Uzbekistan's rice-and-lamb centrepiece, cooked in a wide cast-iron kazan and served at every wedding, funeral and celebration.
The centre of the table
Plov — part of the broader pilaf family found from the Balkans to South Asia — is the defining dish of Uzbek cuisine and a fixture of every significant gathering. Regional versions differ markedly between cities, and Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent each defend their own method.
It carries genuine ceremonial weight. Large gatherings are catered with plov cooked in enormous kazans, and in some traditions a morning plov is prepared for weddings and served to guests in the early hours.
Cooking it is customarily men's work at big events, and the oshpaz — the plov master — is a respected specialist who may cook for hundreds at a time.
How it is built
The kazan is a heavy, rounded cast-iron pot, and the dish is built in strict layers. Oil or rendered fat-tail sheep fat is heated hard, then meat is browned, followed by onion and a large quantity of carrot cut into thick matchsticks.
The carrot is not incidental — it is used in quantity comparable to the rice and supplies much of the sweetness and colour. Yellow carrots are traditional in Uzbekistan where available.
This base, the zirvak, is simmered with cumin, coriander seed, barberries and often whole garlic bulbs and chickpeas. Rice is then spread evenly on top and cooked through without stirring, absorbing the liquid from below.
Serving
The rice must finish separate and glossy rather than sticky, which is why the rice is layered rather than mixed and why the pot is left undisturbed at the end to steam.
It is turned out onto a large communal platter, meat sliced and arranged on top, garlic bulbs set among it. Guests eat from the shared dish, traditionally with the right hand or a spoon.
Accompaniments are simple and sharp: a salad of thinly sliced tomato and onion, pickles, and green tea, all chosen to cut through a notably rich dish.
