Toyuq Chigirtma Plov (Chicken and Egg Pilaf)

Preparing the rice:

Rince the rice thouroughy in cold water several times to remove excess starch.

Soak the rice overnight in salty water for fluffy and tender pilaf.

Preparing the saffron Infusion:

Place ½ teaspoon of saffron threads into one cup of boiling water and let sit.

Preparing the chicken:

Slice the onion into very thin half rings.

In a large pot add one tablespoon of the clarified butter and cook the onions until golden brown.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place the cut chicken pieces on top of the onions.

Cook together for a few minutes.

Add in the lemon juice and saffron infusion, reserving 3 tablespoons of the infusion for the rice.

Lower the heat , cover the pan and saute until the chicken is cooked.

Cooking the rice:

Fill a saucepan with water, add salt and bring to a boil. Place the rinsed rice into the boiling water. Stir and lower the heat to meduim, let it cook for 7-10 minutes.

Do not over cook the rice, you want the rice to be hard on the inside and sofr on the outside. Strain the rice and rinse with hot water to remove any excess salt. Set aside

Prepare your Qazmaq depending on the method you chose above.

Preparing the pilaf.

Melt two tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and spread the qazmaq on the butter. If you chose the method using rice and yogurt, let it cook for a few minutes before laying in the rice. Place a layer of the rice about ¼ of it and pour 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter over the layer. Repeat this until all the rice is layered into the pan. Once the last layer is places, pour the reserved saffron infusion on top along with the butter. Make some air holes in the rice using the handle of a wooden spoon. Wrap the lid of the frying pan in a tea towel and cover the rice. Cook over a very low heat for 45 to 60 minutes. Cooked rice will soak up the butter and will be fluffy and soft to taste with a yellow and white color from the saffron infusion.

Preparing the Chigrtma

Beat the eggs, remove the chicken pieces from the pan and set aside

You will want to have about ½ cup of the liquid and onion mixture left in the pan, if there is too much liquid, just boil it down to make the ½ of cup.

Mix the eggs with the chicken-onion stock. Arrange the chicken on the egg mixture add in some sliced lemon and cook until the eggs have set.

Alternatively you can bake the egg and chicken-onion stock mixture for about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

To plate,

Place the pilaf first reserving the crusty qazmaq for the top.

Cut the egg chiritma into a design and place over the rice.

Add the chicken pieces on top .

Place the qazmaq and add some lemon slices for garnish.

Enjoy!