bite-sized pieces so I could really have it just as a little treat - and now I rather miss it. 😥 So I'm quite curious about its history. 😉
@@TastingHistory I'd beg of you to try Menemen and become a part of The Great Menemen Controversy of Turkey.
@@TastingHistory yay! I love rose flavored Turkish delight but have been to scared to try random recipes from the internet, though I do have the rosewater for another desert already
I enjoy your channel so much. I'm a vegetarian and I really don't drink alcohol, but I watch all the videos. Your presentation is engaging, and I love the history.
Cool to see this. I usually cook a Uzbek style plov, and I see the cooking method is very similar, just a little difference in the spices, the addition of pistachios and currants, and the removal of the carrots and garlic.
Sending Tuesday kindness as not well enough to write. Fascinated to see what is culturally thoughtful and polite in the Ottoman Empire society.
Great piece! The details you are giving are perfect. Really appreciate these Ottoman series! 👏🏻
Another great episode on Ottomans!! Here are some further episode ideas on the Ottoman culinary culture; Sarma and/or Dolma (stuffed grape, cabbage leaves and pepper), Tavuk Göğsü (chicken breast desert), Tarhana Soup (yogurt based dried and rehydrated soup with hundred regional variations), Hünkar Beyendi (best eggplant dish ever!), Ottoman Mezes (kind of like appetizers), Mücver (zucchini fritters) etc. The list is endless due to the multicultural nature of the empire and the geography it covered.
I ate a lot of "pilau" made by locals while serving in Afghanistan and have made similar dishes at home from time to time. It differs somewhat from this as it contains grated carrots boiled with the rice, but the spices are mostly the same. I will definately try this recipe soon, as it actually reminds me of one of the few good things of spending time there during the "war on terror". I will try to make it layered as it is supposed to be, but I guess the final presentation is going to be the same as your presentation of the dish.
Pilav/Pulao/pilaf has so many regional varieties from Turkey to central Asia to Iran to Pakistan/India. Different meats, spices and varieties of rice. I think every country and every region will have their own twist on it. But one thing is common, its one of the perfect dishes to finish a meal :)
Oh boy! An ottoman episode? Neat! You always pick some really cool meals!
2:16 That spelling of coffee stunlocked me irl
6:46 "Humans are not rare, but humanity is rare" an excellent proverb. Thank you for sharing this
That looks delicious and cardamom is my favorite spice also! My Finnish great grandmother used to make cardamom bread and the scent was glorious!
I love it, too. Cardamom in coffee is wonderful!
Had some very good rice pudding yesterday that featured cardamom as the main flavor
I bake a sweet dough cardamom bread every Christmas…based on a Swedish recipe.
Afghan cardamom black tea is amazing as well. So simple and so good.
I can remember my Finnish grandmother putting the whole cardamom in a cloth and pounding the heck out of it with a hammer to put in her bread.
Can you make an oldest dish ever recorded in history?
He's come pretty close with the ancient Egyptian tiger nut bread or the Babylonian beer.
I vote oldest dishes in every (major) culture as well :)
Roasted mammoth
He has a 4000 year old recipe already take a look through his uploads I believe it was sumerian or babylonian
I think that would be a fantastic deep dive, if nothing else. Because if you wanna get wild with it, I suppose you could argue that cave paintings or neolithic art depicting meat being fire roasted could technically count. It details the only ingredient and tool needed, makes the method clear, and is missing no steps. Could be fun as a thought experiment even if it is difficult to nail down for sure
Max, it's OK that your Ottoman chef career never took off. We're thrilled that you are so much better at your day job! Keep the great videos coming!
This is honestly one of my favorite youtube channels. I love history, I love food, and even your sponsors are good. Great work!
Max, I cannot thank you enough for intentionally muting chewing sounds. I have the same issues and now that I know that you go above and beyond to edit the vid makes me appreciate this channel alot more
he is the anti mukbang
Excellent video as usual Max!
This style of pilaf was interesting to compare to my dad's recipe. As far as spices; cumin, coriander, and black and red pepper are what he uses. The primary cooking oil he uses is ghee, and he usually adds chickpeas. When it's in season, he uses quince apple for it's fragrance and unique flavor. The meat can vary between beef, lamb, and more rarely pork; and I recall when he used rabbit meat as an experiment. For the rice, he uses parboiled, long grain Uncle Ben's.
Max!! This is why i can watch you eat and NO one else! Thank you so much from the bottom of my misphonic heart. ❤
Pilaf is very common in the Indian subcontinent. It is the cousin of biryani and while in the pilaf or pulao as it is also known as, the rick cooks in the stock with the meat, in the biryani rice is semi cooked separately and then added to the meat. This pilaf is very well done and reminds me of Kabuli pilaf. I would only sear the meat a bit more till a brown crush forms and slice the onions and brown them for the caramelized flavours.
i cant wait for indians to claim pilaf from india 💀💀💀
I'm in awe that you dive this deep for an Ottoman Dish. But I'll also try to elaborate against the westerners experiences. First of all Turkish flat bread is primary element of Turkish cuisine at the time. This bread let you to have origami style folding options to use it like spoon or a fork depending on the meal you're having. Meaning it might look like you're eating with your hands but in reality you're utilizing the flat bread. I also can't talk about anyone's experience under the age of 40 but I personally experienced the customary education when I was much younger about how to use the flatbread to scoop soup or yogurt or pilaf or just the dish you are having using just the bread. I can't talk about the palace people but I can talk about the ordinary people where they don't use their hands but use their spoons as depicted in many of those miniatures from Ottoman era. Because that was the main way to eat for a regular person and their family. There will be one dish it may be a pilav or a stew or a soup or whatever... Whole family get together to consume it using their wooden spoons. Funnily enough we also have a saying that goes like "Chicken, Fish and Head(of cows or sheep) these are supposed to be eaten by hand"/"Tavuk,Balık,Kelle, bunlar yenir elle...". So in Turkish cuisine eating by hand is a very complicated issue. For example I remember going to Konya city when I was like around 6 or 7 years old to visit Mevlana/Rumi's tomb. We went to a restaurant that do classical Turkish tandoori lamb. They refused to give us utensils like forks or spoons saying we need to eat with our hands to properly enjoy the food but they supplied more than enough flat breads. Any ways I might have digressed from the main issue but I just wanted to share my personal experience as Turkish person.
Hocam, sizi bilmiyorum ama biz Uygurlar çok yakın zamanlara kadar pilavı elle yerdik. Düğünlere giderken kapıdan girdiğimiz an ellerimize so dökmek için bekleyen biri olurdu, yıkar öyle geçerdik sofraya mesala...
@@rosengul1076 Ben bulgur pilavini hala lavas ekmegi ile ve elle bandirarak yiyorum :D
Thanks for your comment! That flat bread looks so delicious! Every time Ertugrul Bey or Osman Bey sit at the head of the table and break the bread on TV, I want to be there to smell and taste it! I so enjoy the historical TV shows from TNT. I just finished watching two seasons of Mevlana, after ten seasons of Ertugrul and Osman.
Such a high quality and entertaining video trough out, just like your every other video. As a Turkish person I enjoy all of your ottoman related videos greatly.
We still offer coffee to guests in Cyprus but in modern Turkiye people drink and offer tea instead of coffee.
Both are common. Often times both are offered if the visit lasts long. Completely depends on the host, there's no definitive thing as people offer tea instead of coffee.
They have become weak...
I've heard this. Yet, in Balkans, places like Bosnia and Serbia we still drink Turkish coffee. And they drink a lot of it in Bosnia!
My parents and grandparents used to make a large cezve of coffee. So each person can have more than one cup. In size these cups were very similar to tea cups.
At the end if they wanted more they would add more ground coffee and water to cezve and make it again. They did this a few times a day. Breakfast, at work, after dinner. And they smoked cigarettes while drinking coffee.
They drank tea but rarely. Sometimes with breakfast or if they were sick.
In Serbia they serve only one cup per person.
Turks started drinking tea after WWI when they were cut for a while from their colonies in Yemen.
He had to say coffee because of his sponsor
hey, i think you nailed it by putting it in a bowl.
as a turkish, the second picture is more fimiliar to my eyes than the first one. so, good job !
I remember having books with fairytales from different parts of the world. I had to have a one with persian stories where pilaf played a role in the story and I wanted to try it so much. I still haven't but I might attempt to finally make it myself after all those years. Thank you Max 😊❤
The Crimean Tatars often cook it in a giant wok type pan over flames and add lots of garlic and chopped carrots. Delicious!
thank you for this wonderful video,
at home in Türkiye we still cook a similar recipe on holidays and family gatherings
I never expected a Goofus and Gallant reference in my Tasting History 😂! Love this channel and your cook book!
Yes, one of the Highlights
@@raymondmuench3266😉
I've loved your channel from the very beginning. I'm a retired chef and love cultural history, so you check nearly all the boxes for what I find entertaining to watch. I find your repertoire fascinating, but I must admit, I am left yearning to see more pre-Columbian recipes from the Americas, and more recipes from the period of Western expansion, though you really nailed hard tack. 😅
I'm most interested in learning more recipes that used indigenous plants, especially from North America. I'm quite familiar with acorn flour, corn of the period, and many varieties of squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and wheat. I know some vegetables and their prep that have remained in use, especially in the rural midwest, like polk greens, lamb's quarter, and sunchokes, as well a the common edible berries that foragers know, like pawpaw, blackberry, elderberry, mulberry, and huckleberry. I am vaguely familiar with a few others. I'd like to learn of more foragable ingredients used in North America before modern agriculture, foraging guides and recipes that would have been available to early pioneers, and recipes used by North American tribes which predate colonialism.
I didn't mention game, as I have been a practicing vegetarian for 11 years, due to protein allergies to several kinds of flesh, especially red meat, including elk, moose, and venison. From a culinary professional perspective, I do still find watching such dishes prepared fascinating, so please don't feel any pressure to not include them. I do still prepare non-vegetarian dishes for non-vegetarian family members, so they would still have merit to me.
Anyway, forgive my yammering and oversharing, please, and consider more content on these locales and dishes, in the future. Early American cultural history is an arena in which I feel undereducated, and that feels wrong, being an American- born individual. I met survivors of the Civil War, and I feel comfortable with my cultural knowledge after that point in our history, and naturally, the American Education system did a great job teaching about pivotal political and geographical history, but that's just a framework upon which society could flourish.
The meat and bones of how people lived, produced their food, clothing, shelter, and entertainment, and were motivated outside institutional factors like religion and government is much more interesting to me, and yet, it almost seems easier to learn about the rest of the world in those bygone eras than our own American frontier. There's so much fiction about that era that a lot gets muddied. I want to know more of the typical day of somebody on the Oregon Trail or the Yukon gold Rush, or even the California Gold Rush. It inspired so much media for decades, but Hollywood is Hollywood, and even the writers of great works from that era were known to embellish their tales to varying degrees. That makes pinning down realistic examples of something like a real chuck wagon meal during the various western expansions difficult. It was overlapping the Victorian Era, where high-fashion was recounting tales with extravagant embellishments, so getting a real, down-to-earth picture of the survival lifestyle those people endured is challenging, even to a professional writer, like myself.
I've commenced yammering again, and apologize, so let me conclude by simply saying I love your content, and you're better off having left Disney. I have lived in the shadow of that deified rat, myself, if you catch my drift. Celebrate your creative independence and keep cranking out this wonderful content.
I love this channel already!! The way you're tasting history is both eye pleasing and brain stuffing at the same time. And I'm also surprised knowing how good the Ottomans were at their etiquettes and manners. As someone who loves both history and food, your channel is a must visit.