Pilaf
A rice or wheat dish cooked in broth with spices.
Pilaf (also spelled pilau) is a dish typically made with rice, though some versions use wheat. The grains are cooked in stock or broth with spices, vegetables, or meat, using a method that keeps them separate and not sticky. This style of cooking rice spread widely during the Abbasid Caliphate, from South Asia to Spain, and later to other parts of the world. Dishes like Spanish paella, South Asian pilau or pulao, and biryani developed from these early preparations. Pilaf and similar dishes are staple foods in many regions, including the Middle East, West Asia, the Balkans, the Caribbean, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, East Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Maritime Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
The English word "pilaf" or "pilau" comes from Persian, via Turkish. The earliest known English use was in 1609. The Persian term "pulaw" (16th century, earlier "palāv") traces back to Hindi "pulāv" (a rice and meat dish), which comes from Sanskrit "pulāka" (a ball of rice), likely from a Dravidian root. The word also entered English partly through French and Italian.
Rice cultivation spread from India to Central and West Asia long before the Abbasid period, but it was during the Abbasid Caliphate that cooking methods resembling modern pilaf first spread from Spain to Afghanistan. Food historian Charles Perry considers pilaf a post-10th-century eastern Arabic innovation. The earliest recipe for a dish similar to modern pilaf appears in the 13th-century cookbook *Kitab al-Wusla* by Ibn al-Adim of Aleppo, which uses rice, meat, chickpeas, and garlic. Claims that the Sanskrit epic *Mahabharata* or other ancient texts describe pilaf are disputed. Food historian K. T. Achaya suggested such references, but Charles Perry and others argue these texts refer to raw meat or fish, or to "shrivelled grain," not pilaf. Stories about Alexander the Great bringing pilaf from Bactria and Sogdiana to Macedon or Samarkand are considered apocryphal. Thirteenth-century descriptions say pilaf grains should be plump, firm like peppercorns, and not mushy or clumped. The earliest known use of the word "pilaf" in any spelling is in a 14th-century Persian poem *Mūš-o gorba* by Ubayd Zakani. The first recipe explicitly called "pilaf" appears in a 1521 cookbook from the court of Ismail I, *Kārnāma dar bāb-e tabbākhī-o san'at-e ān*.
Quick Facts
- Place Of Origin
- West Asia and South Asia
- Region
- Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, South Caucasus, Maritime Southeast Asia, East Africa, Balkans
- Course
- Main
- Served
- Hot
- Main Ingredient
- Rice, stock or broth, spices, meat, vegetables, dried fruits
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
According to food historian Charles Perry, pilaf is a post-10th-century eastern Arabic innovation. Kitab al-Wusla, an early 13th–century cookbook authored by Ibn al-Adim of Aleppo, provides the first recipe for a dish resembling modern pilaf, utilizing a base of rice, meat, chickpeas, and garlic. The food historian K. T. Achaya suggested that the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata mentions an instance of rice and meat cooked together, and that the terms 'pulao' and 'pallao' are used in ancient Sanskrit works such as the Yājñavalkya Smṛti. However, according to food writers Colleen Taylor Sen and Charles Perry, and social theorist Ashis Nandy, these references do not substantially correlate to the commonly used meaning and history implied in pilafs, which appear in Indian accounts after the medieval Central Asian conquests. Food historian Charles Perry characterized K. T. Achaya's claim as a myth and stated that the term used by Achaya for pilaf refers to 'raw meat or fish'. He further stated that Achaya mostly reported conclusions drawn by other people from primary evidence without verification. According to Charles Perry, there is no sign of pulao in ancient India, and the Sanskrit word that became pulao in later Indian languages originally meant 'shriveled, blighted, empty, or bad grain'—which points to some other dish rather than pilaf.
Reader's Guide
Pilaf's significance lies in its widespread adoption across many cultures as a staple dish, evolving from methods of cooking rice that spread during the Abbasid Caliphate from Spain to Afghanistan. The dish appears in countless local varieties, from Afghan Kabuli palaw to Albanian pilaf, Armenian bulgur-based versions, and Azerbaijani plov with over 40 recipes. Its preparation typically involves rinsing rice, frying it in fat, then cooking in stock with spices and additions like meat or vegetables. The goal is separate, non-clinging grains, described in 13th-century texts as plump and firm like peppercorns. The etymology traces from Dravidian through Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, and Turkish to English. Disputes exist over ancient Indian origins, with some scholars arguing that early Sanskrit references do not match modern pilaf. The earliest explicit recipe called 'pilaf' appears in a 1521 Persian cookbook from the court of Ismail I. Pilaf remains central to cuisines across the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, the Balkans, the Caucasus, East Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Did You Know?
- The English word pilaf is a borrowing from Persian by way of Turkish, first used in 1609 CE.
- The earliest known recipe for a dish resembling modern pilaf appears in the early 13th-century cookbook Kitab al-Wusla by Ibn al-Adim of Aleppo.
- The earliest known recipe explicitly called 'pilaf' appears in a 1521 Persian cookbook by Muhammad-Ali Bāvarchī-i Baghdādī.
- Stories of Alexander the Great bringing pilaf to Samarkand are considered apocryphal by archaeologist John Boardman.
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