According to theOxford English Dictionary Online Edition's summary, theEnglish wordpilaf, which the OED, refers to the version with spelling "pilau," is a borrowing partly fromPersian, partly fromHindi, and partly also fromFrench andItalian. In more detail, the English pilau, of first use 1609 CE, has come from Persian pulaw (16th cent. as palāv), in turn fromHindi pulāv dish of rice and meat, fromSanskrit pulāka ball of rice, probably fromDravidian (cfTamil puḷukku (adjective) simmered, (noun) boiled or parboiled food, puḷukkal cooked rice); probably partly viaFrench pilau (1654; 1680 as pilaw; 1833 as pilaf),Italian pilao (1542).[14]
According to authorK. T. Achaya, the Indian epicMahabharata mentions an instance of rice and meat cooked together. Also, according to Achaya, "pulao" or "pallao" is used to refer to a rice dish in ancient Sanskrit works such as theYājñavalkya Smṛti.[15] However, according to food writersColleen Taylor Sen andCharles Perry, and social theoristAshis 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.[16][17][18]
SimilarlyAlexander the Great and his army, many centuries earlier, in the 4th century BCE, have been reported to have been so impressed with the Eastern IranianBactrian andSogdianpilavs that his soldiers brought the recipes back toMacedonia when they returned.[19] Similar stories exist of Alexander bringing pilaf to the ancient PersianSamarkand; however, they are considered apocryphal by art historianJohn Boardman.[20] Similarly, it has been reported that pilaf was consumed in theByzantine Empire and in theRepublic of Venice.[21]
The earliest documented recipe for pilaf comes from the tenth-centuryPersian scholarAvicenna (Ibn Sīnā), who in his books on medical sciences dedicated a whole section to preparing various dishes, including several types of pilaf. In doing so, he described the advantages and disadvantages of every item used for preparing the dish. Accordingly, Persians consider Avicenna to be the "father" of modern pilaf.[19]
Thirteenth-century texts describe the consistency of pilaf that the grains should be plump and somewhat firm to resemble peppercorns with no mushiness, and each grain should be separate with no clumping.[22]
Another primary source for pilaf dishes comes from the 17th-century Iranian philosopherMolla Sadra.[23]
Persian Pilau became the standard fare in West Asia andTranscaucasia over the years.
During the period of theSoviet Union, the Central Asian versions of the dish spread throughout all Soviet republics, becoming a part of the commonSoviet cuisine.
Some cooks prefer to usebasmati rice because it is easier to prepare a pilaf where the grains stay "light, fluffy and separate" with this type of rice. However, other types of long-grain rice are also used. The rice is rinsed thoroughly before use to remove the surface starch. Pilaf can be cooked in water or stock. Common additions include fried onions and fragrant spices likecardamom,bay leaves andcinnamon.[22]
Pilaf is usually made with meat or vegetables, but it can also be made plain which is calledsade pilav inTurkish,chelo inPersian andruzz mufalfal inArabic.[24] Persian pilaf usessaffron which gives Persian rice its unique yellow color and taste. Pilaf is often made by adding the rice to hot fat and stirring briefly before adding the cooking liquid. The fat used varies from recipe to recipe. Cooking methods vary with respect to details such as pre-soaking the rice and steaming after boiling.[22]
There are thousands of variations of pilaf made with rice or other grains likebulgur.[22]Some include different combinations of meats, fruits or vegetables, while others are simple and served plain.[22]
InAfghan cuisine,Kabuli palaw (Persian:کابلی پلو) is made by cookingbasmati with mutton, lamb, beef or chicken, and oil. Kabuli palaw is cooked in large shallow and thick dishes. Fried slicedcarrots andraisins are added. Chopped nuts likepistachios,walnuts, oralmonds may be added as well. The meat is covered by the rice or buried in the middle of the dish. Kabuli palaw rice with carrots and raisins is very popular inSaudi Arabia, where it is known asroz Bukhari (Arabic:رز بخاري), meaning 'Bukharan rice'.
InAlbanian cuisine, pilaf is a very common dish.[26][27] It is typically accompanied by yogurt and eaten with bean stew, meat soup or baked meats such as chicken and lamb. Medium-long grain rice is used, and it is cooked plainly with butter, resulting in a soft yet non-sticky texture.
There are various rice dishes in Albania, which are all commonly referred to as pilaf.
Albania ranks among the top three countries in Europe for rice consumption.[26]
Armeniancabbage roll stuffed with chickpeas and bulgur pilaf
Armenians use a lot ofbulgur ("cracked wheat") in their pilaf dishes.[28] Armenian recipes may combinevermicelli ororzo with rice cooked in stock seasoned with mint, parsley and allspice.[29] One traditional Armenian pilaf is made with the same noodle rice mixture cooked in stock withraisins,almonds and allspice.[30]
Armenian kinds of rice are discussed by Rose Baboian in her cookbook from 1964 which includes recipes for different pilafs, most rooted in her birthplace ofAntep in Turkey.[31] Baboian recommends that the noodles be stir-fried first in chicken fat before being added to the pilaf. Another Armenian cookbook written by Vağinag Pürad recommends to render poultry fat in the oven with red pepper until the fat mixture turns a red color before using the strained fat to prepare pilaf.[31]
Lapa is an Armenian word with several meanings one of which is a "watery boiled rice, thick rice soup, mush" andlepe which refers to various rice dishes differing by region.[32] Antranig Azhderian describes Armenian pilaf as a "dish resembling porridge".[33]
Azerbaijani cuisine includes more than 40 different plov recipes.[34] One of the most reputed dishes is plov from saffron-covered rice, served with various herbs and greens, a combination distinctive from Central Asian pilaf. Traditional Azerbaijani plov consists of three distinct components, served simultaneously but on separate platters: rice (warm, never hot),gara (fried beef or chicken pieces with onion, chestnut and dried fruits prepared as an accompaniment to rice), and herbs. Gara is put on the rice when eating plov, but it is never mixed with rice and the other components. Pilaf is often called aş in Azerbaijani cuisine.[35]
TraditionalOld Dhaka style chicken pilaf, locally known asMurog Polao A classic Bangladeshi holiday lunch: plain pilaf served with friedhilsa, kebab, and rich chicken or beef korma.
InBangladesh,polao (পোলাও), is a popular ceremonial dish cooked only with aromatic rice. Bangladesh cultivates many varieties of aromatic rice, which can be found only in this country and some surrounding Indian states with predominantly Bengali populations. Historically, there were many varieties of aromatic rice. These included short-grain rice with buttery and other fragrances depending on the variety. Over a long span of time, many recipes were lost and then reinvented.
Since the 1970s in Bangladeshpulao has referred to aromatic rice (বাসন্তী পোলাও)Bashonti polao, first fried either in oil or clarified butter with onions, fresh ginger and whole aromatic spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, and more, depending on each household and region. This is then cooked in stock or water, first boiled and then steamed. It is finished off with a bit more clarified butter and fragrant essences such as rose water or kewra water. For presentation, beresta (fried onions) are sprinkled on top. Chickenpulao, (morog pulao) is a traditional ceremonial dish among the Bangladeshi Muslim community. There are several different types ofmorog pulao found only in particular regions or communities.
In Sylhet and Chittagong, a popular ceremonial dish calledakhni polao.Aqni being the rich stock in which mutton is cooked and then used to cook the rice. Another very spicyPolao dish very popular and unique to Bangladesh is calledTehari. It is very different in taste to thetahris found in some parts of neighboring India. They are most popularly eaten with beef andchevon (goat meat) but are also paired with chicken.[36] Young small potatoes, mustard oil (which is alternated with clarified butter or oil depending on individual taste), and a unique spice blend found inteharis distinguish them from other meatpolaos. The most famoustehari in the capital city ofDhaka is calledHajir biryani. Although here the namebiryani is a misnomer, in usage among the urban young population it differentiates the popular dish muttonbiryanis (goat meat).
A significantly modified version of the recipe, often seen as influenced by what is calledarroz pilau there, is known inBrazil asarroz de frango desfiado orrisoto de frango (Portuguese:[ɐˈʁozdʒiˈfɾɐ̃ɡudʒisfiˈadu], "shredded chicken rice";[ʁiˈzotu], "chickenrisotto"). Rice lightlyfried (and optionally seasoned), salted and cooked until soft (but neither soupy nor sticky) in either water or chicken stock is added to chicken stock, onions and sometimes cubed bell peppers (cooked in the stock), shredded chicken breast, green peas, tomato sauce,shoyu, and optionally vegetables (e.g. canned sweet corn, cooked carrot cubes, courgette cubes,broccolini flowers, chopped broccoli or broccolini stalks or leaves fried in garlic seasoning) or herbs (e.g., mint, like incanja) to form a distantlyrisotto-like dish – but it is generally fluffy (depending on the texture of the rice being added), as generally, once all ingredients are mixed, it is not left to cook longer than five minutes. In the case shredded chicken breast is not added, with the rice being instead served alongside chicken andsauce suprême, it is known asarroz suprême de frango (Portuguese:[ɐˈʁossuˈpɾẽm(i)dʒiˈfɾɐ̃ɡu], "chickensupreme rice").
In theEastern Caribbean and other Caribbean territories there are variations ofpelau which include a wide range of ingredients such aspigeon peas,green peas,green beans, corn, carrots, pumpkin, and meat such as beef or chicken, or cured pig tail. The seasoned meat is usually cooked in a stew, with the rice and other vegetables added afterwards. Coconut milk and spices are also key additions in some islands.
Trinidad is recognized for itspelau, a layered rice with meats and vegetables. It is a mix of traditionalAfrican cuisine and "New World" ingredients likeketchup. The process of browning the meat (usually chicken, but also stew beef or lamb) insugar is an African technique.[37]
Central Asian, e.g.Uzbek,Kyrgyz andTajik (Uzbek:Osh, Palov,Kyrgyz:Аш, палоо,Tajik:Палов) Kazakh, Turkmen, Karakalpak (Kazakh:Палау, Palaw) orosh differs from other preparations in that rice is not steamed, but insteadsimmered in a richstew of meat and vegetables calledzirvak (зирвак), until all the liquid is absorbed into the rice. A limited degree of steaming is commonly achieved by covering the pot. It is usually cooked in akazon (ordeghi) over an open fire. The cooking tradition includes many regional and occasional variations.[12][38] Commonly, it is prepared withlamb orbeef, browned in lamb fat or oil, and then stewed with friedonions,garlic and carrots.Chicken palov is rare but found in traditional recipes originating inBukhara. Some regional varieties use distinct types of oil to cook the meat. For example,Samarkand-style plov commonly useszig'ir oil, a mix of melon seed,cottonseed,sesame seed, andflaxseed oils. Plov is usually simply spiced with salt,peppercorns, andcumin, butcoriander,barberries,red pepper, ormarigold may be added according to regional variation or the chef's preference. Heads of garlic and chickpeas are sometimes buried into the rice during cooking. Sweet variations with driedapricots,cranberries and raisins are prepared on special occasions.[39]
Although often prepared at home, plov is made on special occasions by anoshpaz orashpoz (osh/ash master chef), who cooks it over an open flame, sometimes serving up to 1,000 people from a single cauldron on holidays or occasions such as weddings.Oshi nahor, or "morning palov", is served in the early morning (between 6 and 9 am) to large gatherings of guests, typically as part of an ongoing wedding celebration.[42]
Uzbek-style plov is found in the post-Soviet countries andXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. In Xinjiang, where the dish is known as polu, it is often served with pickled vegetables, including carrots, onion and tomato.[43]
InGreek cuisine,piláfi (πιλάφι) is fluffy and soft, but neither soupy nor sticky, rice that has been boiled in a meat stock orbouillon broth. In Northern Greece, it is considered improper to preparepiláfi on a stovetop; the pot is properly placed in the oven.[citation needed]Gamopílafo ("wedding pilaf") is the prized pilaf served traditionally at weddings and major celebrations inCrete: rice is boiled in lamb or goat broth, then finished withlemon juice. Although it bears the name,Gamopílafo is not a pilaf but rather a kind ofrisotto, with a creamy and not fluffy texture.
Lubia polo, 'Persian rice with green beans' in Iran
Persian culinary terms referring torice preparation are numerous and ancient and have influenced and found their way into the neighbouring languages:polow (from which the word "pilaf" is derived around the world; rice cooked in broth while the grains remain separate, straining the half cooked rice before adding the broth and then "brewing"),chelow (white rice with separate grains),kateh (sticky rice) andtahchin (slow cooked rice, vegetables, and meat cooked in a specially designed dish). One of the many unique ingredients used in Persian rice is saffron. There are a wide variety of Persian rice dishes (upto 100 dishes) with vegetables and herbs which are very popular among Iranians.
There are four primary methods of cooking rice in Iran:
Chelow: rice that is carefully prepared through soaking andparboiling, at which point the water is drained and the rice is steamed. This method results in an exceptionally fluffy rice with the grains separated and not sticky; it also results in a golden rice crust at the bottom of the pot calledtahdig (literally "bottom of the pot").
Polow: rice that is cooked exactly the same aschelo, with the exception that after draining the rice, other ingredients are layered with the rice, and they are then steamed together.
Kateh: rice that is boiled until the water is absorbed. This is the traditional dish of Northern Iran.
Dami: Cooked almost the same askateh, except that the heat is reduced just before boiling and a towel is placed between the lid and the pot to prevent steam from escaping.Dami literally means "simmered".
Japanese style Pilaf (ピラフ) is commonly eaten with Japanese school lunch, or kyūshoku (給食). The most common pilaf enjoyed with Japanese school lunch is a corn pilaf.
InKenya pilau is mostly eaten in coastal regions. The spices are similar to Indian varieties. Potatoes are typically added to the masala and the dish can be eaten with meat, fish or meatless. It is often served with a side ofkachumbari.
InPakistan,pulao (پلاؤ), also romanized aspulāv, is a popular dish made with fragrantbasmati rice cooked in a seasoned meat or bone broth. Typically non-spicy, it features tender pieces of meat, such as chicken, lamb, or beef, though vegetarian variations are also popular. As with Afghan cuisine,Kabuli pulav is a staple dish in Pakistan, especially in the western regions. This variation of pulav is often adorned with sliced carrots, almonds, and raisins fried in a sweet syrup, adding a unique touch of sweetness and texture to the dish.Bannu Beef Pulao, also known as Bannu Gosht Pulao, is a traditional and popular variation of pulav recipe hailing from theBannu district of theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province inPakistan. The dish is made with beef, basmati rice, and a blend of local spices, resulting in a flavor profile characteristic of the region. The beef is first cooked in a separate preparation known asBeef Yakhni, made using a combination of salt, ginger, garlic, onions, and garam masala. This broth enhances the flavor and ensures the meat is tender. The rice is then combined with the cooked beef, allowing the flavors to meld together. This delicacy is often served during special occasions and family dinners and is astaple of thePashtun culinary tradition.[45][46]
Pulao is popular in all parts of Pakistan, but the cooking style can vary slightly in other parts of the country. It is prepared bySindhi people of Pakistan in their marriage ceremonies, condolence meetings, and other occasions.[47][48]
Romanian stylepilaf is often more watery in consistency, more akin tocongee, and uses chicken breast meat along with chopped red peppers, onion, and carrot.
Traditional Levantine cooking includes a variety of Pilaf known as "Maqlubeh", known across the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean. The rice pilaf which is traditionally cooked with meat, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, and cauliflower also has a fish variety known as "Sayyadiyeh", or the Fishermen's Dish.
Historically, mutton stock was the most common cooking liquid for Turkish pilavs.
Turkish cuisine contains many different pilav types. Some of these variations arepirinç (rice) pilav,bulgur pilav, andarpa şehriye (orzo) pilav. Using mainly these three types, Turkish people make many dishes such asperdeli pilav, andetli pilav (rice cooked with cubed beef). Unlike Chinese rice, if Turkish rice is sticky, it is considered unsuccessful. To make the best rice according to Turkish people, one must rinse the rice, cook in butter, then add the water and let it sit until it soaks all the water. This results in a pilaf that is not sticky and every single rice grain falls off of the spoon separately.
Lithuanian pilaf is often referred to asplovas. It tends to consist of rice and vegetables; depending on the region the vegetables can be tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, and/or mushrooms. It often contains chicken pieces or cut-up pieces of pork, usually the meat around the neck or the stomach; seasonings can be heavy or light, and someplovas might be made with rice that is very soft, unlike other variants.
Latvian pilaf is often referred to asplovs orplov. It tends to contain the same ingredients as the Lithuanianplovas and can vary from county to county.
The Greek OrthodoxPontian minority had their own methods of preparing pilav.[49][50][51] Pontians along the Black Sea coast might make pilav with anchovies (calledhapsipilavon) or mussels (calledmythopilavon).[52][53] Other varieties of Pontian pilav could include chicken,[54] lamb, and vegetables. Typical seasonings are anise, dill, parsley, salt, pepper, and saffron. Some Pontians cooked pine nuts, peanuts, or almonds into their pilav. While pilav was usually made from rice, it could also be made with buckwheat.[55]
^Sen, Colleen Taylor (2014),Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India, Reaktion Books, pp. 164–5,ISBN978-1-78023-391-8 Quote: "(pp. 164–165) "Descriptions of the basic technique appear in thirteenth-century Arab cookbooks, although the name pulao is not used. The word itself is medieval Farsi, and the dish may have been created in the early sixteenth century at the Safavid court in Persia. ... Although dishes combining rice, meat and spices were prepared in ancient times, the technique of first sautéing the rice in ghee and then cooking it slowly to keep the grains separate probably came later with the Mughals."
^Perry, Charles (15 December 1994),"Annual Cookbook Issue: Book Review: An Armchair Guide to the Indian Table: Indian Food: A Historical Companion By K. T. Achaya (Oxford University Press: 1994; $35; 290 pp.)",Los Angeles Times Quote: "The other flaw is more serious. Achaya has clearly read a lot about Indian food, but it was in what historians call secondary sources. In other words, he's mostly reporting what other people have concluded from the primary evidence. Rarely, if ever, does he go to the original data to verify their conclusions. This is a dangerous practice, particularly in India, because certain Indian scholars like to claim that everything in the world originated in India a long time ago. ... Achaya even invents one or two myths of his own. He says there is evidence that south Indians were making pilaf 2,000 years ago, but if you look up the book he footnotes, you find that the Old Tamil word pulavu had nothing to do with pilaf. It meant raw meat or fish."
^Nandy, Ashis (2004), "The Changing Popular Culture of Indian Food: Preliminary Notes",South Asia Research,24 (1):9–19,CiteSeerX10.1.1.830.7136,doi:10.1177/0262728004042760,ISSN0262-7280,S2CID143223986 Quote: " (p. 11) Not merely ingredients came to the subcontinent, but also recipes. ... All around India one finds preparations that came originally from outside South Asia.Kebabs came from West and Central Asia and underwent radical metamorphosis in the hot and dusty plains of India. So didbiryani andpulao, two rice preparations, usually with meat. Without them, ceremonial dining in many parts of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is incomplete. Even the termpulao orpilav seems to have come from Arabic and Persian. It is true that in Sanskrit — in the Yajnavalkya Smriti — and in old Tamil, the termpulao occurs (Achaya, 1998b: 11), but it is also true thatbiryani andpulao today carry mainly the stamp of the Mughal times and its Persianized high culture.
^"Albanian Chicken Pilaf (Pule me Oriz)".My Albanian Food. Retrieved2025-02-17.In Albania you will find a lot of rice dishes and in almost every case served as a meal rather than a side. Albanian Baked Lamb and Rice with Yogurt (Tavë Kosi) is one of the most traditional and popular dishes or, fruits and spices are added to make the rice into a pudding known as Kabuni.
^Azhderian, Antranig (1898).The Turk and the Land of Haig; Or, Turkey and Armenia: Descriptive, Historical, and Picturesque. Mershon Company. pp. 171–172.
^Oxford English Dictionary Online Edition (subscription required): pilaf (n) = pilau n.1; pilau n.1 = "A dish, partly of Middle Eastern, partly and ultimately of South Asian origin, consisting of rice (or, in certain areas, wheat) cooked in stock with spices, usually mixed with meat and various other ingredients.[2]
^Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (subscription required): "rice usually combined with meat and vegetables, fried in oil, steamed in stock, and seasoned with any of numerous herbs (as saffron or cumin)."[3]
^Perry: "A Middle-Eastern method of cooking rice so that every grain remains separate. ...However, there is no evidence that rice was cooked by this technique in India before the Muslim invasions, and Indians themselves associate pilaf-making with Muslim cities such as Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Delhi. .... The first descriptions of the pilaf technique appear in the 13th-century Arabic books Kitab al-Tabikh and Kitab al-Witsla ila al Habib, written in Baghdad and Syria, respectively. They show the technique in its entirety, including the cloth beneath the lid, and describe still-current flavourings such as meat, pulses, and fruit.[4]
^Roger: "As noted, Iranians have a unique method of preparing rice. This method is designed to leave the grains separate and tasty, making the rice fluffy and very flavorful. After soaking, parboiling, and draining, the rice is poured into a dish smeared with melted butter. The lid is then sealed tightly with a cloth and a paste of flour and water. The last stage is to steam it on low heat for about half an hour, after which the rice is removed and fluffed."[5]
^Roger: " (p. 1143) Under the Abbassids, for example (ninth to twelfth century), during the Golden Age of Islam, there was one single empire from Afghanistan to Spain and the North of Arabia. The size of the empire allowed many foods to spread throughout the Middle East. From India, rice went to Syria, Iraq, and Iran, and eventually, it became known and cultivated all the way to Spain. .... Many dishes of that period are still prepared today with ingredients available to the common people. Some of these are vinegar preserves, roasted meat, and cooked livers, which could be bought in the streets, eaten in the shops, or taken home. Such dishes considerably influenced medieval European and Indian cookery;pilaf and meat patties that started out assamosa orsambusak."[6]
^Nandy: "(p. 11) Not merely ingredients came to the subcontinent, but also recipes. ... All around India one finds preparations that came originally from outside South Asia.Kebabs came from West and Central Asia and underwent radical metamorphosis in the hot and dusty plains of India. So didbiryani andpulao, two rice preparations, usually with meat. Without them, ceremonial dining in many parts of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is incomplete. Even the termpulao orpilav seems to have come from Arabic and Persian. It is true that in Sanskrit — in the Yajnavalkya Smriti — and in old Tamil, the termpulao occurs (Achaya, 1998b: 11), but it is also true thatbiryani andpulao today carry mainly the stamp of the Mughal times and its Persianized high culture."[7]
^Sengupta: "(p. 74) Muslim influence on the style and substance of Indian food was profound. K.T. Achaya writes that the Muslims imported a new refinement and a courtly etiquette of both group and individual dining into the austere dining ambience of Hindu society. ... Babur's son, Humayun, came back to India after spending a long period of exile in Kabul and the Safavid imperial court in Iran. He brought with him an entourage of Persian cooks who introduced the rich and elaborate rice cookery of the Safavid courts to India, combining Indian spices and Persian arts into a rich fusion that became the iconic dish of Islamic South Asian cuisine, thebiryani."[8]
^Roger: " (p. 1143) Under the Abbassids, for example (ninth to twelfth century), during the Golden Age of Islam, there was one single empire from Afghanistan to Spain and the North of Arabia. The size of the empire allowed many foods to spread throughout the Middle East. From India, rice went to Syria, Iraq, and Iran, and eventually, it became known and cultivated all the way to Spain. .... Many dishes of that period are still prepared today with ingredients available to the common people. Some of these are vinegar preserves, roasted meat, and cooked livers, which could be bought in the streets, eaten in the shops, or taken home. Such dishes considerably influenced medieval European and Indian cookery; for example,paella, which evolved frompulao, andpilaf and meat patties that started out assamosa orsambusak."[6]
^Nandy: "(p. 11) All around India one finds preparations that came originally from outside South Asia.Kebabs came from West and Central Asia and underwent radical metamorphosis in the hot and dusty plains of India. So didbiryani andpulao, two rice preparations, usually with meat. Without them, ceremonial dining in many parts of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is incomplete."[7]
^Sengupta: "(p. 74) Muslim influence on the style and substance of Indian food was profound. K.T. Achaya writes that the Muslims imported a new refinement and a courtly etiquette of both group and individual dining into the austere dining ambience of Hindu society. ... Babur's son, Humayun, came back to India after spending a long period of exile in Kabul and the Safavid imperial court in Iran. He brought with him an entourage of Persian cooks who introduced the rich and elaborate rice cookery of the Safavid courts to India, combining Indian spices and Persian arts into a rich fusion that became the iconic dish of Islamic South Asian cuisine, thebiryani."[8]
Oxford English Dictionary (2006a),pilaf (n), Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, online (subscription required).
Oxford English Dictionary (2006b),pilau (n), Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, online (subscription required),"A dish, partly of Middle Eastern, partly and ultimately of South Asian origin, consisting of rice (or, in certain areas, wheat) cooked in stock with spices, usually mixed with meat and various other ingredients.
Perry, Charles (2014),"Pilaf", in Jaine, Tom (ed.),The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, pp. 624–625,ISBN978-0-19-967733-7.
Sengupta, Jayanta (2014),"India", in Freedman, Paul; Chaplin, Joyce E.; Albala, Ken (eds.),Food in Time and Place: The American Historical Association Companion to Food History, Univ of California Press, pp. 68–94,ISBN978-0-520-27745-8.
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