National Dish Uzbekistan: Plov (Recipe)
In this article
Plov is the centre of Uzbek life. It is cooked for weddings in cauldrons holding hundreds of portions, always by men, and the person who cooks it, the oshpaz, has a recognised standing. UNESCO listed the tradition in 2016.
About Plov
The technique is layered. Meat and onion fry first, carrots go on, spices, then water, and the rice sits on top and steams in what rises. Nothing is stirred until it is served.
Carrots go in as batons and there should be as much carrot as rice. Yellow carrots if you can find them.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 150 g long-grain rice
- 200 g lamb, diced
- 2 medium carrots, cut into strips
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 400 ml water or meat stock
Shopping for the ingredients
Lamb shoulder with fat, or tail fat if you can get it, which is the traditional cooking medium. Devzira rice from a Central Asian shop is the proper grain and holds its shape. Whole cumin seeds, zira, not ground.
Preparing the dish
Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Cut the carrots into batons by hand; grated carrot dissolves. Use a heavy pot with a tight lid, ideally a cast-iron kazan.
Step-by-step instructions
- Rinse the rice thoroughly and cut the carrots into batons.
- Heat the oil in a heavy pot and brown the meat all over.
- Add the onions and fry until deep golden.
- Add the carrots and cook for 10 minutes without stirring much.
- Scatter over the cumin and coriander and season.
- Pour in the water or stock, press in the whole garlic cloves and simmer 20 minutes.
- Spread the rinsed rice on top in an even layer and add water to cover it by a centimetre. Do not stir.
- Cover, reduce the heat and cook around 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed.
- Rest off the heat for 10 minutes, then mix gently and serve.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Plov contains no gluten and no dairy. It is naturally suitable for both restrictions.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Chickpeas, raisins and extra carrot make a real version, and vegetable plov is cooked during fasts. Use oil rather than tail fat. Dimlama, the layered vegetable stew, adapts easily too.
More tips and tricks
Never stir once the rice is on, since that is what turns plov into risotto. Cut the carrots by hand into batons. And rest it covered off the heat for ten minutes, which lets the grains firm up before you mix.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Quince, raisins, barberries and chickpeas are all regional additions. Samarkand plov keeps the layers separate on the plate. Ferghana plov is the standard mixed version.
Ingredient substitutions
Beef or chicken for lamb. Any long-grain rice; basmati works, short-grain does not. Sunflower oil for tail fat.
Drink pairing ideas
Green tea, kok choy, before, during and after, which is the Uzbek habit. Ayran alongside. Never cold water with plov, by local convention.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve it on one large shared platter, lyagan, with the meat on top and whole garlic bulbs in the middle. Obi non bread and a tomato and onion salad, achichuk, beside it.
A bit of history
Plov travelled with the Silk Road and Uzbekistan sits on it. Legend credits the recipe to Avicenna or Alexander’s cooks, which is decoration rather than history. UNESCO inscribed palov culture in 2016 for both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It anchors Uzbek cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Plov
Plov is rice steamed over browned lamb, onion and carrot batons in a heavy pot. Cut the carrots by hand, never stir once the rice is on, and rest it before mixing.
