There have been various reports on the exact origin of this dish. The most popular one dates back to times of the conqueror Tamerlane. Once warriors in campaigns were fed up with flat cakes. But the process of their preparation was too long, another thing was they weren't nourishing. Tamerlane ordered to create a new dish for warriors to eat less and to stay full up for much more time. This is how pilaf appeared. For the pilaf's preparation you need the following ingredients: fat of sheep's tail, mutton, carrot, onion, rice and water. And, for sure, species: barberries, zira, saffron, black pepper, dill, coriander and salt. However, it's said that there exist as many recipes of the pilafs as cities in the East.   Recipe «Eastern pilaf» Recipe «Kavardak»   Eastern pilaf Recipe serves 4 persons; preparation time ~ 30 minutes; cooking time ~ 50 minutes Ingredients: 2 cups Devzira rice, 50-70 g. fat of sheep's tail,  500 g. sheep's fillet,  2 big carrots,  1 onion,  water salt,  garlic. Spices: Zira,  saffron, coriander, black, pepper,  barberries, dill . Directions: Pour rice into a separate vessel and soak in salt water for half an hour. Prepare ingredients: cut fat into rectangular slices, cut onion into cubes, grate carrot with the large grater side, cut fillet into small slices. Put fat on the bottom of a cauldron, put on fire and melt fat for 5 minutes. When cracknels are light golden, pull them out of cauldron and leave fat. Add onion to the fat. When it becomes light golden add fillet and wait till it browns. Then add grated carrot and salt. Fill everything up with some water to make vegetables and meat stew. Add barberries, saffron and unpeeled garlic cloves. Stew vegetables, meat and spices for 5 minutes. Then pit in the cauldron soaked rice and filled out with water so that water level is a centimetre higher than rice. Cover the cauldron, simmer and leave to stew for 15 minutes. Thereafter add spices: zira, black pepper, coriander and dill. Turn off the fire and let the pilaf draw for 15 minutes. Kavardak recipe serves 4 persons; preparation time ~ 15 minutes; cooking time ~ 30 minutes Ingredients: 400 g. mutton: heart, liver, lungs, 100 g. fat of sheep's tail, 2 tablespoon lozi sauce, 2 onions, 1 cup of mutton bouillon, salt, red pepper. For lozi sauce: 1 red Bulgarian pepper, 2 chili peppers, 1 tomato, 3 garlic cloves. Directions: Cut fat into small slices and put into a cauldron to make it melt. Leave cracknels in the cauldron. Cut heart, liver, lungs in dice. After fat of sheep's tail melts entirely, add heart. Roast for a while, then add liver and lung. Roast over medium heat for 7-10 minutes. Grind Bulgarian pepper, chili peppers, tomato and garlic until smooth. Cut onion in dice. Put in the cauldron and add lozi sauce. Salt and add red pepper. Pour all ingredients with bouillon and stew over medium heat for 15 minutes.