Table for TwoUzbek Plov
Uzbekistan's pride: rice slow-cooked with tender beef, sweet yellow carrots, cumin and a whole head of garlic.
Photo: otabek xatipov / Unsplash
⏱ 90 min📶 Medium👫 Serves 2☪ Muslim-friendly
Ingredients (for 2)
- Beef or lamb shoulder, 400 g, cubed
- Long-grain rice, 1½ cups
- Carrots, 3 large, cut in thick matchsticks
- Onion, 1 large, sliced
- Garlic, 1 whole head
- Cumin seeds, 1½ tsp
- Ground coriander, ½ tsp
- Dried barberries or raisins, 1 tbsp (optional)
- Chickpeas, ½ can (optional)
- Vegetable oil, 4 tbsp
- Hot water, about 600 ml
Steps
- Soak the rice in salted water for 30 minutes.
- In a heavy pot, brown the meat in hot oil, add the onion and cook until golden.
- Add the carrots and cook without stirring much for 5 minutes, then add the cumin, coriander, barberries, chickpeas, salt and 400 ml hot water; simmer for 30 minutes.
- Drain the rice and spread it evenly over the top without stirring; add hot water to cover by 1 cm and push the garlic head into the middle.
- Cook uncovered until the water is absorbed, then poke a few holes, cover tightly and steam on low for 20 minutes. Mix gently and serve on a big platter.
Cook it together: One cuts the carrots into long matchsticks (it matters!), the other browns the meat — and you both resist lifting the lid.
👩🍳 Cook this together — step-by-step mode, timers & passport stamp
Or roll a random country and let the dice pick tonight's dinner.
