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uzbek-plov

There are thousands of ways to cook rice, but nothing hits harder than the one-pot kind—where everything comes together in one pan, and the rice soaks up every bit of flavor. Plov is a part of this elite category. It’s traditionally done with bone-in lamb, but for faster cooking I’m using a boneless shoulder roast which I season with cumin. Real OG’s don’t use oil for plov–instead, they’ll use lamb fat to infuse the entire dish with a deep, meaty flavor. Once that fat’s rendered, I sear the lamb in there. With these kinds of dishes, it’s all about building layers of flavor from the bottom up. Onions and carrots add a sweetness that runs through every bite. Salt in layers and be heavy handed with the cumin because it’s the soul of a good plov. That simmers with garlic, jalapeños, and chickpeas until the lamb is tender–leave it uncovered so the liquid can reduce and concentrate in flavor. Then you add in that soaked rice and you let it steam. It shouldn’t be mushy, the grains should be separated and toothsome and coated in all that glory. You can eat it just like that, but it’s even better with its traditional sidekick salad called achik chuchuk. It’s light, crisp and cuts through the rich plov. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

Ingredients