Uzbek food is to Russians what Mexican food is to Americans: a spicy, inexpensive, and delicious alternative to other meat and potato options. And they're not just similar in function, but in spices as well, as cumin, onion, garlic, cilantro, and red pepper play a key role in both. I guess that could be attributed to the fact that both Mexico and Uzbekistan are mostly dry, hot places, with an ancient culinary tradition. Whatever the reason, Uzbek food is fucking awesome, matched only by the former Soviet state of Georgia...but that's another story.
I fell absolultely in love with plov on my 2010 journey to Russia, when a colleague of my friend Nina prepared a batch. I ate myself stupid, so stupid that I ended up hoarding packs of plov spice mix so that I could prepare the same dish back home. Not surprisingly, my version didn't turn out as well as I had hoped--it didn't have the chewy grains of rice, the tender morsels of pork, nor the right amount of salt. Here, I'm going to tell you how to do it the right way.
First off, there are two things that are paramount to a successful plov: a GAS STOVE and a big ass pot with a thick bottom. Those capitals are no mistake: I am shouting at you, because if you cook plov on an electric stove, you probably won't get the same result unless you are an absolute wizard with those bastardly dials.
Due to Islamic dietary laws, plov is usually prepared with mutton or lamb, and though this will give you a truely Uzbek taste, I prefer pork, because it browns nicely and its the most noble of all meat. You can use venison, though, or beef. But don't puss out and use chicken; the flavour of chicken is too weak to fight with the strong flavours and garlic and cumin. (If you can, however, fiddle with the spices, you can come up with your own chicken version. I just don't recommend it.)
So, here's what you'll need:
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