Uzbek Plov

Uzbek Plov

To keep this more traditional, there are a few things that are important for this recipe! First thing is, getting the amount of water can be tricky, I say 3 1/2 cups, but yours might need a little bit more than that, due to different cooking temperatures of ovens, just try your best! Second thing it is essential to keep this traditional do not stir the rice with the ground turkey, it will make it mushy, you must resist the temptation! Although this recipe is short it is a bit more technical that a lot of recipes I do, so good luck, and try your best!

Yield: 8 servings

Prep time: 1 hour

Total time: 2 hours

Ingredients

1 lb | ground turkey

2 cups | basmati rice

3 | medium carrots, julienne or cut into matchsticks

1 | large shallot, diced

2 tbsp | extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp | ground cumin

1 tsp | paprika

1/2 tsp | ground coriander

1/2 tsp | asafetida

1 1/2 | fresh bay leaves (or 3 dried)

2 1/2 tsp | salt and more to taste

3 1/2 cups| boiling water

Directions

1. Soak basmati rice in cold water, covering it about 2 inches over the top of the rice, for 1 hour. After the hour, rinse and set aside.
2. In a large dutch oven over medium heat add 2 tbsp of olive oil. When olive oil is hot add the turkey and cook until it’s brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
3. Now, add in onion cook for another 5 minutes, until onion is translucent. After onion is cooked add in carrots, paprika, cumin, coriander, asafetida, and 1 tsp of salt. Cook for 5 minutes until carrots are tender.
4. Once carrots are tender add bay leaves on top, then evenly spread the rice over the meat and carrot mixture. Sprinkle the rice with 1 1/2 tsp of salt and add 3 1/2 cups of boiling water slowly to the pan. DON’T STIR! Once the water is boiling (if it isn’t already) turn the heat down to a simmer, and cover.
5. Rice will need to cook for about 40 minutes, halfway through check on the rice and make holes in the top with a spoon to allow steam to vent. If the bottom of the dutch oven no longer has any water, you may need to add more. After 40 minutes the liquid should be gone and rice should be soft.
6. To serve, remove bay leaves and add additional salt to taste. You can serve it traditionally, by scraping off the rice off the top and serving the turkey over top of that, or you can also just mix it all together.