Turkish restaurants · UKnearme

Pilav in the UK: what it is, how to order it, where to find it

Quick answer

Pilav is Turkish rice: long-grain rice rinsed, fried briefly in butter with a handful of orzo or vermicelli, then cooked in stock, covered, and rested until every grain is separate. It is served beside almost every stew and grill, and by itself with chickpeas as street food. A Turkish kitchen is judged by its pilav more than a foreign diner would guess, and in the UK it is the side dish that separates a good Turkish restaurant from an ordinary one.

Calories and nutrition

Calories
250

200–300 kcal

Protein
4 g
Carbs
42 g
Fat
7 g
Salt
0.8 g

Portion: One side serving, about 150 g.

With chickpeas and chicken as a street plate, about 500 kcal.

Estimates for a typical portion, based on standard UK and USDA food composition data. Actual values depend on the recipe and the restaurant.

What pilav is

The rice, usually baldo or another medium-long grain, is soaked in salted warm water to remove starch, drained and fried in butter with a spoonful of orzo, şehriye, until the pasta is golden. Hot stock or water is added, the pot is covered, and the rice cooks on the lowest heat for fifteen minutes and then rests off the heat under a cloth for ten more. The result is dry, buttery and separate-grained, with the toasted orzo scattered through it. Variations add chickpeas, currants and pine nuts, or chicken; iç pilav for stuffing has liver and spices. It is the base of every lokanta plate and the accompaniment to kuru fasulye, stews and grills.

Pilav as a dish

Istanbul's street pilav stalls sell rice with chickpeas and shredded chicken from a glass cart, with pickles and ayran, and it is one of the cheapest meals in the city. Tavuklu pilav is a Turkish comfort food as much as a side. In the UK, a lokanta will sell you a plate of pilav with chickpeas and a spoon of stew on top for a few pounds, and it is a full lunch.

How to judge it

The grains should be separate and slightly glossy with butter, not sticky, not wet and not dry. The orzo should be visible and golden. It should taste of butter and good stock. Grey, clumped or bland rice means the kitchen has not bothered, and that usually tells you about the rest of the menu. The pilav that comes with a lokanta stew is the test; if it is good, the stew will be.

Where in the UK it is done well

Lokanta restaurants in North London make it in large quantities every morning, and the ocakbaşı houses serve it with the grill. The ranking below counts restaurants in our directory whose name signals pilav or a lokanta.

How to order it

Ask for pilav rather than chips with a grill, and 'nohutlu' (with chickpeas) if it is offered. A plate of pilav with a spoon of stew on top is the cheapest lunch at a lokanta. Rice should never be an afterthought in a Turkish restaurant; if it is bad, order bulgur instead.

Where it's done well

UK councils with the most pilav specialists, by restaurant name, in our directory.

Restaurants near you

Search by postcode or use your location to find restaurants likely to serve pilav near you.

Make it at home

Serves 4 · 40 min

Ingredients

  • 300 g baldo or long-grain rice
  • 2 tbsp orzo (şehriye)
  • 50 g butter
  • 450 ml hot chicken stock or water
  • 1 tsp salt

Method

  1. Cover the rice with warm salted water for 20 minutes, then rinse until the water runs clear and drain well.
  2. Melt the butter in a heavy pan, add the orzo and fry until golden, then add the rice and stir for two minutes until the grains are coated and slightly translucent.
  3. Add the hot stock and salt, bring to the boil, cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes.
  4. Take off the heat, lay a clean cloth under the lid and rest for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Soaking and rinsing is what makes the grains separate; skipping it gives sticky rice. The rest under the cloth absorbs the steam.

Related dishes

Doner Kebab

Doner kebab is seasoned lamb, beef or chicken stacked on a vertical spit, roasted slowly and shaved into thin strips. In the UK it is sold two ways: the takeaway version in pitta or a wrap after 11pm, and the restaurant version served on rice, bread or with yoghurt and tomato sauce as an iskender. The two have little in common beyond the spit, and knowing which one you want is the whole trick to ordering well.

Shish Kebab

Shish kebab is cubes of marinated lamb or chicken threaded on a flat metal skewer and grilled over charcoal. It is the original kebab, the one the word was coined for, and on a UK ocakbaşı menu it is the benchmark dish: if the shish is good, the kitchen is good. It is served with rice or bulgur, grilled pepper and tomato, and sumac onions, and it is the order to make when you do not know the restaurant.