For some unfathomable reason, the Facebook algorithm keeps showing me dumb videos of Asian street food prepared in enormous vats. Recently it bombarded my feed with a one ton batch of plov, which is apparently the Uzbek version of pilaf. They started with a truly stupendous wok, a few gallons of oil, and what looked like half a cow’s worth of beef crudely hacked into large hunks, along with a similarly prepared lamb. Chopped onions were then added, before being covered in yellow and orange carrots, then smothered with a layer of rice and topped with a mound of chickpeas. A fairly simple dish overall, but a different spin on what I heretofore considered as pilaf. I was intrigued enough to look for a more reasonable scale recipe, and went from there. There are of course numerous versions, and as with most regional dishes, different cooks have their own take on things, ranging from the type of meat to use, to the garnishes, spices, and level of sweetness. The purest forms get most of the flavour from lamb fat, but since I was using lean turkey (it’s what I had on hand), I substituted broth for water and added some additional spices.

Ingredients

• 1-2 TB oil
• 1 lb ground turkey (or cubed stew beef or lamb)^1,2
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼” x 2” spears
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 cup white rice
• 4 cups broth³
• 1 can (16 oz) chickpeas
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, whole or minced
• 2 TB zereshk (dried barberries) [or dried cranberries]
• 2 TB raisins
• 4 red chilies (optional)
• ½ – 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ – 1 tsp ground coriander
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or other heavy pot with a lid
2. Add the meat and stir to coat in the oil, break up into chunks if necessary, season lightly with salt
3. Add the onions and coat in the oil, season lightly with salt
4. Add the carrots in a layer on top of the meat & onions.
5. Add the brown rice and then the white in layers on top of the carrots, and loosely mound the chickpeas in the center.
6. Pour in 3 cups of the broth, along with the spices and top with the dried fruit.
7. Bring to a simmer, taste broth and adjust seasonings as necessary, cover and reduce heat to very low.
8. Check rice after about an hour, add reserved broth if it’s not done and starting to dry out, or cook uncovered for a few minutes if too soupy.
9. When rice is done, remove whole spices, mix well, and serve.

Notes

1. If using tougher cuts of meat, step #2 should include browning well on all sides, and then cooking in 1 cup of broth to soften before adding the other ingredients. Since I used quick cooking lean ground turkey, I only let it cook for about a minute before adding the onions and then another minute before the other ingredients.
2. If using bone-in meat, it should be removed from the pot after cooking and cut into bite-sized pieces before mixing with the rice and serving.
3. The broth is optional, but adds a lot of extra flavour, especially if using poultry. I used homemade broth made primarily with leftover bones from a turkey, roast chicken, and ham, cooked overnight in the slow cooker with carrot, celery, onion, peppercorns, garlic, and a bay leaf. But a 1 quart box of beef broth would work fine too. I prefer to use the low sodium version and then add back salt to taste, but if using regular salted broth, cut back on adding salt in the other steps until you can taste how salty it will be together once the broth is added.