Djuvec rice is a classic dish of Balkan cuisine

It’s a summer holiday memory for me. A good one, and above all a tasty one. I met this dish in Croatia. But it is eaten throughout the Balkans, and every country claims the “original recipe” for itself. But the fact is that there are many different recipes.

Of course, there are similarities too; everywhere it is a rice dish with vegetables and sometimes meat in it.

Without meat, it is served as a side dish, for example with cevapcici

With meat, it can also be the main course.

If you want to make it with meat, you can first fry the pieces of meat and then add everything else.

But not everyone agrees on the vegetables

There definitely have to be peppers. Then in addition either aubergines, tomatoes, peas, or beans.

Also, the spices are not the same everywhere. Salt, pepper, and stock is in all of them. Then tomato paste and paprika and maybe some Ajvar.

Ajvar is a spiced paste made of peppers which can be spicy but doesn’t have to be. But there is more about that in the last post.

Djuvec rice turns red because it has tomato paste, paprika, and red peppers in it

Instead of regular peppers, you can use smoked peppers, which give a nice smoky touch. This is then no longer original but fits very well. Especially since Ajvar also has a slightly smoky aroma, because the pepper pods are baked in the oven or over the fire.

This dish is simple and requires only one cooking pot ?

For the main course, you calculate 75 grams of rice per person

Here is the recipe for 4 people as a side dish:

Djuvec Rice

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Balkan

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 large onion cut into small cubes
• 2 cloves of pressed garlic
• 200 g long grain rice
• 1 red pepperoni
• 2 tomatoes or a tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp mild hot or smoked paprika
• 4 tbsp tomato concentrate
• 2 tbsp ajvar
• 1 tsp bouillon 1 cube
• 150 g peas possibly also frozen
• 6 dl water approx.
• salt at will
• Pepper to taste
• Parsley to taste

Instructions

 

• Remove the seeds and the white inner skins from the peppers, wash and cut into small cubes.
• Wash and dice the tomatoes.
• Heat the olive oil, fry the onion and garlic in it
• Add the rice and steam until it appears "glassy
• Add peppers, tomatoes, paprika, tomato concentrate, ajvar, peas, stock and water and cook until soft, stirring occasionally.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper
• Sprinkle parsley leaves over it as decoration, no longer stir.

Keyword Djuvec, Djuvec rice