How to Make Rice Pilaf (Uzbek Plov) from Uzbekistan

On my latest trip to Uzbekistan, I learned how to make Uzbek Plov, the comfort food of Central Asia. The dish goes by many names: Rice Pilaf, Palov, Osh... Only simple ingredients - but technique matters a lot! Let's make some Rice Pilaf on the stove from scratch.

The Food Lab (featured "Holy Book" from the video, so much wisdom):

Great Cast Iron Pot (recommended for Plov and much more!!):

A portable gas stove I use for Asian cooking (works wonders):

Uzbek Plov Recipe 🍚

500g beef or lamb
500g short grain rice, well rinsed
1 large onion
2 large carrots
1 large bulb of garlic
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1/2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp whole cumin
1,5 Tbsp salt (or to taste)
black pepper to taste

I used around 700ml water for the Plov.

Follow me!

[bemusedindian]

Love this guy. His enthusiasm is infective.

[EyenBlack]

I lived in uzbekiston for 5 years and visited my parents there again (they added another 3 years) and seeing this makes me all sentimental. When i was a kid i didnt like plov as much, but now. Yam. Sent this video to my family and i guess we gon a try this recipe at some point! Thanks.

[jonathanstover]

Andong, this is really great. I've never heard of plov, but I'm definitely going to give it a try. I watch a lot of cooking videos, but yours are top notch. I can't say that I've ever seen ANYONE talk about Uzbek food, much less give a detailed demonstration. I'll keep watching and telling others about you. Keep up the good work!

[ejaaz]

So Plov for central Asia is basically like what Biryani is for south Asia.

Looks absolutely delicious !

[dpapad]

Reminds me of the plov my grandma would make when I was a Kid. Brings back memories. I still make it form time to time. It's so easy and straightforward

[Yukatata]

Обожаю этот рецепт, несколько раз так готовила, и всегда получалось вкусно, огромное спасибо!

[walterpetrick]

Andong, thanks for this easy and delicious recipe. Tried it several times now, but last weekend i got some organic milk lamb neck (~700g), cut into 2x2cm cubes and this took the Plov to a complete different level. Best meat i ever had! And i ate a lot over the last 56 years ;) Btw, the suggested pot also works perfect.

[syedarefinulbarkati]

Andong, you are a gem. I hope your growth never stops. I feel great pride that I have been with you during the early parts of your journey.

[hambosambo]

Ur warmth and enthusiasm makes it so easy to understand x

[anasokolenko]

Just want to say I made this and it turned out

[josephinekinuthia]

This is another version of pilau rice. Very popular in East Africa. Looks lovely.

[monkeysnake]

So Happy I've found you about a year. Being a Russian and living abroad for most of my life myself it brings utmost joy to my heart to see you sharing all of our great CIS/Soviet recipes on your channel. Perhaps you should share how to make proper Сало or Бастурма as a condiment to strong spirits. That would be awesome!

[.saar.a]

That whistling sound in the background 0:22 really reminds me of the good old water cooker.

I constantly pause the video, prepare to go to the kitchen for turning off the stove, only coming to realize that I'm not using that anymore.

[MichaelCreative]

Right from the beginning I knew this was going to be You make food tutorial short films... so so good. That was brilliantly put together! Nice work, man!

[ourtube]

I picked up some beef back ribs for really cheap and this is the dish that came to mind. I like to use a mix of black wild rice and long grain because that’s the pilaf that I grew up with but I’m definitely going to try a more traditional approach in the future.

[karendavis]

This looks amazing, can't wait to try it!!

[AsVol]

This is pretty much spot on. I grew up with my Ukrainian relatives and dad and he would make plov a looot. It’s so good! Your technique is very good, just like my dad does it. He learned it from his visit to Uzbekistan as well :) The only different is that he adds raisins and spreads garlic cloves around separately, not whole head like you did. But that’s just some minor differences, you did very well!

[ryuuzakilover]

I cook plov all the time and it's one of my fav dishes! Well done ! ❤ merci dadash (thank you bro) from a half tajik American. 🇺🇸🇹🇯

[m.luthfi.alhadi]

Last year i went to tashkent, i tried the minor osh(plov), it was very delicious and tasty, i hope that I can make the osh here in my home. Watching this video make me remember the taste of osh at tashkent

[timurdosmurzayev]

Andong, to be honest, it was a surprise for me to see this recipe on your channel. I was so excited to watch because this is a traditional dish in my country too. That's a good proxy for your overall competitiveness and, no doubds, indeed we can trust you! Brilliant!