Chicken pilaf is a hearty and flavorful dish that is ideal for a family lunch or dinner. It is easy to prepare, but requires patience and adherence to technology so that the taste is rich and the texture of the rice is airy.

Ingredients:
1 kg rice
4 chicken legs
4 carrots
4 onions
4 garlic heads
150 ml vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin
barberries or raisins (optional)
0.5 tsp curry
salt, pepper mix
water
Cooking steps
Preparing the cauldron
Put a 5-liter cast-iron cauldron on medium heat. Pour in the vegetable oil and heat it up. Peel one onion, cut it in half and fry in oil until golden brown. This technique will give the oil a special aroma. As soon as the onion turns golden, take it out and put it away.

Frying the chicken
Remove the bones from the legs, trying to leave the meat whole. Place the chicken in a cauldron and fry until it releases juice. This is important to make the pilaf more juicy.

Adding vegetables
Cut the carrots into thin long strips 1–3 mm thick. Finely chop the onion. When the chicken has released juice, add the onion, lightly salt, stir and fry everything together for 5–10 minutes. After that, evenly spread the carrots on top of the meat and onion, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Preparing rice and spices
Rinse the rice thoroughly in cold water until the water becomes clear. This is important so that the rice does not stick together during cooking. Peel the garlic heads, but do not separate them into cloves.

Assembling the pilaf
Open the lid of the cauldron, carefully place the heads of garlic vertically in the center. Sprinkle the dish with cumin, curry, salt and pepper to taste. Put rice on top, add barberry or raisins, if using. Smooth out the rice so that it lies in an even layer, and carefully pour in water so that the water level is 1 cm higher than the rice.

Final cooking
Cover the cauldron with a lid and cook over high heat for about 5 minutes, then taste for salt. Add salt if necessary. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer the pilaf for 20-30 minutes, until the water is completely absorbed.

Serving
Put the finished pilaf in layers: first rice, then carrots, and cut the meat into small pieces and put on top. The garlic heads can be served whole - they turn out tender and tasty.

This recipe can be adapted to taste, removing or adding spices, as you like. Bon appetit!