That is the Tashkent way: the carrots are cooked separately and go into the zirvak already soft. This gives a sweeter flavour and the aroma people associate with a wedding plov.
Tashkent wedding plov is a dish of its own: it is cooked in a large kazan (a heavy cast-iron pot), usually for a wedding, a milestone birthday or anniversary, or another big family celebration. What sets it apart: carrots boiled before they go in, raisins, chickpeas, two kinds of meat at once (beef and lamb) and a bright yellow colour from turmeric. It takes more work than an everyday plov, but it has the festive sweet and savoury character that marks out the Tashkent style.
Method
- 1
Soak the chickpeas overnight. In the morning, cook them separately until half done.
- 2
Rinse the rice and soak it for 40 minutes.
- 3
Boil the carrots in salted water for 5 minutes, then drain.
- 4
Heat the oil in the kazan and render the tail fat down to cracklings.
- 5
Brown the beef well for 8 minutes, then lift it out.
- 6
Fry the lamb for 6 minutes, then lift it out.
- 7
Add the onions and fry for 7 minutes until deep golden.
- 8
Add the boiled carrots, cook for 3 minutes and return the meat.
- 9
Add the turmeric, zira and barberries, then the garlic and chickpeas, and pour in the water.
- 10
Simmer the zirvak over a low heat for 40 minutes. Spread the rice over it and scatter the rinsed raisins on top of the rice.
- 11
Bring to the boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid and turn the heat down; cook for 30 minutes.
- 12
Take off the heat and leave the plov to stand, covered, for 15 minutes. Serve on a wide lagan.
Cook's tips
- Boiling the carrots first is what makes Tashkent plov distinctive, so do not skip this step.
- Cook the chickpeas before you start the zirvak, or they will not have time to soften.
- Put the raisins on the rice, not in the zirvak, or they will break down.
- Tashkent plov benefits from a 15-minute rest, which lets the texture settle.
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FAQ
Tashkent wedding plov: common questions
You can, but the plov will lose its festive character. Chickpeas are essential in a classic Tashkent plov, and so are the two kinds of meat.
800 g rice makes 10–12 servings. This is a plov for a crowd. For a family, scale the quantities down, but use at least 500 g rice, or the dish loses its visual effect.
Zira, barberries and turmeric. Without turmeric the plov will not be yellow, and without zira and barberries you get an everyday plov instead of a wedding one.
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Get the ingredients at Arkan Bazar
You will find rice, spices, dried fruit, nuts, non flatbread and tea for most of these recipes on our counter at Riga Central Market, Nēģu iela 7, open daily from 09:00 to 17:00.