Pilaff is a rice dish: the rice is cooked in stock or seasoned water so it drinks in the flavour, often with spices, and sometimes with meat, vegetables, or nuts mixed through. You will also see the spellings pilaf, pilau, and pulao — they name the same family of dish, with small differences from place to place (Persian, Turkish, Central Asian, and South Asian kitchens all have their own way). Pilaff is one of the older English spellings. The rice should come out in separate, fluffy grains, not sticky like East Asian steamed rice, and not tossed in a pan like fried rice. Though actually, restaurant menus mix the names freely, so the plate in front of you may not match the spelling. It is an ordinary food word, a little cookbook-ish.

抓飯（中亞、西亞用高湯燜入味的米飯）。台灣新疆館常這樣寫。日式「皮拉夫」多半是奶油焗飯，和這個不完全一樣；也不是炒飯或台灣油飯。