Turkish lamb pilau

Turkish lamb pilau

Serve up a basmati rice one pot flavoured with cinnamon, mint and apricot, studded with tender lamb

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

Method

  1. Dry-fry the pine nuts or almonds in a large pan until lightly toasted, then tip onto a plate. Add the oil to the pan, then fry the onion and cinnamon together until starting to turn golden. Turn up the heat, stir in the lamb, fry until the meat changes colour, then tip in the rice and cook for 1 min, stirring all the time.
  2. Pour in 500ml boiling water, crumble in the stock cube, add the apricots, then season to taste. Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 12 mins until the rice is tender and the stock has been absorbed. Toss in the pine nuts and mint and serve.
Try

MAKING IT LIGHTER

Use chicken with chicken stock instead of lamb and currants instead of apricots.

IF YOU WANT TO USE A SLOW COOKER...

Take your time over this. Toast the nuts according to step 1 and set aside. Fry the onion, cinnamon and spices together for 5-10 mins. Turn up the heat and add the lamb and fry until it changes colour. Tip into the slow cooker with the rice and stir. Pour in the water, crumble the stock cube, add the apricots and season. Cook on Low for 3-4 hours until the rice is tender. Toss in the nuts and mint to serve.

Per serving

584 kcalories, protein 32g, carbohydrate 65g, fat 24 g, saturated fat 9g, fibre 3g, salt 1.4 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2005.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Efi

    12 November 2007

    Efi commented on this recipe

    A very tasty dish indeed. Casreful though as it's very filling!

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  • Binder photo Rich

    09 April 2008

    Rich rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    cooked this last night, it was full of flavour. the lamb and spicy/sweet combination works really well. I threw in garlic/ chilli/cinnamon powder when the onion/lamb was cooking, i also fried some yellow and red peppers with it to add some veg then added sultanas and pilau rice seasoning when the stock went in. Would definately cook it again.

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  • Binder photo Cherry ontop

    16 April 2008

    Cherry ontop rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I coated lamb in 1 tbsp of Harissa Paste before cooking. Added a slight kick and the kids still loved it! Will so again.

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  • Binder photo CloClo

    27 June 2009

    CloClo rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Richard W

    22 September 2009

    Richard W rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    An absolute doddle to make, so great when you have little time. Because of the relatively short cooking time, don't skimp on the meat - stick with neck fillet which is readily available from the likes of the 'big T'. An extremely tasty and satisfying dish.

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  • Binder photo teapot

    31 March 2010

    teapot rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    It was easy and full of flavour. The only thing I would change is chop the apricots into smaller chunks rather than leaving whole next time.

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  • Binder photo Pickled Pepper

    05 September 2010

    Pickled Pepper commented on this recipe

    This was delicious but the lamb was a bit tough, think it was probably the cut of meat that I bought but next time I will brown the lamb in a separate pan and add it about 5 minutes before the end

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  • Binder photo Ay$e

    07 September 2010

    Ay$e rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Andy

    05 November 2010

    Andy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Only one word "YUM"

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  • Binder photo patsym

    28 December 2010

    patsym commented on this recipe

    We had this at my son and daughter--in-laws & it was fantastic, a really good all ocassion meal 5 stars

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  • Binder photo patsym

    28 December 2010

    patsym rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo patsym

    28 December 2010

    patsym rated this recipe

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  • Binder photo Tasha

    28 December 2010

    Tasha rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I'm the daughter in law of patsym! Back searching for more recipes. This was great used shoulder so was worried it would be tough and also thought could be bland but was delicious. Easy and looked impressive

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  • Binder photo dodsa

    10 August 2011

    dodsa rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Not a fan, made this tonight and found it to be bland. Not a recipe I will be experimenting with

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  • Binder photo Louise

    17 August 2011

    Louise rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    Followed this to the letter and the rice hadn't cooked by the time the stock had been absorbed. Not sure what went wrong but perhaps the rice needs to be soaked for 10-20 minutes beforehand. Disappointing, but will give it another go.

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  • Binder photo Sue McM

    29 June 2012

    Sue McM rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Hmmm . . . mixed feelings about this recipe. It was "ok", but I think it could be great! Having read the comments, I added some smoked paprika and ground cinnamon as well as 2 cinnamon sticks + some oregano (didn't have any mint) for more depth of flavour. I also fried the pieces of lamb fillet for approx. 15-20 minutes until well browned, and cooked the lamb + wild rice/basmati mix (from Waitrose) for 30 minutes. The lamb was just about tender . . . I think the given cooking times are on the low side, and next time, I might try cooking this in the oven in a Le Creuset for maybe 45 minutes, though I guess I'll have to keep an eye on it in case it dries out!

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  • Binder photo ilovefood

    07 April 2013

    ilovefood commented on this recipe

    This was lovely. Very easy and quick meal to make but full of flavour. I diced the apricots into smaller bits and I would suggest adding more mint as the mint really sets off the dish.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

Ingredients

  • small handful pine nuts or flaked almonds
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion , halved and sliced
  • 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
  • 500g lean lamb neck fillet, cubed
  • 250g basmati rice
  • 1 lamb or vegetable stock cube
  • 12 ready-to-eat dried apricots
  • handful fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
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Per serving

584 kcalories, protein 32g, carbohydrate 65g, fat 24 g, saturated fat 9g, fibre 3g, salt 1.4 g

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