In Uzbekistan, plov is omnipresent. Derived from the Farsi word “polow,” which means “rice cooked in oil,” you smell it long before you see it; the aroma of cumin warming in oil, the sweetness of onions and the soft melt of carrots.
Cooked in a heavy cast iron pot called kazan, plov sizzles over a flame as rice, spices, succulent chunks of meat and vegetables come together. Non, the local bread, is torn and passed hand to hand. Our guide in Tashkent, Khikmatilla Juraev, from Orient Star Group- one of the largest tour companies in the country, who is fluent in six languages, explains how plov, the signature dish of Uzbekistan, is consumed across the country.
As we travel across broad avenues of Tashkent, the capital city, to the tiled domes of Samarkand, and the narrow lanes of old town Bukhara, we see locals feasting on this one pot dish both as daily sustenance, and on special occasions. It is served in weddings and funerals, holiday feasts and ordinary days. It is also supposed to be an aphrodisiac and therefore eaten on the family day which is Thursday!
Khikmatilla explains that every Uzbek table has plov atleast once a week if not more. Plov is usually served for lunch and even in restaurants by about 3 pm it is all sold out.
“Plov has ingredients that withstand harsh climates and long journeys and is always cooked in quantities meant to be shared,” he adds. He tells us of an Uzbek saying: “If you have plov, you have company.” Even in modest homes, the act of preparing plov suggests that someone will arrive and that no one should eat alone.
Plov had its origins in Persia and was introduced by Persian merchants on the Silk Road. Legend has it that Alexander the Great commissioned the first batch of plov, as an easy-to-make nutritious dish for his soldiers, and ate the dish after conquering Samarkand. Many consider Central Asian scholar Abu Ali Ibn Sina, a doctor and philosopher from Bukhara, the father of plov as he wrote down the recipe in the 10th century. Since Uzbekistan was a major stop on the Silk Road, rice travelled westward from Asia, spices moved along trade routes, and nomadic herders contributed their mastery of cooking over open flame. The result was a nourishing, economical dish perfect for nomadic life, and cooked in one great pot.
The dish is so much a part of Uzbek identity that in 2016, its cultural importance was formally recognized when UNESCO added “Plov culture and traditions” to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,
Cooking plov begins with the zirvak, the flavour base. Chunks of lamb or beef tied together in bundles are dropped into hot sheep fat or vegetable oil along with cumin, and then browned. The meat is usually mutton, but it is sometimes replaced with kazi (horse meat sausage), sheep tail fat, chicken, or quail. Onions follow with carrots sliced thinly and cooked till they turn soft. Cumin is crushed between fingers and scattered in. Some people add their own blend of spices. Sometimes chickpeas are added to the pot; sometimes barberries lend a tart brightness, or sometimes a whole head of garlic is tucked in.
The best variety of rice for plov is devzira, a local variety grown in the Fergana Valley. The rice is rinsed until the water runs clear, then carefully layered over the bubbling mixture below. Water is added, heat is adjusted, and cooked with a lid until the rice absorbs the savoury juices, each grain swelling but remaining distinct.
Every city and region has its own version of plov. In Tashkent, the capital’s version is often topped with slices of yellow carrot and tender chunks of beef. In Samarkand, plov is sometimes layered rather than mixed, the rice remaining pale and separate from the darker meat beneath. In the fertile Fergana Valley, it may be richer, glistening with more oil and much spicier. In Bukhara, chickpeas frequently make an appearance, adding a soft earthiness to each bite and often all the ingredients are cooked separately and then layered into a pot.
If you are lucky enough to attend an Uzbek wedding, you will witness plov at its grandest. Gayrat, our guide in Bukhara, explains that it is men who usually gather to cook traditionally, large-scale plov, while women prepare salads and bread nearby. It takes sacks of rice, whole crates of carrots and mountains of meat. At dawn, enormous kazans are set over roaring fires. By mid-morning, hundreds of guests sit shoulder to shoulder, and plates are filled in swift, practiced motions.
But plov is also eaten in quieter moments at a family lunch beneath a grapevine trellis, a roadside café where truck drivers sit elbow to elbow, and in a shaded courtyard where neighbours drop in unannounced and are immediately offered tea and rice.
In Tashkent, a visit to Besh Qozon (Central Asian Plov Centre) is mandatory where 7-10 tons of plov is cooked everyday. Here we see cooks stir giant kazans, some wide enough to resemble small swimming pools, which are looked after by teams of cooks who produce thousands of portions daily.
Visitors peer over railings to take photos of the rice being shoveled and turned with paddles the size of oars. They make two varieties of plov- the brown wedding plov with raisins and the white chaykhana plov. Watching the master cooks called oshpaz, is a great experience as they don’t use any measuring cups or recipes. They cook by instinct, and the rice is never stirred once it begins to steam, until its completely ready.
An efficient assembly line of waiters and others layer plates with plov, placing quails eggs and dolma before serving it. In the restaurant strangers share long tables where plates are heaped high and green tea is served. A simple tomato and onion salad often accompanies the plov. Rounds of non, Uzbekistan’s crusty bread, are torn and used to scoop up grains. At the Terrassa Restaurant in the Silk Road town of Khiva near the desert, we even found a vegetarian version served with apricots on top and served with a salad and yoghurt.
For travellers, plov is the perfect sensory souvenir that they carry memories of long after they leave Uzbekistan. You may find yourself recalling the colour of the carrots against white rice, the metallic ring of a ladle against iron, the way cumin lingered on your fingertips. One bite can carry you back to a tiled courtyard or a sunlit bazaar.
In a world of fast meals and solitary dining, Uzbekistan’s beloved rice dish offers a gentle contrast. It carries the history of the Silk Road and a culture that measures wealth not in extravagance, but in how many people can be fed from a single pot.
Fact file
Getting there: Uzbekistan airways offers direct flights with; great service from Mumbai and Delhi. You can take high speed trains between cities.
Stay: Farovon offers luxurious properties in Tashkent and Khiva. Hilton at Silk Road Samarkand is a luxurious wellness hotel. Wyndham Bukhara has a great location and comfortable doubles.
Eat: Besides plov, try local samsas stuffed with meat or potatoes, manti dumplings, varieties of local breads at the markets.
Top Tip: Tie up with a local tour operator like Orient Star group so that your logistics is handled seamlessly along with an English speaking guide.
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