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✨ Newdinner
Plov
Uzbekistan's legendary rice pilaf — lamb, carrots, onions and spiced broth cooked together in a kazan to create Central Asia's most beloved dish.
⏱ 115 min🔥 680 kcalMedium
★4.9(654)
6 recipes using rice — Plov, samsa, lagman — hearty Silk Road cooking from the heart of Central Asia.
These 6 uzbek rice recipes are ready in about 114 minutes on average, with 340–780 kcal per serving, and 17% are rated easy enough for a weeknight. Every recipe includes exact ingredient quantities, step-by-step instructions and full nutrition per serving.
Uzbek cuisine — Plov, samsa, lagman — hearty Silk Road cooking from the heart of Central Asia — brings its own distinctive techniques and seasonings to every ingredient it touches. When Uzbek cooks work with rice, they reach for its own regional aromatics, fats and signature spice blends, and the techniques that come up most across these recipes are simmering, steaming, boiling and caramelising.
The everyday grain for half the planet — a neutral base that soaks up the flavours around it, from pilafs to fried rice. In this collection it's most often cooked with ground coriander, lamb shoulder, carrots, large onions, cumin seeds and turmeric. The dishes here span uzbek classics ready in as little as 80 minutes to slower, more involved cooking that rewards a relaxed afternoon.
Reader favourite: Samarkand Plov is the highest-rated dish in this collection at 4.9★ from 1,450 ratings.
Uzbekistan's legendary rice pilaf — lamb, carrots, onions and spiced broth cooked together in a kazan to create Central Asia's most beloved dish.
The ancient rice dish from Samarkand — lamb and rice cooked in a kazan with the characteristic dry, separate grains of Uzbek plov, fragrant with cumin and topped with whole garlic and quince.
Uzbek rice soup with tender lamb, tomatoes, and chickpeas — a lighter, brothier cousin of plov.
Central Asia's greatest rice dish — lamb, carrot and onion cooked together in a large cast-iron kazan, then topped with rice and steamed in the meat juices. The national dish of Uzbekistan, eaten for every celebration.
Uzbekistan's national rice dish — lamb, carrots, and rice slow-cooked in a single kazan until each grain glistens with golden fat.
Uzbekistan's national dish — lamb, carrots, cumin and rice cooked in a single deep cauldron until every grain glistens with spiced fat and the meat falls apart.
Choose by use: long-grain (basmati, jasmine) for fluffy, separate grains; short-grain for risotto and sushi where stickiness is wanted. Aged basmati cooks longer and fluffier.
Rinse until the water runs clear to wash off surface starch and prevent clumping. The absorption method — a fixed water ratio, lid on, then a 10-minute steam off the heat — gives reliable results.
A gluten-free carbohydrate staple; brown and wild varieties keep the bran for extra fibre, B vitamins and minerals.
Most of these 6 Uzbek rice recipes are ready in around 114 minutes from start to finish. The quickest, Uzbek Mastava (Rice and Lamb Soup), takes about 80 minutes, while the slower-cooked dishes run up to 130 minutes.
Across this collection they range from about 340 to 780 kcal per serving, averaging 648 kcal — Uzbek Mastava (Rice and Lamb Soup) is the lightest option at 340 kcal.
Uzbek Mastava (Rice and Lamb Soup) is a great place to start — it's rated easy and comes together in about 80 minutes. 17% of the recipes here are beginner-friendly.
In these recipes, rice is most often paired with ground coriander, lamb shoulder, carrots, large onions, cumin seeds and turmeric. Uzbek kitchens also lean on its own regional aromatics, fats and signature spice blends.