Plov Food

UZBEK PLOV

Steps:

• Wash the rice under the tap until clear, cover with cold water and let it soaks for a while.
• Cut the meat with bones into match-box pieces.
• Cut the carrots into 0.5x0.5 cm thick sticks.
• Slice onions into thin rings or half-rings.
• Clean heads of garlic from the remains of roots and dirt.
• Heat oil in the cattle or dutch oven on a very high flame, deep-fry meat until golden-brown, in 3-4 batches. Fry the onions until golden, add meat to the cattle, stir well to prevent onion from burning. Add carrot, stir from time to time, until it starts to wilt and browns a little (15-20 min). Add 2/3 of the cumin - rub it in your palms a little to release flavor, stir gentliy to keep carrot from broking.
• Lower gas to moderate, pour hot water just to cover all the goods, add salt and let it simmer for 40 min to 1.5 hours until almost all water evaporate and meat became tender and juicy. Do not stir.
• Turn gas to max.
• Drain rice well, place it on top the meat and vegs in one layer, stick the garlic and whole chillies in it, and carefully pour boiling water over it (place a spoon or ladle on top of the rice to keep the rice layer from washaway). Cover the rice with about 2 cm of water, let it boil. Add salt to make the water a bit over-salted. When water will go down the rice, reduce the gas a bit, keeping it boils rapidly. Check when it will evaporate and absorb into rice completely - rice should remain rather al dente. Make a holes in the rice to the bottom of a vessel to check the water level.
• Reduce gas to absolute min, cover tightly with the lid and let it steam 20 minutes. Turn of the heat, remove the garlic and chillies on the separate plate. Carefully mix rice with meat and carrots, if the rice tastes a bit blind add some salt, mix and let it stand for 5 minutes. Pile the plov on a big warmed plate and serve with garlic, chilies and plain thinly sliced tomato-sweet onions-chili-salt salad.

UZBEK PLOV (LAMB AND RICE PILAF)

Steps:

• Place basmati rice in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside. Wash heads of garlic. Set aside.
• Heat vegetable oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over high heat until smoking, then add lamb, turning occasionally until the lamb is evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the onions; cook and stir until the onion has softened and browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the carrots; cook and stir until the carrots have softened, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cumin, coriander, barberries, and peppercorns. Drop whole garlic heads into the mixture, stirring to evenly distribute ingredients. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
• Wash and drain basmati rice with hot water. Pour cleaned rice over the lamb mixture in an even layer. Slowly pour in the boiling water. The rice should be covered with about 3/4 inch of water. Do not stir. Season with salt, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir rice and lamb together, and serve with the garlic heads on top.

PLOV

Steps:

• Cut beef to cubes approximately 1 inch.
• Fry with 1/4 cup vegetable oil (about 15-20 minutes).
• Separately grate carrots and fry it slightly 10-12 minute.
• Cut onions and fry.
• Put meat, onions and carrot in layers in the pot.
• Add 1/4 cup vegetable oil, let it boil.
• Add 1 cup of water, let it boil approximately 20 minute.
• Rinse rice with cold water and make layer above previous layer.
• Add salt and enough additional water to just cover rice, let it boil.
• Cover with lid and put in the oven for about 50-55 minutes at 350°F.

BEEF PLOV (BEEF RICE PILAF) RECIPE

Steps:

• Trim beef of excess fat and sinews (aka the chewy stuff), pat the meat dry with a paper towel and chop into 1/2" to 3/4" pieces.
• Preheat your dutch oven (or your large soup pot with a heavy bottom), to high heat. Once it's hot, stir in your 1/3 cup canola oil. Once oil is hot, add chopped meat and saute uncovered 7 min over high heat until meat is browned, stirring every minute or so so it doesn't scorch to the bottom of the pan. Note: it's important to preheat the dutch oven first for the meat to sear over very high heat, otherwise it will juice out and become dry.
• Reduce heat to medium and Add chopped onion, stirring often until onion is softened (5 minutes). Stir in sliced carrots, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 3-4 bay leaves and continue to cook over medium heat 5 minutes until carrots are softened.
• Add 1 3/4 cups hot water, cover and simmer over medium/low heat 45 min or until meat is tender.
• Meanwhile, rinse rice until water runs clear, then drain and set aside (this gets rid of the starch so you won't end up with a sticky rice).
• Spread rice over the meat and add 4 cups hot water. Sprinkle the rice with 1 1/2 tsp salt (DO NOT STIR), bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and Let cook uncovered until most of the water is absorbed (10 min).
• Cut off the base of your whole garlic head to expose the cloves. Put your head of garlic, cut side down into the center of the rice and sprinkle the top of the rice with 1 tsp ground coriander.
• Poke 7-10 holes through the rice to allow steam to escape to the surface, reduce the heat to low then cover and cook an additional 15 minutes or until rice is cooked through. Remove the garlic head and bay leaves and stir everything gently to combine and you're done.

PLOV (AZERBAIJAN)

Steps:

• Rinse the rice several times in cold water to remove excess starch.
• Place a few threads of saffron in a cup and add boiling water; cover and leave to infuse.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add rice, reduce heat, but cook rice at a rapid boil until the rice is tender on the outside, but still not done on the inside, 5 to 10 minutes (do not overcook or your plov will be sticky).
• Strain the rice in a colander.
• There are 3 methods you can use to form the crust or qazmaq. The first way is to mix together an egg with 4 tablespoons of the parboiled rice, and 1 or 2 tablespoons of yogurt. Add some of the infused saffron water. The second way is to mix together a glass (8 oz) of flour, a little butter, and a little water to make a sort of dough (you can also add an egg if you want an eggy flavor). This will then be kneaded and rolled out thinly. The third way is to use some potatoes that have been peeled and sliced crosswise.
• Rinse and dry the pan you cooked the rice in; melt a heaping tablespoon of butter, then spread whichever qazmaq you chose on the bottom of the pot and fry a little for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Next spoon half the parboiled rice on top, then pour over half of the saffron infusion.
• Spoon in remaining rice and pour over most of the remaining saffron infusion; top that with a few tablespoons of butter.
• Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke a few holes through the rice to allow steam to escape.
• Cover pot opening with a clean tea towel and cover with a well-fitting lid; increase heat under pot until rice is steaming, then reduce heat and let steam for 35 to 40 minutes (it can go longer if needed).
• Spoon rice onto a serving platter and top with remaining saffron infusion and a few more tablespoons of butter.

PLOV

Steps:

• Place the basmati rice in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside.
• Wash the garlic heads. Cut the top of the heads (¼ inch / 5 mm). Set aside.
• Toast cumin, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a pan for a few minutes.
• Grind in a mortar or spice grinder. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a pan over high heat. Add the lamb, turning occasionally until the lamb is evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the lamb pieces and set aside.
• Stir in onions and cook, until onion is soft and golden, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in carrots and cook, until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add the lamb and mix.
• Sprinkle the mixture of cumin, coriander, peppercorns and add the barberries.
• Add the whole garlic heads, stirring to distribute the ingredients. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
• Wash and drain the basmati rice in hot water. Pour the rice over the lamb mixture in an even layer.
• Slowly pour the boiling water (or vegetable broth). The rice should be covered with about ½ inch of water. Do not stir.
• Season with salt and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
• Mix the ingredients as you serve the dish on a platter. Garnish with the garlic heads.

UZBEK PLOV (LAMB PILAF)

Steps:

• Heat oil in the dutch oven, or kettle, on a very high flame and add the onions. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes, and add the lamb.
• Cook the lamb for 10 minutes and add the carrots. Keep cooking for 10 more minutes.
• Add cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
• Peel some of the skin off the garlic head and slice the top off, exposing the garlic cloves, and then add it to the meat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with lid and cook for about 1 hour. Meanwhile, wash the rice thoroughly.
• Taste the liquid for salt and adjust if necessary. Add the rice and spread it out evenly.
• Add 3 cups of boiling water, reduce heat to low, cover the dutch oven with lid and cook for 25-30 minutes. At the end of cooking time, check if the water has been absorbed fully, and, if not, let it cook a little longer. Once ready, let it rest for 15 minutes before serving.

RUSSIAN LAMB PILAF (PLOV) RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the raisins and prunes into a small bowl and pour over enough water to cover. Add lemon juice and let soak for at least 1 hour. Drain. Roughly chop the prunes.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large pan, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes. Add cubed lamb, ground lamb, and crushed garlic cloves. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until browned.
• Pour 2/3 cup (150 milliliters) of stock into the pan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, or until the lamb is tender.
• Add the remaining stock and bring to a boil. Add rinsed long-grain white rice and a large pinch of saffron. Stir, then cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
• Add the drained raisins, drained chopped prunes, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat through for a few minutes, then turn out onto a warmed serving dish and garnish with sprigs of flat-leaf parsley. Source: " Polish & Russian: 70 Traditional Step-by-Step Dishes from Eastern Europe " from the "Cooking Around the World" series by Lesley Chamberlain & Catherine Atkinson (Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006).

PLOV (UZBEK RICE PILAF) RECIPE

Steps:

• Rinse rice in a fine mesh strainer until water runs clear. Transfer rice to bowl and cover with water while prepping other ingredients.
• Heat oil on high in large sauté pan until almost smoking and stir in carrots. Fry, stirring frequently, until oil is orange colored and carrots are deeply caramelized on the edges. Add onions and salt, stir to coat with oil, and fry until browned.
• Add spices and stir to combine until fragrant, then add rice. Stir frequently until rice browns slightly and smells nutty. Pour in one cup fresh water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Let rice cook for 15 minutes, then check for doneness-add water in 1/4 cup increments if rice is still dry and cook uncovered. Fold rice on bottom of pan over to prevent burning. Plov is done when rice is tender but still toothsome. Season to taste and serve immediately. This Recipe Appears In Spice Hunting: What's The Deal With Saffron?