Pilaf 4 Peace

Before my parents got married, their church required a counseling session with the reverend, or Badveli, as we called him. “There’s more than one way to make pilaf” was the key takeaway from that session.

The meaning was both literal and proverbial: my mom’s family made pilaf one way, and my dad’s family made it another. Somehow, my parents would have to learn that both methods were valid, and that diversity is good.

Fifty years later, “there’s more than one way to make pilaf” is the family mantra for compromise. It‘s even invoked in my own marriage during arguments about the best way to go about things, which (thankfully) is our only true source of contention.

And of course, Badveli was right. There are a million ways to make pilaf. Some people brown their vermicelli in the oven; others brown it on the stovetop. Some use bouillon cubes; others use broth. Some use converted rice…and the list goes on.

Here at Jul’s Armenian Kitchen, we intend to feature as many pilaf recipes as we can find. Think of it as a celelbration of diversity, or lesson in tolderance, depending on one‘s disposition.

Do you have a pilaf recipe that you swear by? Send the recipe to julsarmeniankitchen@gmail.com, and I would be honored to feature it. Be sure to call-out the nuances, because “there’s more than one way to make pilaf,” and I want to get yours just right!