How To Cook Near East Rice Pilaf

Pilaf is a tasty dish normally made using rice and in some regions with wheat. Usually, its cooking process involves cooking in stock or broth, adding different vegetables and meat with spices. This style of cooking originates from the Middle East during the period of the Islamic Golden age and soon spread throughout West Asia, Central Asia, and India. Though the cultivation of rice started much earlier in Russian, it was during the 20th century when the Asian Version of Pilaf become part of the Soviet Union’s cuisine.  Today this dish has gained popularity almost everywhere in the world, and in some regions, it is also known as Pelau. Traditionally, cooking rice pilaf involves a lengthy and time taking process; however, with the help of the Near East, you can have this dish on your plate within less than half an hour. Now we will discuss the simple process of cooking near east rice pilaf.

Instructions on how to cook near east rice pilaf:

Cooking near east rice pilaf is a very simple process as almost all the required ingredients are already present in the packet. We will go through the whole process later, but first, we will learn about the company.

About Company:

Near East started its business back in 1962 in Worchester- a city of England- Initially, it was like a family-owned business with each member its partner and employee. In 1940, a husband and a wife, George, and Hannah emigrated from Armenia to America and started a grocery store. Soon Hannah started selling her handmade sandwiches, which soon became very popular. While looking at the success of the sandwiches, Hannah started to sell her traditional dish, Armenian-style rice pilaf, which proved to be an even bigger success for them. With the passage of time, the production moved from Hannah’s kitchen to a modern production facility. Today near east products include 30 different flavors of rice pilaf and other dishes which involve gains such as wheat.

Cooking process:

As we discussed earlier, cooking near east rice pilaf is a simple process because of the presence of many ingredients in the packet. We will try to make it even quicker b using instant pot and try to make a copycat dish of near east rice pilaf.

 Ingredients:

• White rice with long grains
• Orzo – a macaroni product made of wheat flour
• 2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of water
• Chopped pieces of garlic
• a quarter teaspoon of black pepper
• Chopped onions
• a quarter teaspoon of turmeric ground
• half teaspoon of dried minced onion
• Chicken broth
• Vegetable broth( if you are vegetarian)
• Butter

First of all, add the orzo, rice, pepper, butter, turmeric, onions, and water to the instant pot. Now stir it up for 5 minutes until all the ingredients get mixed. Now closed the lid of the instant pot and let it cook on heat, and press the button of rice on the instant pot. Some instant pot does not have the “rice” button on them so in that case press the “Pressure Cook” button or simply set the instant pot of low pressure for 10 to 15 minutes. When the time is completed, let the pressure get released from the instant pot for 2 to 3 minutes. Now it’s time to fluff the rice for which you will be needed a fork and then garnish it with parsley. You have your best near-east rice pilaf ready to be served.

Important instructions:

• Always wash the rice before cooking because rice, especially in America, has been fortified with powdered vitamins. So when we wash the rice, the powdered vitamins are also washed from it and make it clean. Moreover, washing rice before cooking removes the loose surface starch of rice which helps to reduce fat from it.
• The next important instruction is to sauté the rice into butter before putting it into cooking. It helps you to increase the flavor of the rice dish. Nonetheless, the coating of butter on rice grains prevents them from sticking to each other.
• As mentioned in the cooking process, let the lid off the instant pot and let the pressure get released from it. It gives time for the moisture to get evenly distributed through the rice.

Nutrition:

The following nutrition of far east rice pilaf is given for a serving of half a cup.

• Total calories of 164
• 32 grams of carbohydrates
• 1 gram of saturated fat
• 85 grams of potassium
• 1 gram of fiber
• 3 mg of vitamin C
• 1 mg of iron
• 5 mg of cholesterol
• 4 grams of protein
• 1 gram of sugar
• 58 international units of vitamin A
• 15 mg of calcium
• 358 grams of sodium
• 2 grams of fat

Health Benefits:

Rice pilaf is full of fiber and filled with vitamin B. Fibre makes it a filling meal, along with benefiting your digestive system. On the other hand, vitamin B helps the body to increase immunity against diseases and helps to speed up the rate of metabolizing food of the body. Moreover, it also contains minerals such as manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, and selenium. The best quality of this dish is its low fat. On average, one cup of the dish contains 250 calories which can further be decreased by using brown or wild rice.

Conclusion:

It is a very tasty, spicy, and low-fat dish that can be cooked very easily. Its cooking process involves few simple steps that can be followed even by working ladies of college boys. Moreover, from a nutrition perspective, it is very beneficial and is often recommended to patients with high blood pressure. The use of chicken with rice pilaf helps us to increase the intake of protein in our bodies.  While the readymade packets of rice pilaf by the near east are available in the market, cooking has become fun. We hope the information provided to you is beneficial.