Garmir Pilaf - Armenian Red Rice Paella

This is Paella Armenian style!

The recipe is similar to slow steamed rice, but with added tomato purée and peas.

4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
15fl oz (425ml) Basmati Rice
1 pint (570ml) filtered water for cooking
1 good teaspoon (around 5ml) of (preferably rock or sea) salt
300 grams (two small tins) of double concentrate tomato puree
3 or 4 cloves of whole garlic
100ml of olive oil (or preferably the same amount in butter instead)
a small teaspoon of sugar
half a can of peas - fresh ones are even better
a spoon full of dried mixed herbs
And if you’re feeling adventurous then, also:
half a teaspoon of Paprika
half a teaspoon of Curry powder
two large potatoes - washed, peel and diced to 1cm cubes
Important tips to note:

1. Once all your ingredients are in the pan, you need to have at least an inch or two of space left to allow the rice to expand
2. Wrap the pan lid in a tea towel before placing on the pan to avoid leaking steam
3. Exact quantities are fairly important in this method


When you're ready:
Rinse and wash the rice thoroughly in a sieve, then soak in a bowl along with 2 pints of warm water for 20 - 25 minutes. Change the water until the water you wash out is clear-ish.

Heat up your big pan and add the Olive oil (or butter).
Pan on high heat, add garlic (either whole, or diced – your call).
If you’re feeling adventurous then let’s do the potatoes! Immediately after adding the garlic, add the cubed potatoes to your pan and toss-fry them until they’re ready to eat. This should take around 15 minutes. Add the Curry powder and Paprika to your pan when the potatoes are ready.
Then add sugar, mixed herbs, salt and tomato puree and bring to boil, now add rice, stir well.

Bring the filtered water in kettle to the boil. The cup that you used to measure the rice, use the same cup and add the same number of cups of water.

Stir well and add peas. Stir briefly until mixed.

Keep the pan on a high heat until the contents of the pan is boiling again. Immediately as soon as the mixture is boiling properly again, cover (use a tea towel to cover the pan lid before you put it on the pan) and reduce the heat to an absolute minimum.

Cook at this heat for 25 minutes then turn off the heat.

Note: Gas and induction cookers lose heat quickly, Aga and old fashioned electric cooker rings retain heat and so you may need to remove the pan from the cooker.

Allow the pan to stand, covered and undisturbed for 5 - 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and toss the rice gently using two forks so as to "fluff" it up. Serve hot straight away. Replace the lid, the rice should stay reasonably hot for up to half an hour.


Let me know how yours comes out!