Vegetable Rice Pilaf

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

1. Lentils + eggplanttop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together11 recipes

   Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

2. Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together5,873 recipes

   Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

3. Lentils + carrottop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together505 recipes

   Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

4. Chicken + ricetop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,769 recipes

   Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

5. Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together21,601 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lentils

Add protein-rich body and a hearty, firm texture as they cook in the broth.

Long grain rice

Absorbs liquid and sets the pilaf's structure as it steams and becomes tender.

Chicken broth

Supplies the cooking liquid that gets absorbed, seasoning the rice and lentils as they cook.

Eggplant

Softens into a creamy, moist texture when cooked in olive oil.

Zucchini and/or yellow summer squash

Adds moisture and tender texture while keeping the dish light.

Plum tomatoes

Contribute acidity and moisture that brighten the finished dish.

The step that matters

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, onion, lentils, rice, carrot, eggplant, clove):

1. Avocadofits better
2. Coconutfits better
3. Limefits better
4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, onion, lentils, rice, carrot, eggplant, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.