Pilaf, plov, pilau - all the same thing really. Or variations on a theme. Biriyani and rissotto, too, I suppose. Different kinds of rice, different herbs and spices and slightly different cooking methods, but apart from that....
Here's a pilaf recipe with a real difference then. Buckwheat instead of rice. It makes a nice change from rice, especially brown rice. Buckwheat and brown rice are similar in many ways - both whole grains, complete with husk and germ. Both, allegedly, very good for you. Russians swear by buckwheat. They serve it in kindergartens, hospitals - all the places where the food should be especially nutritious. I hope I'm not putting anyone off here, talking about kindergarten and hospital food. It's not usually the tastiest fare, I know, but for me, there is one major difference between buckwheat and brown rice and it is this: buckwheat tastes good. So kindergarten food or not. Give it a try. You might like it.
The amounts given below will do three people (or maybe four if, as I would recommend) you feed them a salad with it).
1 cup of raw buckwheat
A bunch of spinach
About 150g of tofu (or paneer)
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
A few crushed black peppercorns
A pinch of ground nutmeg
A half teaspoon of crushed coriander seeds
Olive oil
Salt
Rinse the buckwheat then put it in a pan and add water until it covers the buckwheat by about two fingers depth. Add a little salt then bring to the boil and cook uncovered for about 7 minutes. Stir at the end of cooking time to evaporate the last of the water then switch off the heat and lay the buckwheat aside to cool.
Chop the onion and fry it in the oil until it becomes transparent. Add the tofu, cut into small cubes and fry for a further few minutes. Add the garlic, spices and some salt and cook for about 30 seconds before adding the roughly chopped spinach. Cover the pan and leave for three or four minutes until the spinach has wilted, then stir and cook for a minute or two more. Add the buckwheat and stir gently until it has heated through.
Try serving buckwheat pilaf with a green salad for a light, nutritious meal.