Uzbek Plov with Lamb
Lamb, a great deal of carrot and rice cooked in one pot until every grain is separate and stained gold. The technique that matters is the zirvak — the base that the rice steams above but is never mixed into.
About this dish
Plov is cooked in a cast-iron kazan over fire, and in Uzbekistan it is cooked by men, in quantity, for weddings and for guests — a pot for two hundred is not unusual. The layers are never stirred together: meat and carrot at the bottom, rice on top, and the whole thing meets only on the plate.
- Gluten-free
- Lactose-free
- Not vegetarian because of Lamb shoulder, cubed
Ingredients
- 800gLamb shoulder, cubed
- 600gLong-grain rice
- 700gCarrot
- 300gOnion
- 150mlSunflower oil
- 2piecesGarlic cloves
- 1tbspGround cumin
- 2tbspDried barberries
- 1200mlWater
- 1tbspFine sea salt
- 1tspGround black pepper
Instructions
Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs clear, then leave it to soak in warm salted water while you cook everything else.
20 minTip: Rinsing takes off the loose surface starch that would glue the grains together. Clear water is the signal, not a fixed number of rinses.
Heat the oil in a heavy pot until it shimmers. Brown the lamb in batches until deeply coloured on all sides, then add the sliced onion and fry 5 minutes more until golden.
15 minTip: This is the flavour base and it needs real heat. Crowding the pot drops the temperature and the meat greys instead of browning.
Add the carrots, cut into thick matchsticks rather than grated, along with the cumin, salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes without stirring too often, until they soften but still hold their shape.
15 minTip: Batons, never grated: grated carrot dissolves into the base and the plov loses the sweet strands that should be visible in every spoonful.
Pour in enough water to cover by two fingers, tuck in the whole garlic heads and the barberries, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. This base is the zirvak, and it should taste slightly too salty on its own.
30 minTip: The rice will absorb salt from below, so the zirvak has to over-season now. Judge it here — once the rice is in you can no longer stir anything through.
Drain the rice and spread it evenly over the zirvak without mixing. Add boiling water to cover the rice by a centimetre, cook uncovered on high until the surface liquid disappears, then gather the rice into a mound, cover tightly and steam on the lowest heat for 20–25 minutes. Rest 10 minutes, then turn out and mix at the table.
25 minTip: Never stir once the rice is in. The whole architecture — dry fluffy grains above, glossy meat below — depends on those two layers staying apart until serving.