Whole pumpkin stuffed with lamb and raisin pilav
Middle Eats · ♥ 1.5K likes · 43.7K views · 8 min video
Read about lamb in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
Cut a small lid out of the top of the pumpkin with a sharp serrated knife tilted at an angle, cutting a circle large enough to hollow the pumpkin through.
Cutting an angled lid and hollowing out
Scoop out the seeds and stringy guts; on a dense cooking pumpkin cut out sections of flesh and lever them out with a spoon, aiming for a cavity that takes a few cups of rice while leaving enough flesh to eat.
Wash the medium grain rice thoroughly, at least three times or until the water stops going cloudy, or it cooks sticky instead of fluffy and separate.
Washing the rice
- 2 tbsp butter or ghee
Melt two tablespoons of butter or ghee in a pot and toast a cinnamon stick, two small bay leaves, two cloves and a teaspoon of cracked black peppercorns about two minutes until super fragrant.
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 tsp cracked black peppercorns
- 300 g lamb or beef cubes
Add 300 grams of lamb or beef cubes and saute with the spices a couple of minutes.
- water
Once the meat releases liquid, cover and cook on medium about 30 minutes, stirring every five minutes and adding a little water every time the pot dries out.
- 2 whole onions
Add two medium onions in a medium dice and saute with the meat four to five minutes until soft, deglazing with a splash of water.
- water
- 120 g canned chickpeas
Stir in 120 grams of drained canned chickpeas, then one and a half cups of rice, one and a half teaspoons of salt and a tablespoon of oil.
- 1½ cup rice
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- beef stock
Add stock or water to almost cover the rice, turn the heat to high and cover until it boils, about five minutes.
Once the liquid has dropped below the rice turn the heat to low, cover again and steam 20 minutes.
- 120 g raisins and golden sultanas
Fluff with a fork and mix in 120 grams of soaked raisins and sultanas.
- 1 whole pumpkin
- salt
- pomegranate molasses
Salt the inside of the pumpkin lightly, then add the pilav gently without compacting it and set the lid on.
Salting and filling the pumpkin
- vegetable oil
Lay two sheets of foil in a cross and two sheets of wetted parchment in a cross, sit the pumpkin in the centre, brush it all over with vegetable oil and wrap it tightly into a complete seal.
Oil and wet-parchment wrap for a lacquered skin
Unwrap the foil and paper, remove the lid and check a knife goes easily into the flesh, then leave the lid off a while so excess steam escapes.