Pilaf
Pilaf, (Turkish pilav, Azeri plov, Bosnian pilav, Serbian pilav, Armenian pilav, Romanian pilaf, Persian polow, Greek πιλάφι, India/Pakistan pulao, Uzbek and Russian plov) also spelled pilau, perloo, perlau, plaw, pilaw, and pilaff is a Middle Eastern and Central Asian dish in which a grain, such as rice or cracked wheat, is generally first browned in oil, and then cooked in a seasoned broth. It is originally Turkish. Depending on the local cuisine it may also contain a variety of meat and vegetables.
The word pilau may be of Persian origin. However, in modern Persian, it is pronounced polo (پلو), with the first syllable short, and the second long.
The Persian rice recipes probably go back to the expansion of rice cultivation within the Persian Empire under Darius the Great. There is historical evidence that the cultivation of rice was introduced systematically into Mesopotamia and South Western Iran on a large scale in the 5th century BC, making rice available to the people of Central Asia and the Middle East on a scale unthought of previously.
The Persian culinary terms referring to rice preparations are numerous and have found their way into the neighbouring languages: Polo (rice cooked in broth while the grains remain separate, straining the half cooked rice before adding the broth and then 'brewing'), Cholo (white rice with separate grains), Kateh (sticky rice), Biryani (similar to polo but involve some frying in butter after it is cooked), Tachine (slow cooked rice, vegetable and meat cooked in a specially designed dish also called a tachine).
One of the earliest literary references to Pilau can be found in the histories of Alexander the Great when describing Sogdian (an Eastern Iranian province probably the birthplace of Alexander's wife Roxana and geographically situtated in modern Uzbekistan) hospitality. Uzbek "plov" is often considered to be one of the oldest preparations of rice. It was known to have been served to Alexander the Great upon his capture of the Sogdian capital of Marakanda (modern Samarkand).
The pilau became standard fare in the Middle East over the years with variations and innovation by the Arabs, Turks and Armenians. The Arabs probably introduced Pilaf to Iberia. Spanish paella was more than likely a standard Moorish method for cooking rice - with no wasted water, important in desert regions like North Africa.
Pilau was likely brought from Central Asia to the Anatolian plateau during the Seljuk period. With the founding of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks introduced pilav to the Balkans and Greece. It is also possible that Pilau was brought during the Hellenistic age after the Greek conquest of Persia. Pilav is also a main component of Armenian cooking. However, Armenians often prepare pilav with cracked bulgur rather than rice.
The Mughals introduced many Persian dishes to the subcontinent including rice dishes. Pulao is a South Asian dish made of rice. It is made with peas, potatoes, mutton, beef or chicken. Usually served on special occasions and weddings; very high in food energy and fat. Biryani is an Indian and Pakistani dish very similar to pilav. It is made from basmati or similar aromatic rice. This is an original mughal dish introduced to India during the mughal period.
In America, the Southern rice crops and the influence of the spice trade made the dish popular. Pilau has been a popular dish in many Southern states for 300 years, particularly South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. Jambalaya is a Cajun/Creole rice based dish popular in Louisiana.
Perloo is a dish often featured in Walt Kelly's 'Pogo' comic series.
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