Ingredients

For the filling:

2 cups long-grain rice (preferably basmati type); 4 cups of water; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 2 tbsp of olive oil (or butter); 1/2 cups of roasted almonds, currants (or raisins), finely chopped parsley, finely chopped dill; 1/2 tsp of cinnamon; 1/2 tsp of allspice; salt and pepper to taste.

For the dough:

4 cups of all-purpose flour; 1/2 tsp of salt; 1 cup of warm water; 1/2 cup of vegetable oil;

and 1/2 cup melted butter for topping.

Preparation and Cooking

• Rinse the rice thoroughly under cold water and then drain.
• In a suitable pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil (or butter) and add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent, and add the rice to the saucepan and sauté for 5 min. Then add the water, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper, and cover the pan and cook the rice for 10-15 min.
• Remove the mixture and let it cool for 10 min, and then stir in the crashed almonds, currants or raisins, parsley and dill.
• Since the rice is wrapped in yufka before cooking in the wood fired oven, the dough should be prepared by using the ingredients given above and using the recipes given previously under “breads”.
• Once the dough is ready, each piece of dough should be roll out into a thin and large circle, which should be large anough to allow the edges to overlap the sides of a 25 cm diameter round baking dish.
• Place one of the dough circles into the bottom of a greased round baking dish, allowing the edges to overlap the sides. Then spread the rice filling onto the dough in the baking dish, distribute evenly.
• Place the second dough circle on top of the filling, and fold the overlapping edges of the bottom dough over the top dough, sealing the pilaf inside. Then brush the top of the yufka with melted butter.
• Bake the Curtain Pilaf at around 170-190^oC for about 30-40min.
• Remove the baked dish from the oven and let it cool for about 10 min before slicing and serving.

Hints and Comments

• Siirt Perde Pilavı is a delicious and traditional Turkish dish that originates from the city of Siirt. The dish is known as “Curtain Pilaf” due to the curtain-like appearance of the yufka covering the rice mixture.