İç Pilav

the flagship rice of the Ottoman palace kitchen: long-grain rice toasted in clarified butter with pine nuts, dried currants, and chicken liver, perfumed with cinnamon and allspice, the celebratory pilav of the Topkapi kitchens, served at Ottoman wedding feasts, festival tables, and Ramadan iftars from Constantinople to the Aegean

Origin: Ottoman Constantinople, Anatolia, and the Aegean World

From the journey of Rice.

Iç pilav (the inner or stuffed rice) belongs to the pinnacle of the Ottoman culinary tradition, and its name reflects two overlapping uses: it is simultaneously the rice preparation cooked inside whole roasted poultry (baked within the cavity of a chicken or turkey until the bird's juices perfume every grain) and a standalone celebration pilav, rich enough to require no such vehicle, served on its own merits at the most important tables. Both uses were established in the Topkapi Palace kitchens of Constantinople, whose records from the 15th century onward document a rice programme of extraordinary scale and sophistication: the imperial kitchens employed hundreds of specialist cooks, divided into guilds by technique, and the pilav masters (pilavcılar) were among the most senior. The techniques they preserved and developed were direct inheritances from the Persian polo tradition, received when the Ottoman court absorbed the Persianised bureaucratic and culinary world of the former Byzantine and Seljuk territories it conquered. What distinguishes iç pilav from simpler pilavs is its composition: the rice is toasted in clarified butter (sadeyağ) before any liquid is added, developing a nutty fragrance; pine nuts are sautéed in the same butter until golden; dried black currants (kuş üzümü, literally 'bird grapes') provide a fruity sweetness and gentle acidity; and whole aromatic spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves) give the broth the warm character associated with the Ottoman spice tradition, inherited from the Arab and Persian kitchens the empire absorbed when it conquered Egypt, Syria, and the Levant in 1517. The optional addition of sautéed chicken liver (diced small, cooked briefly in butter until just browned) is the authentic step that most modern versions omit and that most traditional ones include; it adds depth and an iron richness that makes the pilav a complete dish in itself. The pilav spread from the Ottoman palace and the great households of Constantinople to every corner of the empire, and through Ottoman rule over the Aegean and Balkan worlds it became the ancestor of the pilafi served at Greek weddings, the bulgur pilav of the Turkish interior, and the many regional rice dishes of the former Ottoman territories. In Turkey it remains one of the most made celebration dishes, served at circumcision feasts, weddings, and Ramadan iftars. In Greece, where it entered the kitchen through the Ottoman centuries, the pilav tradition contributed the rice component of dishes such as spanakorizo and the plain pilafi that accompanies many Greek feast-day meals.

Ingredients

Pilav

  • 300 g long-grain white rice (basmati or similar), rinsed and soaked in cold water for 20 minutes, then drained
  • 60 g clarified butter (sadeyağ) or unsalted butter
  • 50 g pine nuts
  • 40 g dried black currants or small raisins (kuş üzümü)
  • 1 medium onion, very finely diced
  • 150 g chicken liver, trimmed and cut into small dice (optional but traditional)
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 4 whole allspice berries
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 600 ml good chicken stock, warm

To Finish

  • 3 tbsp fresh dill, roughly chopped
  • 3 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

  1. If using chicken liver: heat 1 tbsp of the clarified butter in a heavy pan over high heat. Add the diced liver and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes until browned on the outside but still slightly pink at the centre. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Remove and set aside.
  2. In the same pan over medium heat, melt the remaining clarified butter. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring constantly, for 2–3 minutes until golden. Watch carefully, pine nuts go from golden to burnt in seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  3. Add the finely diced onion to the butter in the pan. Cook over medium heat for 8–10 minutes until completely soft, translucent, and just beginning to take on colour. Add the drained rice and stir to coat every grain in the butter. Cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes until the grains are slightly translucent at the edges.
  4. Add the cinnamon stick, allspice berries, and cloves. Stir to distribute. Add the warm chicken stock, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to the absolute minimum. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes.
  5. After 15 minutes, lift the lid briefly and check that the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat. Lay a clean folded tea towel across the top of the pot and replace the lid over it. Leave to rest for 10 minutes, the towel absorbs any excess moisture and ensures each grain of rice is dry and separate.
  6. Remove the whole spices. Fold in the toasted pine nuts, dried currants, and (if using) the reserved chicken liver. Fold in the dill and parsley. Taste and adjust for salt. Mound onto a large serving plate or serve directly from the pot. A small extra knob of butter melted over the top at the moment of service is traditional and excellent.

Notes

The chicken liver can be omitted entirely for a simpler, equally fine pilav; the pine nuts and currants are non-negotiable. Some Ottoman recipes add a handful of fresh mint alongside the dill; others include a small amount of ground cinnamon stirred in with the spices as well as the whole stick, producing a more pronounced warm-spice character. İç pilav is also the definitive stuffing for roast chicken or turkey: stuff the cavity with the pilav before the rice is fully cooked (remove after 10 minutes of stovetop cooking rather than 15), pack loosely into the bird, and roast until the bird is cooked through; the grain will finish cooking inside the cavity, absorbing all the bird's juices. The result is one of the great preparations of the Ottoman table.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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