Comments on: An Uzbek Feast

By: TCHe

TCHe — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:13:02 +0000

Now THAT’S a lively discussion!

Oh well, being blessed (or not, your choice) with no further knowledge on Uzbekistan, I’ll simply try out the recipe some time

By: Jodi

Jodi — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:57:26 +0000

Mmmm…I’m going to have to try making some of those dishes. Those carrots look/sound yummy! So do the cupcakes! Thanks for sharing the recipes!

By: Nathan

Nathan — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:40:59 +0000

Josh: Most of the time in Uzbekistan, I saw the salad and osh carrots cut the same size. Because I’m lazy with prep, I often buy the pre-julienned bags of carrots at the supermarket.

Cooking the meat as one large piece is more traditional, but I’ve done it both ways (and I’ve done it with pork roast as well!). That’s actually related to the idea I want to try. Slow cooking is part of what I think makes oshxona osh so good. I’m wondering if braising roast and putting it in a slow cooker with spices and some of the veggies then dumping the results into a pot to finish with the rice might yield good results.

I forgot to mention that I also like to add a couple heads of garlic during the rice phase. You get some nice garlic paste out of them at the end.

By: shohmurod

shohmurod — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:29:43 +0000

Optional ingredients: rice! well, dehhh!

I meant to say raisins.

By: shohmurod

shohmurod — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:24:00 +0000

The “plov” you made looks like shavla – a moist and sticky version of plov with chunky vegetables.

Plov or “osh” as majority of Uzbeks refer to it is not made the same way in all areas of Uzbekistan. The way I make it is:

1. fry the meat whole, not chunky
2. add onions and fry
3. add julienned carrots, two spoons of tomato sauce, salt, dash of black pepper, squirt of chili sauce, cumin and water and bring to a boil for 10 min
4. add already soaked rice and water just barely above rice level and bring down heat
5. open 20 min later and carefully turn the rice over so that the rice on the top is buried and form it into a dome shape. Then with the handle of the spatula make holes into the rice to let steam out.
6. Cover and wait for guests to arrive
7. Serve on a big plate. Separate the meat on a cutting board and cut into bit size pieces and spread all over the rice with guests observing.

Optional ingredients: rice, chickpeas, quince (quartered), a whole bulb of garlic unpeeled and buried under the rice

Optional method: fry ingredients separately than rice. boil rice ten minutes. drain. put in a deep pan. pour some oil and a cup of water. cover pan. put it in an oven in 250 degrees for two hours. This will give you dry white rice. You serve the ingredients on a bed of rice.

By: Joshua Foust

Joshua Foust — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:48:57 +0000

No no no, “thick strips” of carrot for the plov; julienned carrots for the salad. I just had an inappropriate knife for julienning and I didn’t want to cut myself; that is why the carrot salad had such big pieces.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:43:58 +0000

Josh, I’m going to have to look at Visson’s book. Thick carrots? That sounds like heresy. How would thick sliced Korean carrot salad make any sense? I think the guideline we need to try to follow for slicing the carrots is to keep them small enough to be used as a condiment on a hot dog.

If I had a bit of time between now and the beginning of May, I’d make a batch. I have a new technique I want to try.

By: Steve LeVine

Steve LeVine — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:48:58 +0000

Josh! the recipe says to put the rice on top of the carrots!

By: Steve's wife

Steve's wife — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:32:19 +0000

Carrots don’t go last. They come after meat and then only then rice.

By: Joshua Foust

Joshua Foust — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:31:55 +0000

For the record, the carrot salad is served separately. I added thickly sliced raw carrot, per Visson’s recipe, after the meat and onions.