Recipes
Uzbek and Central Asian recipes
These are classic Uzbek recipes written for home and professional kitchens. Each one keeps the rhythm and stages of traditional cooking: a proper zirvak, resting under the lid, the right water temperature for green tea, a chopped rather than minced samsa filling. Quantities are metric and every step comes with a timing. The ingredients that are easiest to find at Arkan Bazar are listed at the start of each recipe. The counter at Riga Central Market (Rīgas Centrāltirgus), Nēģu iela 7, is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00.
Plov · Medium
Classic Uzbek plov
The core Uzbek plov technique: a zirvak of meat, onion and carrot, an even layer of rice on top and a rest under the lid. It works the same way in a home kitchen and in a large one.
100 min6 servingsView recipePlov · Medium
Samarkand plov
Samarkand plov, a wedding classic, keeps its layers apart: the rice is served as a separate white mound, topped with the yellow-orange zirvak.
120 min6 servingsView recipePlov · Medium
Fergana plov with lamb
The everyday plov of the Fergana Valley: lamb, onion and carrots make the zirvak base, laser rice steams on top, and everything is stirred together to serve.
105 min6 servingsView recipePlov · Advanced
Tashkent wedding plov
Tashkent wedding plov is a festive dish for a crowd, cooked in a large kazan with pre-boiled carrots, raisins, chickpeas, and beef and lamb together.
160 min12 servingsView recipePlov · Medium
Bahor green plov
Bahor is a light, fragrant spring plov made with plenty of fresh greens: coriander leaves, dill, spring onions and spinach.
110 min6 servingsView recipe
Soups · Medium
Lagman: hand-pulled noodle soup
Lagman is a thick Uzbek soup of homemade hand-pulled noodles with meat and vegetables, a classic everyday lunch in the Fergana Valley.
100 min4 servingsView recipeSoups · Easy
Lamb shurpa
Shurpa is a clear Uzbek soup of lamb, vegetables and herbs. It simmers slowly for a long time, so the broth stays light, and everything goes in as large whole pieces.
110 min6 servingsView recipeSoups · Easy
Mastava: Uzbek rice soup with meat
Rice, meat, tomato and vegetables cooked together in one pot until thick and filling. A homely Uzbek lunch, at its best on cold days.
90 min4 servingsView recipeSoups · Easy
Mashkhurda: Uzbek mung bean soup
Mung beans, rice and lamb simmered until almost porridge-thick, with cumin and coriander. A warming Uzbek winter soup to eat with hot non bread.
105 min4 servingsView recipe
Pastries · Medium
Beef samsa
Classic meat samsa: layered dough and knife-chopped beef with plenty of onion, baked in an oven or a tandoor until the crust is deep golden.
100 min8 servingsView recipePastries · Medium
Pumpkin samsa: Uzbek flaky pastry
Seasonal samsa with a sweet-and-savoury filling of pumpkin and onion in flaky dough, the autumn cousin of the classic meat samsa. Serve hot, with tea.
95 min8 servingsView recipeMains · Advanced
Steamed manty
Uzbek manty: large steamed dumplings filled with chopped meat and plenty of onion, cooked in a tiered manty steamer (kaskan).
125 min6 servingsView recipeMains · Medium
Chuchvara: Uzbek dumplings in broth
Small beef-and-onion dumplings simmered in a tomato broth with carrots and cumin: soup and main course in one bowl, a weekday staple in Uzbek homes.
85 min4 servingsView recipeMains · Medium
Beshbarmak
Beshbarmak is a Kazakh and Uzbek dish of boiled lamb or horse meat with wide noodles and an onion broth. It is served on one large platter and eaten by hand.
150 min8 servingsView recipeMains · Easy
Marinated shashlik
Uzbek shashlik: lamb in an onion marinade with zira, cooked over charcoal on a classic Uzbek mangal grill. The meat stays juicy under a well-browned crust.
80 min6 servingsView recipeBreads · Medium
Uzbek non bread in a home oven
A yeast flatbread with a golden rim and a stamped, flat centre. At home, a pizza stone or cast-iron pan and a tray of steam stand in for the tandoor.
135 min4 servingsView recipeBreads · Medium
Patir: Uzbek layered festive bread
A festive flatbread of layered milk dough with tail fat or butter: dense, with a glossy, crisp crust. Baked for weddings and big family celebrations.
132 min4 servingsView recipe
Sweets · Medium
Chak-chak (honey dessert)
Golden balls of fried dough bound together with hot honey: an Uzbek and Tatar dessert served with tea at big celebrations.
65 min8 servingsView recipeSweets · Easy
Navat for tea: make it at home
Navat grows as crystals on a string in a supersaturated sugar syrup over 7–10 days. A home method, and how Uzbeks serve it with kok-chai.
7 to 10 days4 servingsView recipe
Salads · Easy
Achichuk: Uzbek tomato salad for plov
Thinly sliced tomatoes, onion half-rings and fresh herbs: the crisp salad that cuts through rich plov and grilled meat. Ready in a quarter of an hour.
15 min4 servingsView recipe
Drinks · Easy
Kok-chai: how to brew Uzbek green tea
Uzbek green tea as a ritual of hospitality: a warmed teapot and bowls, small pours for every guest, dried fruit, nuts and navat on the table.
15 min4 servingsView recipe