Uzbek plov

In Uzbekistan, plov is a symbol of hospitality and community. It is cooked for weddings, births, funerals, holidays and the arrival of guests, and men gather on Thursday or Friday mornings to eat plov together. There is a saying that a guest who has not been served plov has not really been welcomed. At the famous morning plov of a wedding, hundreds of men eat from great platters before sunrise. See Uzbek wedding traditions.

In 2016, UNESCO inscribed "Palov culture and tradition" of Uzbekistan on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

• Rice: usually medium-grain varieties such as devzira, a pinkish rice from the Fergana Valley prized for absorbing fat without becoming sticky.
• Meat: usually mutton or beef; sometimes chicken, quail or horse meat sausage (qazi).
• Carrots: cut by hand into long thin strips; yellow carrots are traditional and sweeter.
• Onions, garlic (whole heads), chickpeas, raisins or quince, depending on the recipe.
• Fat: cottonseed oil, sunflower oil or mutton tail fat.
• Spices: cumin (zira), barberries, coriander seeds and red pepper.

Plov is cooked in a heavy cast-iron qozon over a fire. First the fat is heated until very hot, then the meat and onions are browned. The carrots are added and cooked into the zirvak, the flavourful base. Water and spices are added and simmered. Finally, the rice is spread on top in a flat layer, covered with water, and cooked until the water is absorbed, then covered and left to steam. Whole heads of garlic are often buried in the rice.

The cook, the oshpaz, is respected as a master. At large events, a professional oshpaz may cook plov for hundreds or even thousands of people in giant cauldrons.

• Tashkent: rich wedding plov, often with qazi horse sausage, quail eggs and raisins; the rice and meat are mixed.
• Samarkand: the ingredients are cooked in layers and not mixed; served with the rice, carrots and meat arranged separately on the plate, lighter in colour.
• Bukhara: oshi sofi, sometimes with chickpeas, raisins and dried fruit; also bakhsh, a green plov cooked with herbs in a cloth bag.
• Khorezm (Khiva): plov with more carrots, sometimes cooked with fish or chicken, and mixed before serving. See Khiva food.
• Fergana Valley: dark, rich plov with plenty of fat and devzira rice. See Fergana Valley food.

Each region claims its plov is the best, and arguing about it is part of the fun.

Plov is usually eaten at lunchtime, as it is cooked in the morning and best fresh; many plov houses sell out by early afternoon. It is served on a large shared platter (lagan) or on individual plates, with a salad of tomatoes and onions (achchiq-chuchuk), bread and green tea. Traditionally, it was eaten with the hand, and some still do. Black tea or green tea helps digest the rich dish.

• Tashkent: the Central Asian Plov Centre (Besh Qozon), near the TV tower, cooks plov in giant cauldrons at lunchtime; a spectacle in itself. See Tashkent food.
• Samarkand: plov houses near the Siab bazaar and the old town. See Samarkand food.
• Bukhara: teahouses and restaurants around Lyabi-Hauz. See Bukhara food.
• Any chaikhana at lunchtime, especially those with a cauldron at the entrance.

Tip: go before 13:00; the best plov is often finished by mid-afternoon.