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My Mama gave me this chicken plov (rice pilaf) recipe over the phone. I changed it up just a little with a touch of Cayenne pepper. Traditional plov is made with lamb pork or beef. This is our own speedy version.
Rice Cooker: Where have you been all these years? My hubby bought me a rice cooker for Mothers Day and I’ve already made this chicken plov several times. (p.s. It’s a great buy at Costco ~$30) It was so easy and fast. I don’t have to stand over it; I just put my prepped ingredients in the rice cooker and press the button. Voila!!
Ingredients for Chicken Plov:
1 large chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch x 1-inch pieces
2 cups white rice, rinsed well and drained
1 large carrot, grated
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup ketchup
2 1/2 cups water or low sodium chicken broth*
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
*Use as much water/broth as your rice maker requires. note: If cooking on stove top, add 2 cups water for every 1 cup rice.
How to make Plov (Rice Pilaf):
1. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add chicken pieces, than saute until golden and cooked through.
2. Next, add 1 diced onion to the skillet with chicken and saute about 3 minutes.
3. Add grated carrots to the skillet and saute 2 more minutes.
4. Add 2 Tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup ketchup and mix everything together.
5. Once the butter melts, add 2 cups of rinsed rice to the skillet. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of black pepper, 1/8 tsp of Cayenne pepper and mix everything together.
6. Transfer mixture to the rice cooker, add 2 1/2 cups of water and season more to taste if desired. Set the rice cooker to “White rice”.
– OR – If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can put everything into a pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook over medium/low heat for about 20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed
Notes: If you don’t rinse your rice, you will require more water. Left over plov is always a good thing; just saute it up. I think its even better reheated in a frying pan. It gives it a certain crunch.
Ukrainian Chicken Plov (Rice Pilaf)
Ingredients
- 1 large chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch x 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups white rice, rinsed well and drained
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 1/2 cups water or low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add chicken pieces, saute them until golden and cooked through.
- Next, add 1 diced onion to the skillet with chicken and saute about 3 minutes.
- Add grated carrots to the skillet and saute 2 more minutes.
- Add 2 Tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup ketchup and mix everything together.
- Once the butter melts, add 2 cups of rinsed rice to the skillet. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of black pepper, 1/8 tsp of Cayenne pepper and mix everything together.
- Transfer mixture to the rice cooker, add 2 1/2 cups of water and season more to taste if desired. Set the rice cooker to "White rice". - OR - If you don't have a rice cooker, you can put everything into a pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook over medium/low heat for about 20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed.
Thanks Natasha! Made this for the first time last night and it was wonderful! 🙂 I didn’t have cayenne pepper, so I just used 1/4 tsp of black pepper total for the whole dish. And I added a can of mushrooms (pieces and stems), great dish! Thank you for sharing! I love your blog!!! 🙂 Already made a few different other recipes from here and they are all awesome!
Mmm I love mushrooms; that sounds like a very good add-in!
Hey! Do you mean cayenne pepper?!
whoops! Yes. Cayenne pepper. 😉
честно говоря этот рецепт похож на рисовую кашу с подливкой, но никак не плов. Если бы ты приехала в Узбекистан с этим рецептом над тобой бы все смеялись. Just please dont call it plov and especially ukrainian plov. its like i would call Borsh a dish from Uzbekistan, wich it will never will be, same as plv will never be Ukrainian dish, especially cooked that way. I am not saying that its not tasty, its just not plov, but rice dish and you can name it anything else. P.S:
Plov and Chicken doesnt go together like burger will never have a chicken inside.
Plov is a pilaf and this is a chicken pilaf. I make no claims that this is an Uzbek plov. It’s our families quick chicken plov. If you have an excellent (authentic Uzbek) beef plov recipe that isn’t too complicated, feel free to share.
I love how sweetly u replied to that .. 🙂
Thanx Natash. My first time ever making plov, and it turned out delicious. Too bad my son didn’t like it I think it was the cheyenne pepper…. Too spicy for him. I’ll try without it next time. But me and my hubby enjoyed it very much : )
Oh man, it is always nice to get a dish that makes everyone happy. My son loves rice, but potatoes,..not so much!
Hello Everyone, I’ve updated the rice; 1 tsp salt instead of 1.5, added 1/4 cup ketchup and added 1 more tbsp butter.
thanks….will try it today…
Hi Natasha.
I have tried this recipe and for some reason the whole plov turned out dry. I used the same amount of water and same rice maker. :/
Hi Olga, I’m sorry it didn’t work out. Did you rinse the rice first? Are you used to a more sticky plov or was it just dry? Try adding the 1/4 cup ketchup to it and 3 tbsp butter and see if you like that more. I’ll update the recipe. I’m pretty sure I used more butter the last time I made it.
Thanks for this recipe, Natasha! I made it yesterday with brown rice and garlic and it is great. I’m 7 weeks pregnant with my first child, and all I want are the dishes my Ukranian mother used to make. I have a feeling I’ll be visiting your blog a lot in the coming months.
Isn’t it funny how our food preferences change while pregnant and then go right back to normal after delivery? I was afraid I would never like shrimp again because I couldn’t stand it while pregnant . I hope this site satisfies your cravings and congratulations!!
hi natasha, what brand of rice do u use for the plov
Im not sure what brand it was. It’s the big bag from Costco. Any medium or long grain white rice will work
Can you plez post more pilaf recipes! Thanks
I have a beef plov (pilaf) recipe on my to-do list. 🙂
I have the same rice cooker. What do you press when putting all ingredients in?
Just the white rice button
I tried this recipie over the weekend and loved it so mcuh i cooked it again using pork instead of chicken. Thank you for this great recipie
Pork is great alternative as well and I think it reheats better :).
Hey, nice website! Really user friendly and you have so many ideas!!! Just a tip I picked up from my mom (who is a professional chef) regarding the rice- If you don’t want your rice to stick together, put butter into the water as it is heating up, then add rice. I never rinse it, but do just that and my rice is always seperated and fluffy! I personally like Jasmine rice.
Thank you Lyuda! I’m always happy to learn something new. I’ll try that next time!
This is one of my husband’s favorite meals! AND it’s so easy to make. I always put ketchup into my mixture as well. I also used left over turkey (after thanksgiving) and it was delicious!
Turkey, what a great idea! Thank’s Yana.
I put it in the oven before for like an hour and its very fluffy but since my sister got me my rice cooker its my favorite to use for plov and so fast
That’s what I love about my rice cooker, just push the button and it will do the rest :).
What brand of rice did you use?
I usually use Homai – I think that’s what its called? But I’ve been using some that my Mom gave me. She bought a huge amount at Costco. It doesn’t really matter what brand you use.
Hi Natasha, I was wondering what kind of Rice cooker do yo have? I’ve been meaning to buy one but most of them are over $100… Thanks!
I bought mine at Costco for $30. The brand is Aroma and it’s white. I think they usually them at Costco.
Plov is rather eastern Russian food. It made with real meat (originally with lamb, but I like pork too). I make it in wok and add peppers, garlic and tomatoes (+ to what you have already written) . I do boil rice half way separately, then add it to wok on top of “zirvak”(cooked meat and veg. mixture). That way rise steams nicely, and you will not get a rise “kasha”.
Hi Katya, thank you for your comment. Peppers, garlic and tomatoes sound like a really good addition to plov. I will use those ingredients next time I make plov. Rinsing the rice prevents it from becoming a “kasha” as well because you are removing the extra starch.
Natasha, just wanted to say “Privet.” I randomly stumbled upon your blog. Nice one, by the way! I am going to have to try some of your recipes because I love cooking as well and try to stay in touch with Russian culture and food. I also have a blog where I share Russian recipes, and Plov is one of them. . Cheers! 😉
Privet Irina! I will check it out your website too. I’m always happy to find out about other sites that feature Russian food.
also beef is great…
I’ve tried a beef variation at Church and it was very good. Do you prepare the beef the same way as chicken?
Wow, never knew you could finish plov in rice cooker…great idea 🙂 My mom has also started to use lamb meat in plov….nice different flavor 😉
I’ve never cooked with lamb before. Very creative. There are probably a hundred different ways to make “plov”
It makes Grechka (buckwheat) perfectly too.