Plov – Uzbekistan’s National Dish
Plov or palov is the most famous dish in Uzbekistan. It’s a socially and culturally important food that Uzbeks are abundantly proud of. Traditionally prepared in a kazan (large cooking pot).
In almost every part of the world, in little towns and large cities, one can try the special Uzbek dish, Plov. Dishes similar to plov made of rice, meat, onions and carrots may be found all over the world but, however delicious, they are not the real thing.
To taste this genuine wonder of eastern cuisine you have to go to Uzbekistan, where delicious aromas abound and wonderful recipes have been developed and perfected over the centuries. Uzbek plov is famous, a favorite of tourists, and chefs vie to prove their recipe is the best.
Plov is known and loved throughout Central Asia, but it is Uzbekistan, where it originates and where the best varieties are to be found. Here plov accompanies momentous events from birth to holidays, anniversaries, weddings and family reunions.
How old is plov? The first references to a dish of rice and meat date back to the 10th and 11th centuries. Chronicles mention that plov was served as the main dish at weddings and important holidays. At that time it was only the rich that could afford it, for others it was an option only on feast days, or not at all. From then on plov was valued not only as delicious holiday fare, but also for its healing properties: it helped restore strength and resolve after heavy labor or battle.
There are so many ways to cook plov; some say there are 100, some say 300 and some say more than 1000. But the main ingredients, such as meat, rice, onions, carrots and oil, remain unchanged. Then, fantasy sets in: plov with quince, with Turkish peas, barberries, eggs and pomegranates. Classic plov can be light in color (sometimes called Samarkand plov) and dark (Fergana). The second one is heavier, but the taste! By the way, real men’s plov can only be dark.
It is prepared in every Uzbek family, either Uzbek, Russian, Tatar or Korean. Traditionally plov is cooked by men.
In various regions of Uzbekistan, people have their own recipes of Uzbek plov preparation. For example, Bukharan people prepare plov with green gram. Samarkand plov is light, Fergana plov is brown on the contrary. In Samarkand people put meat, carrot, rice in layers and steam it. In Tashkent plov all ingredients are roasted at the beginning.
Plov also differs according to the occasion: a wedding plov is the most magnificent, a holiday plov a bit less exotic, and there is even an everyday plov. These vary both in cooking technique and ingredients: plov is usually made with mutton, but it is sometimes replaced with kazi (horse meat sausage), sheep tail fat, chicken, pheasant or quail.
Sometimes even the rice is replaced by buckwheat, wheat, mung beans or even vermicelli. Most types of plov include a similar set of ingredients: mutton, rice, carrots and spices, and the classic technique involves three main stages: the preparation of zirvak (liquid plov base), the adding of the rice and the final cooking.
Plov or palov Legend
A legend tells how the name “Palov osh”, or plov, came about. Once upon a time the ruler Of Bukhara’s son fell in love with the daughter of a poor craftsman. Sadly, local laws prohibited such a marriage. The Prince lost his sleep and appetite, but no one around him could understand what was happening.
After a while, the boy became so exhausted that his relatives took him to Avicenna, but the Prince would not divulge his worries because he thought there could be no cure. Avicenna decided to identify the reason for the patient’s anxiety by his pulse. He called a person who knew Bukhara and its people well, and asked him to start naming all the city districts one after another.
When one district was announced, the Prince’s pulse went up. The great physician noticed this and asked him to start naming the dwellers of that district. As soon as the girl’s name was pronounced, the boy’s pulse rose so high that there could be no more doubt.
Avicenna prescribed treatment: the Prince should eat “palov osh” at least weekly until his strength is fully recovered, and then marry his love. Perhaps this is the reason why plov is a must at wedding feasts.
So the name “palov osh” is in fact an acronym for its components: p – piyoz (onion), a – ayoz (carrot), l – lakhm (meat), о – olio (fat), v – vet (salt), о – ob (water), sh – shali (rice).
