Uzbek Plov Lamb Pilaf Recipes

UZBEK PLOV (LAMB PILAF)

Steps:

• Heat oil in the dutch oven, or kettle, on a very high flame and add the onions. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes, and add the lamb.
• Cook the lamb for 10 minutes and add the carrots. Keep cooking for 10 more minutes.
• Add cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
• Peel some of the skin off the garlic head and slice the top off, exposing the garlic cloves, and then add it to the meat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with lid and cook for about 1 hour. Meanwhile, wash the rice thoroughly.
• Taste the liquid for salt and adjust if necessary. Add the rice and spread it out evenly.
• Add 3 cups of boiling water, reduce heat to low, cover the dutch oven with lid and cook for 25-30 minutes. At the end of cooking time, check if the water has been absorbed fully, and, if not, let it cook a little longer. Once ready, let it rest for 15 minutes before serving.

UZBEK PLOV (LAMB AND RICE PILAF)

Steps:

• Place basmati rice in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside. Wash heads of garlic. Set aside.
• Heat vegetable oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over high heat until smoking, then add lamb, turning occasionally until the lamb is evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the onions; cook and stir until the onion has softened and browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the carrots; cook and stir until the carrots have softened, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cumin, coriander, barberries, and peppercorns. Drop whole garlic heads into the mixture, stirring to evenly distribute ingredients. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
• Wash and drain basmati rice with hot water. Pour cleaned rice over the lamb mixture in an even layer. Slowly pour in the boiling water. The rice should be covered with about 3/4 inch of water. Do not stir. Season with salt, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir rice and lamb together, and serve with the garlic heads on top.

PLOV

Steps:

• Place the basmati rice in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside.
• Wash the garlic heads. Cut the top of the heads (¼ inch / 5 mm). Set aside.
• Toast cumin, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a pan for a few minutes.
• Grind in a mortar or spice grinder. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a pan over high heat. Add the lamb, turning occasionally until the lamb is evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the lamb pieces and set aside.
• Stir in onions and cook, until onion is soft and golden, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in carrots and cook, until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add the lamb and mix.
• Sprinkle the mixture of cumin, coriander, peppercorns and add the barberries.
• Add the whole garlic heads, stirring to distribute the ingredients. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
• Wash and drain the basmati rice in hot water. Pour the rice over the lamb mixture in an even layer.
• Slowly pour the boiling water (or vegetable broth). The rice should be covered with about ½ inch of water. Do not stir.
• Season with salt and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
• Mix the ingredients as you serve the dish on a platter. Garnish with the garlic heads.

PLOV

Steps:

• Rinse and drain the rice in several washes of warm water, set aside
• Wash the whole garlic heads and slice off about 3/4 of an inch from the top of each head, exposing a cross section of the cloves. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch Oven or heavy casserole over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add lamb pieces (in batches, if necessary, to avoid over-crowding) and brown on all sides, about 7 minutes total (or per batch)
• If you have cooked meat in batches, return all meat to the pot and add carrots and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
• Add the next 7 ingredients: cumin seeds, paprika, hot paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper, and barberries. Stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup water, cover pot and turn heat down to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes.
• Uncover the pot and using the back of a wooden spoon, flatten the meat and vegetables into the bottom of the casserole. Add the rice, creating a flat even layer with the help of the wooden spoon.
• Push the garlic bulbs, exposed side first, down through the rice till only their bottoms are exposed.
• Pour the 3 cups of boiling water slowly over the wooden spoon, letting it fall gently into the pot so as not to disturb the rice layer on top. Poke a few holes in the rice layer with the handle of the spoon, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Pull out garlic bulbs and stir rice and meat together. Mound the Plov on a serving platter with the garlic heads on top.

UZBEK PLOV

Steps:

• Wash the rice under the tap until clear, cover with cold water and let it soaks for a while.
• Cut the meat with bones into match-box pieces.
• Cut the carrots into 0.5x0.5 cm thick sticks.
• Slice onions into thin rings or half-rings.
• Clean heads of garlic from the remains of roots and dirt.
• Heat oil in the cattle or dutch oven on a very high flame, deep-fry meat until golden-brown, in 3-4 batches. Fry the onions until golden, add meat to the cattle, stir well to prevent onion from burning. Add carrot, stir from time to time, until it starts to wilt and browns a little (15-20 min). Add 2/3 of the cumin - rub it in your palms a little to release flavor, stir gentliy to keep carrot from broking.
• Lower gas to moderate, pour hot water just to cover all the goods, add salt and let it simmer for 40 min to 1.5 hours until almost all water evaporate and meat became tender and juicy. Do not stir.
• Turn gas to max.
• Drain rice well, place it on top the meat and vegs in one layer, stick the garlic and whole chillies in it, and carefully pour boiling water over it (place a spoon or ladle on top of the rice to keep the rice layer from washaway). Cover the rice with about 2 cm of water, let it boil. Add salt to make the water a bit over-salted. When water will go down the rice, reduce the gas a bit, keeping it boils rapidly. Check when it will evaporate and absorb into rice completely - rice should remain rather al dente. Make a holes in the rice to the bottom of a vessel to check the water level.
• Reduce gas to absolute min, cover tightly with the lid and let it steam 20 minutes. Turn of the heat, remove the garlic and chillies on the separate plate. Carefully mix rice with meat and carrots, if the rice tastes a bit blind add some salt, mix and let it stand for 5 minutes. Pile the plov on a big warmed plate and serve with garlic, chilies and plain thinly sliced tomato-sweet onions-chili-salt salad.