Uzbek Plov Master Class in Bukhara

In the evening we attend a plov master class and learn the preparation of a traditional Uzbek Plov.

Cooking and sharing this delicious one-pot dish is very important in the Central Asian culture. Every family has its own traditional recipe. Plov is the centerpiece at Central Asian festivals, weddings, and other special occasions. In 2016, UNESCO decided to honor this tradition and added the “Plov Culture and Tradition” to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

We visit Rahmon House, officially called Master Cooking & Embroidery. We quickly realize that Rahmon is not only an excellent cook but also very busy selling Uzbek fashions and embroidery.

As we arrive, Rahmon starts to light the fire under the cauldron. In the meantime, a Russian tour group arrives, who also has the pleasure to take part in the Master Class. Around the cauldron it gets tight.

A traditional Uzbek Plov is prepared in three steps: Roast, boil and simmer.

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But at first the recipe:

The ingredients are 1 kg of meat, 1 kg of carrots, 1 kg of rice, 300 gr onions, salt, hot oil, black pepper, red peppers, garlic, raisins, cooked quail eggs and Plov spice.

This special mixture consists of up to 16 spices, like bay leaf, coriander, allspice, cloves, star anise, cumin, turmeric, nutmeg. You can buy the ready made spice mixture for plov on the local markets.

First, one fries the meat in hot oil. Then add chopped onion and roast until golden yellow. Season with salt and black pepper. Now add the chopped carrots and sprinkled everything with the plov spice.

Place garlic cloves and spicy peppers on top and pour enough hot water to cover the carrots. The water must be hot, otherwise, the meat will be tough.

Covered with a lid, everything cooks for at least the next 50 minutes.

The tour group uses the interim time to try clothes, to examine embroidery and of course to buy something.

After the boiling time is over, Rahmon removes the garlic cloves and the peppers from the pot and put them aside. Instead, he places the raisins on one side in the pot and covers everything with rice. The rice was watered for half an hour in salt water.

Some holes in the rice let the steam escape. Covered up, it simmers for half an hour. Afterward, Rahmon stirs the rice and serves the portions on plates. Then he adds the cloves of garlic, peppers, quail eggs and meat.

While we wait for the food, the daughter of the house entertains us with a little dance.

Our journey continues > From Bukhara to Safari Yurt Camp

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