Uzbek Plov
Like so many Americans and Western Europeans, I never gave much though to Uzbekistan. It was just a place on a map with a “funny” looking name. And not much else. And, unfortunately, despite its rich and deep cultural, culinary, architectural and historical treasures, not to mention its long-standing geopolitical and economic importance, I think to most people Uzbekistan remains just a place on a map, with a “funny” looking name. Obviously, that is not the case and I wouldn’t be writing this and you wouldn’t be reading this if we didn’t know better…or didn’t want to know better.
I hung out with my high school boyfriend at our 10 year reunion in early summer 2008 and he told me he was heading to Uzbekistan and Kazhakstan for his doctorate in Russian Studies. I was flabbergasted. I hadn’t thought of him as an adventurous type and certainly not one to spend months doing field research in countries for which I could not even conjure up any images, real or imagined. But there he was, standing in Dick o’ Dows Irish pub in Birmingham, Michigan, telling me not only about his mind-boggling Central Asian plans, but also asking me if I knew that Uzbekistan’s national dish was rice. UM. NO. NO, I DID NOT. There is no food I love more than rice. Hashtag riceislife. Forever. That a country’s national dish could be a rice — well, that right there got me interested in Uzbekistan. Sold!
And since then I’ve been searching the internet, watching videos of Uzbek cooks and restaurants and average people making plovs of all kinds. Plov with lamb, with barberries, with raisins, with chickpeas, with ripe fruits like quince and apples. Massive plovs. Little plovs. So many plovs. And I’ve read and tried countless recipes. And they’re basically all good because what’s not to love in an Uzbek plov? No— actually, I take that back: they’re basically all great. And I think mine is too, and hope you agree.
Ingredients:
500g basmati rice
1 Tbsp fine sea salt
2 medium yellow onions, topped, tailed and cut across into thin rings
3-4 carrots, washed peeled and cut into 1.5-2 inch long matchsticks
400g diced lamb
150ml oil
800ml water
2 Tbsp plov spice (see page xxx)
100g barberries, raisins or chopped dried apricots
1 head of garlic, top cut off
Method:
Place your rice in a large bowl and rinse three-four times with cold water. Some will tell you to rinse until the water runs clear, but that is lunacy and will take ages. Alternatively, you may feel inclined to skip this step. I didn’t rinse my rice for years out of laziness, and then I ended up with a 5kg bag of basmati during the first lockdown that I HATED, until I started rinsing the rice and the funny taste away. Lesson learned. I implore you: rinse your rice. Let your nicely rinsed rice soak in the bowl with 1 Tbsp fine sea salt for 30 minutes, and then drain the water out in a colander over the sink and let it wait patiently to be added to the plov.
Heat 150 ml oil on high in a shallow but heavy bottomed pan. You want the oil to get really really hot before you add your diced lamb. Fan on. Apron on. Tongs out. I turn the lamb at an arm’s length distance to avoid the hot splattering oil, and then add the onion once the lamb is browned on all sides and no longer sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Brown the onion, turning occasionally, until golden. Don’t even think about turning down the heat and be patient— you’re basically doing something in between deep-frying and cartelizing the onions, and it takes a little time.
Add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes, adding 1 teaspoon of water if things start to stick and burn. Stir frequently. Pick up a carrot. Is it limp? Yes? If so, you’re ready for the next step.
Turn the heat down to medium low and add 100ml water, the plov spice, 1 Tbsp fine sea salt and your dried fruit. Mix together.
Spread your rinsed, soaked and drained rice on top of everything in the pan in an even layer, gently pressing it down as needed. Carefully pour the remaining 700ml water in the pan, drizzling it around, or pouring it in at an angle at the edge of the pot so as to not disturb the rice.
Plop your head of garlic into the middle of the pan, cut side down. Gently push the garlic down into the rice until it’s just barely below the surface of the water.
Turn the heat up to medium. Cover and cook for 25 minutes. Then, wrap the lid of the pan in a clean kitchen towel, making sure to secure the towel on top of the pan so that it doesn’t catch fire if you are using a gas burner (I often use a rubber band tied around the gathered corners of the towel), and put the toweled lid back on the pan. Turn the heat as low as it can go and cook for another 30 minutes.
Dish the plov out on to a platter. Mix all the constituent parts to together and enjoy your trip to Uzbek rice heaven.