Turkish Rice Pilaf with Chickpeas Recipe: Easy & Homemade
Turkish rice pilaf with chickpeas: rinse and soak the rice, toast it in butter with onion and tomato, then cook in stock and fold in chickpeas.
Turkish rice pilaf with chickpeas (nohutlu pilav) is a buttery long-grain rice cooked with onion and tomato, then folded with tender chickpeas. You rinse and soak the rice first, toast it in clarified butter, cook it in stock until the liquid is absorbed, and rest it before serving.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 4 tablespoons unsalted clarified butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 ½ cup long-grain white rice
- 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 1/3 cups chicken stock or water
- Salt and black pepper
Method
Place the rice in a bowl and cover it with about 4 inches of warm water. Stir the rice for a few seconds, then drain it. Repeat this process several times. Then cover the rice with hot water and set aside for about 30 minutes. Drain the rice well, and let it stand for 10 minutes before cooking.
- To cook dried chickpeas, soak them overnight. Drain them and bring them to a boil in 1 ½ cups water with 1 teaspoon salt. Lower the heat, simmer 1 hour until just tender, and drain them.
- In a heavy, medium-size saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat and cook the onion gently for about 2 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the rice and continue stirring for about 2 minutes until the rice is coated with butter. Add the tomatoes and stir for 1 more minute. Pour in the stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pan, and cook gently for 10 minutes, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Stir in the chickpeas about 5 minutes before the end of cooking. Let the pilaf stand for about 5 minutes, then serve.
Pilav is the quiet backbone of the Turkish table, served alongside stews like white bean stew and grilled kofte. For more rice and grain dishes, see our Turkish recipes, and for the wider picture of what to eat in the city, the Istanbul food guide.
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