Uzbekistan: Plov

Uzbekistan's national dish is plov, known in the U.S. as rice pilaf. There are a multitude of different recipes for this dish... I tried to take the common factors of all of them and make it as simple as possible for those not familiar with Uzbek cooking. Also to note: lamb is the most common meat for plov, but I used chicken instead. Because honestly, that's just what I was in the mood for tonight. But feel free to substitute lamb or beef.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

.5 lb. chicken breast, cubed into bite size pieces

2 carrots, peeled and julienned

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. paprika

1 cup basmati rice, rinsed

1.5 cups water

4 whole cloves garlic

Salt to taste

Step 1: Heat vegetable oil in thick pan. Add chicken and brown on each side.

Step 2: Add carrots and onion and sauté until onions become translucent. 

Step 3: Add spices and stir (note: if you don't have all the spices and need to leave 1 or 2 out, it won't be a deal breaker)

Step 4: Add water and bring to a boil.

Step 5: Push ingredients to the sides of the pan, forming a hole in the center for the water. Add rice into this hole, and press down until fully covered by water. Also, add the garlic cloves at this point.

Step 6: Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until all water is absorbed (about 30 minutes).

Step 7: Mix it all together, add a bit of salt, and enjoy! I would also recommend breaking up the garlic with a spoon a bit so you don't bite into a whole clove at once.