Xinjiang Cuisine · FFET10142
Xinjiang hand-grabbed pilaf (polu)
A Xinjiang rice dish of lamb and carrot with separate grains, traditionally eaten by hand.
A white porcelain plate holds a mound of separate pale cream rice grains mixed with orange-red carrot strips and a few raisins, topped with a heap of dark brown braised lamb pieces, with steam rising from the food.
The regional cooking of Xinjiang, with naan, pilaf, mutton and wheat foods.
Hand-grabbed pilaf is rice in which lamb, onion and carrot are fried in oil and soaked rice is cooked on top, leaving the grains separate; raisins are often added, and it is traditionally eaten by hand. Pilaf is common in Central Asia and Xinjiang, and hand-grabbed pilaf is a variation in Uyghur cuisine. No dated Xinjiang text was found, so this entry gives no year.
What
Hand-grabbed pilaf is a Xinjiang rice dish: lamb, onion and carrot are fried in oil, soaked rice is cooked on top, the grains stay separate, raisins are often added, and it is traditionally eaten by hand.1,3,4,5
When
The dish belongs to the wider pilaf tradition of Central Asia and Xinjiang. The available sources provide no dated Xinjiang text or starting date for the Xinjiang dish, so this entry gives no year.1,2,3,4,5,6
Where
Pilaf is common across Central Asia and Xinjiang. Hand-grabbed pilaf is a variation served on the Uyghur table in Xinjiang.1,2,3
How
The main points of the method: brown the meat in oil, add onion and carrot, add water and cumin, then lay the soaked rice on top without stirring and cook it covered. It was traditionally made in cast iron and is now often made in a rice cooker.2,3,4,5
Why
It is a home dish of Xinjiang that is also made for holidays. The name is said to come from eating by hand; it was once a communal dish at the center of the table and contains no pork.4,5
Impact and influence
Uzbek pilaf was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in 2016. The single introduction to Xinjiang intangible heritage reviewed for this entry does not mention the dish, so no Chinese heritage listing was found for it; that does not prove there is none.2,6
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
Xinjiang pilaf is often cooked slowly in a heavy iron pot. At home I use a heavy-bottomed pot, and this is a simplified home version that draws on two writers' home methods; a rice cooker also works. I cut the lamb fairly small so it is tender before the rice goes in. The amounts and timings below are my own choices at home, and the lamb must be cooked through.
Ingredients
- Lamb (shoulder or leg with some fat) 500 g, cut into cubes of about 2 cm
- Rice 300 g, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
- Carrots 400 g, cut into thick sticks
- Onion 1, about 150 g, diced
- Cooking oil 4 tablespoons, about 60 ml
- Ground cumin 1 teaspoon
- Salt 1 1/2 teaspoons
- Raisins (optional) 40 g
- Water about 450 ml
Steps
- Rinse the rice, soak it for 30 minutes, then drain.
- Heat the pot, add the oil and brown the lamb for about 8 minutes, until the surface changes color.
- Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, cumin and salt, pour in about 450 ml of water, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, until the lamb is tender.
- Spread the drained rice evenly on top and scatter the raisins over it. The water should just cover the rice; if it does not, pour a little boiling water down the side of the pot, without stirring.
- Cover tightly and cook on low for about 25 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave it covered for 10 more minutes.
- Check: taste a grain of rice, which should no longer be hard in the middle, and cut into a piece of lamb, which should have no pink and be tender. If not, cover and cook a few more minutes.
- Fold everything together from the bottom with a rice paddle and eat hot.
Tips
- Once the rice is on top I stop stirring, which keeps the grains separate; this is my own way of doing it.
- The rice is rich, so I put a tart vegetable dish beside it; one of the recipes I read also serves it with vinegared vegetables.