Catalogue
Uzbek products in Riga: the Arkan Bazar catalogue
The catalogue covers Uzbek and Central Asian food: rice for plov, spices, dried fruit, nuts, non flatbread, tea and Eastern sweets, plus Uzbek porcelain and silk. Everything is sold at the Arkan Bazar counter at Riga Central Market (Nēģu iela 7), daily from 09:00 to 17:00. The staff can help you choose what to buy for a home plov and what makes a good gift. Seasonal items are marked separately; the rest is available all year round.
Rice & staples
Laser plov rice
Laser is the classic Uzbek plov rice: a long, glassy grain that keeps its shape through long cooking and soaks up the zirvak. The usual choice for home plov.
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Devzira rice: red rice for plov
Devzira is a red rice from the Fergana Valley for festive and wedding plov: a large, dense grain with a rich aroma that turns amber as it cooks.
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Mash (whole mung beans)
Uzbek mash (mung beans): small green beans for mashkhurda, mastava and plov with mash. They cook quickly and turn soft.
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Prepared foods
Classic samsa set
Beef and onion samsa from our partner bakers, delivered to the counter each morning: flaky pastry and a fragrant meat filling, ready to reheat.
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Uzbek non flatbread
Uzbek non is a round tandoor flatbread with a golden-brown crust and a soft crumb, baked in Riga and delivered to the counter each morning.
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Plov kit
A ready-made kit for home plov: laser rice, zira (cumin), barberries and a step-by-step recipe card with weights and timings, so the meal comes together in a single trip.
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Spices & herbs
Zira (cumin)
Zira, or cumin, is the backbone of Uzbek cooking: whole seeds with a warm, deep aroma, weighed out at the counter. There is no real plov without it.
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Zirk: dried barberries for plov
Zirk are dried barberries: small, bright red and tart. The classic plov seasoning, adding a sweet-sour lift and a flash of colour.
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Kashnich: Uzbek coriander seeds
Kashnich is what Uzbek cooks call coriander seed. Whole seeds add a soft, lemony sweetness to plov, shurpa and marinades; toast and crush them just before cooking.
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Turmeric (zerchub)
Ground turmeric, zerchub in Uzbek, has a warm, earthy aroma and its characteristic yellow-orange colour. It goes into plov, shurpa and marinades.
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Dried fruit & nuts
Dried apricots
Dried apricots from Surkhandarya and Sughd: large, fleshy and sweet, with no sulphites and no sugar. Sold loose at the counter, and the seller will let you taste them first.
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Uzbek raisins
Uzbek raisins from Khorezm: large, naturally dried grapes in several varieties, from pale gold to deep purple.
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Kyrgyz walnuts
Walnuts from Arslanbob, the largest walnut grove in Central Asia. Large kernels with a sweet note and no bitterness in the skin.
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Uzbek almonds
Uzbek almonds from the Samarkand and Bukhara regions, with a thin skin and a sweet, dense kernel. Good with tea and in baking.
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Uzbek pistachios
Uzbek pistachios from Surkhandarya and the Bukhara region: green kernels in shells that split open naturally, with a rich, creamy taste.
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Sweets
Natural Uzbek honey
Natural honey from Uzbek beekeepers: mountain honey from the Chatkal foothills, plus wildflower and cotton honey in season, all unheated and unblended.
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Drinks
Uzbek black tea
A full-bodied, large-leaf black tea with a light note of bergamot, brewed strong and drunk with lemon, navat or dried fruit.
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Green tea (kok-chai)
Uzbek green tea, light and refreshing. People drink it in hot weather, with plov and over a long conversation, and it brews gently to a pale green.
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Crafts
Rishtan ceramic plate
A plate from Rishtan in the Fergana Valley, hand-painted with cobalt-blue ishkor glaze, with a pattern you recognise at a glance.
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Rishtan tea set
A tea set from Rishtan: a choynak (teapot) and piyolas (tea bowls), hand-painted in cobalt blue. For the Uzbek tea ritual, or as a gift.
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Suzani: square wall panel
Suzani is Uzbek hand embroidery on a cotton ground, traditionally from Bukhara, Samarkand and Shakhrisabz. This square panel can hang on a wall or cover a table.
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Ikat silk scarf
Uzbek ikat means dyeing the threads before weaving, which gives a softly blurred pattern. This silk scarf from Margilan is light and warm, with a shimmering design.
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