The national dish of Uzbekistan is plov, it is he who gives Uzbek cuisine that special flavor and distinctive feature.
No other country can boast a similar dish.
Soft tasty meat, juicy vegetables, aroma of spices and herbs, tender rice - this is really delicious.
Real Uzbek plov - general principles of cooking
Many try to cook meat with rice at home, calling their dish pilaw. But this dish has nothing to do with real Uzbek pilaf, usually everyone gets tasty, but ordinary rice porridge with vegetables, meat and dried fruits.
So what is the secret of this pilaf? How to cook pilaf in Uzbek as needed? There are some features. Let's consider.
The first is the choice of rice. Chinese long grain or Krasnodar round grain for pilaf will not work, you need to choose a non-tacky variety, the variety “Devzira” is best suited for cooking.
The second is spices. It is not enough one pepper for pilaf, use herbs, zira, barberry, turmeric, chili pepper, garlic and other spices. They give this Uzbek swim exactly the distinctive aroma and smell.
Third - do not skimp on fats. Yes, Uzbek plov is far from a dietary dish, zirvak should languish in fats - only then it will be cooked correctly, every grain of rice should be saturated with oils.
The classic version of the Uzbek pilaf, except carrots, onions, meat, rice and spices, no longer contains anything in its composition. But over time, the recipe of the dish changed and now you can find real Uzbek pilaf not only from lamb, but also from beef, chicken, pork, and even game. Also, dried fruits are added to it: more often raisins, less often prunes, dried apricots, apricots and others.
1. Real Uzbek plov with lamb
Ingredients:
• 1.5 kg of fresh lamb;
• 300 grams of fat tail;
• kilogram of rice "Devzira";
• kilo of carrots;
• two heads of garlic;
• 600 grams of onions;
• a pod or two hot chili peppers;
• 100 ml of vegetable oil; • to taste spices: pepper, salt, turmeric, zira, paprika, barberry.
How to cook Uzbek pilaf with lamb:
1. Pour vegetable oil into the cauldron and heat it.
2. We spread chicken fat, cut into large cubes, weary it, stirring for 3-5 minutes, until it selects all the fats necessary for making this Uzbek pilaf.
3. We wash the lamb, cut it into fairly large pieces and put it in a cauldron, fry it over high heat, letting it turn brown on all sides.
4. Add the onion sliced in half rings, fry with the meat until soft and brown-golden in color.
5. Cut the peeled carrots into thin strips, spread to the meat, fry until soft.
6. As soon as all the vegetables are softened, pour boiling water in so that it covers food in the cauldron for 1 cm. Stew zirvak for 30 minutes.
7. After the allotted time, the water should almost all evaporate. Add spices to taste, salt pilaf, lay out a whole pod of pepper.
8. Fry for 5 minutes.
9. Pour rice into a colander with small holes and rinse thoroughly, rubbing the cereal with your hands. Wash long and thoroughly to wash off all gluten.
10. Put the prepared grits on top of the meat, without mixing, simply level the rice with a spoon.
11. Pour boiling water, covering the cereal at 2 cm.
12. Make small recesses in the center, lay them in not thoroughly peeled, but thoroughly washed garlic heads.
13. Cover cauldron lid, evaporated rice for 20-30 minutes. Water should be completely evaporated.
14. Prepare Uzbek plov before serving for about ten minutes, then thoroughly mix with a long handle with a skimmer, lifting zirvak and meat from the bottom.
15. Serve hot with fresh vegetables.
2. Real Uzbek pilaf with dried fruits
Ingredients:
• 500 grams of lamb;
• kilogram of rice;
• 200 grams of lamb fat;
• 300 grams of onions;
• a pound of carrots;
• half a cup of vegetable oil;
• 150-200 grams of raisins (you can take different varieties: light and dark raisins);
• salt, spices.
How to make Uzbek pilaf with dried fruits:
1. Pour vegetable oil into a cauldron of a suitable size, as soon as it warms up, put chopped lard. We drown it for 5 minutes, then remove it with a skimmer and throw it out. 2. Cut the meat into medium cubes, spread it into butter, fry, adding the heat to the maximum for 10 minutes.
3. Add the onion, chopped into half rings, and the carrot grated on a Korean grater, fry all together, stirring for 5 minutes.
4. Pour in a glass of boiling water, close the cauldron with a lid, stew meat with vegetables for 30 minutes.
5. While the meat is cooking, wash the raisins, soak them in boiling water for 20 minutes, drain the water, and wash the raisins again.
6. Open the lid cauldron, put spices and salt to taste, mix.
7. Put prepared raisins and thoroughly washed rice in zirvak. Lightly tamp the ingredients with a spoon, but do not mix.
8. Pour boiling water so that it covers the cereal by 1-1.5 cm.
9. Cooking Uzbek plov for another 30 minutes.
10. After the time has elapsed, turn off the fire, thoroughly stir the pilaf, before serving, let it stand for 5-10 minutes.
3. Uzbek plov with chicken
Ingredients:
• 600 grams of rice of suitable variety;
• 600 grams of chicken;
• 400 grams of onions;
• 300 grams of carrots;
• vegetable oil;
• salt, paprika, barberry, zira.
How to cook Uzbek pilaf with chicken:
1. For the preparation of genuine Uzbek pilaf with chicken, it is better not to take the breast, but the meat from the thighs, shins. Rinse the chicken thoroughly and cut into large pieces, not less than 100 grams.
2. Sprinkle meat with salt, set aside for 10-20 minutes aside.
3. Pour oil into a cauldron, saucepan or large deep frying pan, heat it.
4. Peel the onions and cut into quarters into rings, spread them into butter, fry until golden brown.
5. As soon as the onions soften, we add a chicken to it, add fire to the maximum and, without moving away from the stove, and stirring constantly, fry the meat for 3-5 minutes until the chicken turns white.
6. Add the carrots, cut into strips, salt, throw spices. We extinguish, having covered the container with a lid and having set the average fire for 25 minutes.
7. Put the washed rice cereal, pour in some boiling water, cook another 20 minutes.
8. Before serving, mix thoroughly and insist for 5-8 minutes.
4. Uzbek plov with buckwheat
Ingredients:
• pound of beef or pork;
• 400 grams of buckwheat groats;
• 150 grams of butter;
• 200 grams of onions;
• 200 grams of carrots;
• barberry, turmeric, salt.
How to cook Uzbek pilaf with buckwheat:
1. We thoroughly wash the meat, clean the vegetables, clean and rinse the buckwheat.
2. Heat up butter in a cast-iron skillet or in a cauldron, put the meat sliced into large pieces, fry to a light blush.
3. Add the onion, cut into half rings, carrots, chopped straw. Add spices and salt to taste.
4. Passe the ingredients in the cauldron, stirring, until half-ready, about 10 minutes.
5. Pour in boiling water, simmer over medium heat for about 40 minutes.
6. Put the prepared buckwheat on another pan, add a little butter (1 tbsp. L.). Fry on low heat, stirring all the time, for 6-7 minutes.
7. Spread buckwheat groats to the meat, mix thoroughly, add salted if necessary.
8. Pour in water, bring pilaf to readiness. It will take about 15 minutes.
5. Uzbek plov with stuffed sweet pepper
Ingredients:
• 600 grams of rice;
• 600 grams of meat per bone;
• 300 grams of onions;
• 300 grams of carrots;
• 100 grams of fat;
• egg;
• Bell pepper;
• greenery;
• 5 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
• salt, spices.
Cooking Method:
1. Cut off the meat from the bone, but not completely, 250-300 grams of pulp will be enough for us.
2. Grind the pulp in a meat grinder.
3. Chop one onion and add to the mince, season the mass with spices and salt, mix well.
4. In the cauldron we heat up the butter, put the fat, lay out the bones with the meat. Fry until light brown crust.
5. Shred the second onion in half rings, carrots with a thin straw. Add both ingredients to the cauldron.
6. We also put spices and salt here, mix, fry for 5 minutes, then pour in a glass of water.
7. Stew meat with vegetables for 45-50 minutes.
8. While the meat on the bone is cooked, stuff the peeled peppers from the stems and seeds.
9. Put half of the washed rice on top of the ready zirvaka, fold the peppers gently, close with the second half of the rice. 10. Fill everything with water so that it is 2-3 fingers higher than the rest of the ingredients. We close the cauldron with a lid, prepare Uzbek pilaf 40 minutes.
11. Serve such a pilaf as follows: lay out rice on a plate, then stuffed peppers, sprinkle with chopped greens.
6. Green true Uzbek Bakhsh plov
Ingredients:
• 500 grams of beef;
• 500 grams of rice;
• a pound of fresh cilantro;
• onion;
• 100 grams of green onions;
• 100 grams of parsley leaves;
• 100 grams of chicken fat;
• 60 ml of olive or sunflower oil;
• salt, pepper, spices.
How to cook Uzbek pilaf Bakhsh:
1. Carefully wash all greens, separate leaves from twigs. Remove the branches, chop the leaves.
2. Onions are cleaned and cut into small cubes, cut the feathers of green onions into rings.
3. Rinse the rice, recline in a colander.
4. Wash my meat and cut it into large pieces.
5. Heat the oil in a deep skillet or in a cast-iron pan, spread the fat and meat into it, fry for 2-3 minutes until blush.
6. Add onions, mix thoroughly, fry until softened.
7. Add cilantro, parsley and green onions, mix. Do not be surprised by such a huge amount of greenery - this is Bakhsh, if there is less greenery - you will simply have rice porridge with meat.
8. Spread rice, mix everything again. We pour in two glasses of water, close the pot with a lid. Cook for 45 minutes on low heat.
9. Serve Bakhsh hot with green tea and cakes.
7. Uzbek game plov
Ingredients:
• two pheasant breasts;
• kilogram of rice;
• 250 grams of fat;
• three onions;
• four carrots;
• 50 ml of grape vinegar;
• salt, spices;
• Spoon of dried herbs (parsley, basil).
How to make Uzbek game plov:
1. The day before cooking, we marinate thoroughly washed and cut portions of pheasant breast in finely chopped onion, vinegar, pepper, dried herbs and salt.
2. Put the fat in the cauldron, melt it. Put the pickled pheasant, fry on all sides to a crust.
3. Add onions and carrot straws, lightly fry. 4. Pour in a liter of water, add salt and spices, simmer on low heat for 30 minutes after boiling.
5. Add rice, pre-sorting and washing it, level the cereal with a spoon, but do not mix it with pheasant.
6. Pour in half a liter of water, cook over medium heat until complete evaporation of the liquid.
7. Make 2-3 deep holes in rice, pour water into them as much as it will. We reduce the fire to a minimum, cook for 20 minutes, covered with a lid, on the quietest fire.
8. Stir the pilaf before serving.
Real Uzbek plov - secrets and tricks
Why do we need spices? This Uzbek plov without spices and not plov at all. They give the dish the very zest that we often cannot achieve in the kitchen, even if we follow the instructions clearly, but at the same time we forget about such an important ingredient.
• Barberry - gives the dish a sour taste, makes the meat softer and juicier, and emphasizes the sweetness of carrots and rice.
• Turmeric - gives a light, unobtrusive note of nuts to the pilaf.
• Paprika - colors the dish in a surprisingly beautiful appetizing color, gives a soft sweetness.
• Greens - refreshes and emphasizes the taste of authentic Uzbek pilaf.
• Garlic - thanks to this ingredient, the dish acquires a distinctive aroma, but not sharpness.
• Chili or red pepper - these ingredients are required in the preparation, if you like a light spicy in the dish.
Having learned to cook authentic Uzbek pilaf once, you will return to this dish more and more often - because it is tasty, fragrant and very nourishing. Moreover, it is prepared quite easily, simply and quickly. Enjoy your meal.
