KZBlog

I’ve been working on my recipe for plov bit by bit and I thought I’d share it here. Of course there are a million different kinds of plov (or pilaf as the Western version is called) and it’s hard to pin down exactly what makes plov plov. I am fond of the Azerbaijani style where the rice is separate from the meat, even though some Kazakhs and Uzbeks I know say it isn’t plov if the meat and the rice aren’t cooked together.

In any case, this is how I make the plov rice.

Ingredients

2 cups of long-grain rice
4 cups of chicken stock/bouillon
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 medium carrot, grated
2 tbs olive oil
salt
ginger
coriander

In a big saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium heat.

Add the onions, garlic and carrots. Let them sautee for a few minutes until the onions are transparent and the carrots are soft. Don’t let anything brown or burn. The whole thing should turn orange from the carrots.

Add the rice and mix it up so that the rice is covered in oil. Let it cook, stirring, until the rice turns transparent.

Add the chicken bouillon, a pinch of ginger and a pinch of coriander.

Mix it up, cover it and let the rice cook through until there’s no more liquid left.

That’s it.

For the meat, this is a great way to get rid of leftover roasted chicken. Or marinate stir-fry beef strips in garlic, oil, ginger and cilantro for a few hours, then fry it in batches over high heat. Any kind of Middle Eastern/fruity/sweet meat recipe will also work well. I’m actually fond of Fesenjan, which is traditionally made with duck but works well with chicken.