Eastern Europe & Caucasus

Plov Recipe: Uzbekistan's National Lamb Pilaf

Name: Plov Recipe: Uzbekistan's National Lamb Pilaf
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Uzbek
Ingredients: 500g (3 cm cubes) Lamb (shoulder or leg); 2 (thinly sliced) Onions; 3 (cut into strips the thickness of matchsticks) Carrots; 2 whole heads (unpeeled) Garlic; 120ml Neutral oil; 3 cups (450g) Long-grain rice (basmati or devzira); As needed Water; 1 tbsp Cumin seeds; 1 tsp Ground turmeric; 1 tsp Coriander seeds; 1 tbsp Salt; 1 tsp Black peppercorns; 1 tbsp Barberries (dried); 100g Chickpeas (cooked)

An authentic recipe for Uzbek plov (osh): rice layered over a zirvak base of meat, onion, and carrot and steamed. How to use a cast-iron pot, cut the carrots, keep the rice from sticking, and serve the garlic whole.

Published: October 25, 2026Total: 2 hrLevel: Intermediate

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 6

Heat the oil

Step 1 of plov: heat 120 ml oil in a heavy pot (a kazan or cast-iron pot) over high heat until it smokes — Heat 120 ml oil in a heavy pot (a kazan or cast-iron pot) over high heat until it smokes

Put 120 ml oil in a heavy pot and heat over high heat for 3 minutes. The guide is a rippling surface, about 180°C on a thermometer, with a faint wisp of smoke. With too little oil the rice turns dry, so do not cut the amount too far.

STEP 22 / 6

Brown the lamb

Making zirvak: lamb and carrots being fried in oil in the pot — Making the zirvak. Cut the carrots thick so they keep their shape to the end

Add the lamb and sear over high heat for 3–4 minutes until browned on all sides. Leave it untouched for the first minute and turn it only once a deep brown crust has formed. Searing the surface keeps the savor from running out during the simmer and keeps the corners of the meat intact. Take the meat out when done.

STEP 33 / 6

Cook the onions

In the same pot cook the onions over medium heat for 10–12 minutes, then add the cumin and coriander seeds. The guide is onions that turn translucent and light brown, with a toasty color on the bottom of the pot. If they are about to scorch, lower to medium-low.

STEP 44 / 6

Simmer the zirvak

Step 4 of plov: return the meat, add the carrots, fry for 3 minutes, add salt, pepper, and turmeric, cover with water, and simmer 30 minutes over medium heat — Return the meat, add the carrots and fry 3 minutes, add the salt, pepper, and turmeric, cover with water, and simmer 30 minutes over medium heat

Return the meat to the pot, add the carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the salt, black pepper, and turmeric, pour in water to just cover, and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes. Cook the carrots until soft but still holding their shape; when the broth is golden, the base that will soak into the rice is done.

STEP 55 / 6

Sink the garlic

Step 5 of plov: add chickpeas if using, and sink 2 heads of garlic unpeeled — Add the chickpeas if using and sink 2 unpeeled heads of garlic

After about 1 minute, add the chickpeas if using, and sink the 2 heads of garlic, unpeeled, into the broth. Putting the garlic in whole is the Uzbek way. If it floats on top it dries out, so press it down until more than half is under the liquid.

STEP 66 / 6

Cook the rice

Cooked plov rice with lamb and carrots — Ideal plov rice. Every grain is coated with oil and falls apart loosely

Drain the soaked rice and spread it gently and flat over the zirvak. Do not stir. Level the rice to an even layer 3–4 cm thick, pour in water to 1–2 cm above the surface of the rice, and scatter on the barberries if using. Without a lid, cook over high heat for 8–10 minutes until the surface bubbles and no water is visible on the rice. Poke several holes with chopsticks, close the lid tightly, and steam over low heat for 25–30 minutes. It is done when white steam rises straight from the holes, the grains are plump with no core when crushed with a finger, and no sound of water is heard at the bottom of the pot.

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Ingredients

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Zirvak (the meat and vegetable base)

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Lamb (shoulder or leg)	500g (3 cm cubes)	Beef (shank or short rib) also works. Choose a cut with some fat
Onions	2 (thinly sliced)	—
Carrots	3 (cut into strips the thickness of matchsticks)	Cut them thick (see below)
Garlic	2 whole heads (unpeeled)	—
Neutral oil	120ml	Cottonseed oil is traditional. Any vegetable oil works

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Rice

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Long-grain rice (basmati or devzira)	3 cups (450g)	Rinse and soak for 30 minutes
Water	As needed	Enough to cover the rice

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Spices

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Cumin seeds	1 tbsp	The core spice of plov
Ground turmeric	1 tsp	For color
Coriander seeds	1 tsp	Lightly crushed
Salt	1 tbsp	Adjust to taste
Black peppercorns	1 tsp	—
Barberries (dried)	1 tbsp	Optional. A sweet-sour accent
Chickpeas (cooked)	100g	Often added in the Tashkent style

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"Weddings and Funerals Both Begin with Plov": A Soul Food

In Uzbekistan this dish is present at every milestone of life. On the eve of a wedding, the groom's family cooks plov for a crowd in a huge kazan, a cast-iron pot. Plov marks the birth of a child, and it welcomes a friend home.

Plov (Plov / Osh / Палов) is Uzbekistan's national dish and Central Asia's great pilaf, inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2016.

The basic structure is simple. Meat, onion, and carrot are fried in oil to make a base called zirvak, and rice is layered over it and cooked together. Yet within that simplicity lies a great deal of accumulated know-how. The temperature of the oil, the way the carrots are cut, when the rice goes in, how long it steams: get any one wrong and the rice turns sticky, the meat tough, and the whole thing fails to come together.

What is plov?

The same family of dishes spreads across the world: Iran's chelow-polow, Turkey's pilav, India's biryani, and West Africa's jollof rice. In 2016 plov was inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list as "Palov culture and tradition."

Uzbek plov: golden rice with lamb and carrots arranged on a platter — The finished plov. Ideally every golden grain of rice stands separate

Ingredients (serves 6)

Where to find lamb

Lamb (or mutton) is the mainstream in Uzbekistan, but beef works very well too. If you want lamb, try a butcher, a halal market, or a large warehouse store. Bone-in lamb gives a noticeably better broth.

Instructions

Make the zirvak (the base)

Eighty percent of the flavor of plov is decided by the zirvak. It is the rich base made by frying meat, onion, and carrot in oil and simmering them.

How to cut the carrots

In Uzbek plov, carrots are cut not into fine julienne but into strips about the thickness of matchsticks: roughly 5 mm wide and 5 cm long. Julienne breaks down in the simmer, the carrots lose their presence, and both the look and texture of the plov are spoiled. Chopping them fine, like the filling of pierogi (in Japanese), is strictly forbidden.

Add the rice and cook

The defining feature of plov is cooking rice "layered" over the zirvak. Do not mix the rice and zirvak.

Serving: turning the plov over

Plov is served in a distinctive way. A large platter is placed over the pot and the whole pot is turned over. The zirvak (meat and carrots) that was on the bottom ends up on top, and the rice underneath. At home, though, it is common to spoon the rice onto a large platter first and put the meat and carrots on top.

Take the garlic out whole and set it at the side of the plate; each person squeezes out the inside to mix into the rice. The steamed garlic turns soft and paste-like, a concentration of sweetness and savor.

Finished plov on a patterned platter with golden rice and lamb, a head of garlic crowning the top — The finished plov. A whole head of garlic crowning the top is the Uzbek way

How plov is eaten

In Uzbekistan the traditional way is to eat plov by hand, but in modern cities spoons and forks are common. It is set on a large platter in the middle of the table and each person helps themselves with a spoon. Like dal bhat and qurutob (in Japanese), the culture of eating together around a large platter is basic to Central Asian meals. Usual accompaniments are a fresh tomato-and-onion salad (shakarap) and green tea (kok choy).

History: A Pilaf Born at the Crossroads of the Silk Road

Plov belongs to a wide family of rice dishes that spread across Persia and Central Asia along the Silk Road. Along the way it became a dish of festivals and gatherings, and in 2016 UNESCO inscribed "Palov culture and tradition" on its intangible cultural heritage list.

Registan Square in Samarkand: splendid Islamic architecture with blue tile decoration — Samarkand, a key stop on the Silk Road

Cooking Tips: Five Techniques for Perfect Plov

Spices for plov in small brass dishes: cumin seeds, barberries, and others — Spices for plov. Cumin is the star, and turmeric gives the color

1. A lot of oil is correct

The amount of oil in plov is surprisingly large, but do not reduce it. The oil coats each grain of rice and gives the loose texture. With too little oil the rice sticks together and ends up like a sticky risotto.

2. Never stir the rice

The iron rule of plov is not to mix the zirvak and rice. Cook the rice "layered" over the zirvak and combine them only just before serving. Mixing breaks the rice, releases starch, and makes it sticky. It is the opposite approach to a dish that fries the rice like nasi goreng (in Japanese).

3. Garlic unpeeled and whole

You may want to peel and chop the garlic, but in plov the tradition is to sink it whole in its skin. The skin wraps the garlic, so after steaming it does not become a paste but keeps a fluffy texture. When you peel it at the table and mix the inside into the rice, a sweet, mellow garlic flavor spreads.

4. Do not lift the lid

Once the rice is layered and covered, do not lift the lid for 25–30 minutes. If the steam escapes the rice does not cook evenly, leaving a plov that is hard on top and sticky below. Thirty minutes of patience is the secret to good plov.

5. Three stages of heat

The heat for plov has three stages. The first stage, searing in oil, is high heat. Simmering the zirvak is medium heat. Steaming after layering the rice is low heat. This staged heat is the key to meat that is tender, carrots that keep some bite, and rice that stays loose.

Variations

Regional variations of plov exist in Uzbekistan, differing in ingredients and method from place to place. Just as khachapuri changes shape from region to region in Georgia, plov has taken its own path in different parts of the country. Recipes for Uzbek cities differ in the ratio of carrots, in extras such as chickpeas, and in the cut of meat; use the base here and adjust to your own taste.

Frequently Asked Questions

For first-time plov makers

Plov is a "bold cooked-rice dish." The amount of oil and the way of cutting the carrots may surprise you at first, but if you follow the steps faithfully it is a dish that is hard to fail. Next to the delicate dumpling skins of manti, plov is far more relaxed to try.

Q1. Can I make it without lamb?

Yes. With beef (short rib or shank) the richness of the fat differs, but it makes a perfectly good plov. You can also use chicken thighs (chicken plov exists in Uzbekistan too). Avoid lean cuts such as tenderloin or breast.

Q2. Can I make it in a rice cooker?

I do not recommend it, but it is not impossible. Make only the zirvak in a pan, move it to the rice cooker pot, add rice and water on top, and cook, and you get a similar result. But since you cannot adjust the heat, the loose grains are inferior to the pot version.

Q3. Is short-grain rice all right?

You can make it with short-grain rice, but the result differs from Central Asian plov. Short-grain rice is sticky, so it is hard to get loose plov. If possible use basmati rice. Jasmine rice is also a substitute.

Allergy information

If you have allergies, check the ingredient labels of the seasonings you use. The chickpeas are optional.