Ploff Plov Recipes

BEEF PLOV (BEEF RICE PILAF) RECIPE

Steps:

• Trim beef of excess fat and sinews (aka the chewy stuff), pat the meat dry with a paper towel and chop into 1/2" to 3/4" pieces.
• Preheat your dutch oven (or your large soup pot with a heavy bottom), to high heat. Once it's hot, stir in your 1/3 cup canola oil. Once oil is hot, add chopped meat and saute uncovered 7 min over high heat until meat is browned, stirring every minute or so so it doesn't scorch to the bottom of the pan. Note: it's important to preheat the dutch oven first for the meat to sear over very high heat, otherwise it will juice out and become dry.
• Reduce heat to medium and Add chopped onion, stirring often until onion is softened (5 minutes). Stir in sliced carrots, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 3-4 bay leaves and continue to cook over medium heat 5 minutes until carrots are softened.
• Add 1 3/4 cups hot water, cover and simmer over medium/low heat 45 min or until meat is tender.
• Meanwhile, rinse rice until water runs clear, then drain and set aside (this gets rid of the starch so you won't end up with a sticky rice).
• Spread rice over the meat and add 4 cups hot water. Sprinkle the rice with 1 1/2 tsp salt (DO NOT STIR), bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and Let cook uncovered until most of the water is absorbed (10 min).
• Cut off the base of your whole garlic head to expose the cloves. Put your head of garlic, cut side down into the center of the rice and sprinkle the top of the rice with 1 tsp ground coriander.
• Poke 7-10 holes through the rice to allow steam to escape to the surface, reduce the heat to low then cover and cook an additional 15 minutes or until rice is cooked through. Remove the garlic head and bay leaves and stir everything gently to combine and you're done.

UZBEK PLOV (LAMB AND RICE PILAF)

Steps:

• Place basmati rice in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside. Wash heads of garlic. Set aside.
• Heat vegetable oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over high heat until smoking, then add lamb, turning occasionally until the lamb is evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the onions; cook and stir until the onion has softened and browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the carrots; cook and stir until the carrots have softened, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cumin, coriander, barberries, and peppercorns. Drop whole garlic heads into the mixture, stirring to evenly distribute ingredients. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
• Wash and drain basmati rice with hot water. Pour cleaned rice over the lamb mixture in an even layer. Slowly pour in the boiling water. The rice should be covered with about 3/4 inch of water. Do not stir. Season with salt, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir rice and lamb together, and serve with the garlic heads on top.

PLOFF / PLOV

Steps:

• In a cast iron pot, or dutch oven (any heavy pot that's moderately sized, not large), heat oil and sautee the onion until translucent.
• Add meat with bones, and sear on all sides.
• Add little bit of water, and braise. Don't let it dry out, add more water as you need to continue braising (if you don't have time and prefer stewing, it's OK, but you can't let the meat drown in water and at the same time you can't let it dry out. Be gentle.)
• Add the paprika and garlic. Braise it for total of 45min, or until meat is soft.
• Some cuts will require longer braising times (no shortcuts, meat has to be tender, and a little bit of brown sauce needs to develop).
• Stir and stir, don't let anything stick, just add some more water to make sure you're getting a sauce. Remember, we're working with very little oil here.
• Add the cumin seeds (preferable toasted and crushed).
• Now that the meat is soft, add your parsley, carrots, salt, 1 cup of rice, and 2 cups of water. Mix well, and cover.
• Let cook for about 30-40min on low heat, until all water is absorbed.
• Enjoy!
• Note: True Uzbekistanian ploff also contains dried apricots and dried cherries.

PLOV

Steps:

• Cut beef to cubes approximately 1 inch.
• Fry with 1/4 cup vegetable oil (about 15-20 minutes).
• Separately grate carrots and fry it slightly 10-12 minute.
• Cut onions and fry.
• Put meat, onions and carrot in layers in the pot.
• Add 1/4 cup vegetable oil, let it boil.
• Add 1 cup of water, let it boil approximately 20 minute.
• Rinse rice with cold water and make layer above previous layer.
• Add salt and enough additional water to just cover rice, let it boil.
• Cover with lid and put in the oven for about 50-55 minutes at 350°F.

PLOV (AZERBAIJAN)

Steps:

• Rinse the rice several times in cold water to remove excess starch.
• Place a few threads of saffron in a cup and add boiling water; cover and leave to infuse.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add rice, reduce heat, but cook rice at a rapid boil until the rice is tender on the outside, but still not done on the inside, 5 to 10 minutes (do not overcook or your plov will be sticky).
• Strain the rice in a colander.
• There are 3 methods you can use to form the crust or qazmaq. The first way is to mix together an egg with 4 tablespoons of the parboiled rice, and 1 or 2 tablespoons of yogurt. Add some of the infused saffron water. The second way is to mix together a glass (8 oz) of flour, a little butter, and a little water to make a sort of dough (you can also add an egg if you want an eggy flavor). This will then be kneaded and rolled out thinly. The third way is to use some potatoes that have been peeled and sliced crosswise.
• Rinse and dry the pan you cooked the rice in; melt a heaping tablespoon of butter, then spread whichever qazmaq you chose on the bottom of the pot and fry a little for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Next spoon half the parboiled rice on top, then pour over half of the saffron infusion.
• Spoon in remaining rice and pour over most of the remaining saffron infusion; top that with a few tablespoons of butter.
• Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke a few holes through the rice to allow steam to escape.
• Cover pot opening with a clean tea towel and cover with a well-fitting lid; increase heat under pot until rice is steaming, then reduce heat and let steam for 35 to 40 minutes (it can go longer if needed).
• Spoon rice onto a serving platter and top with remaining saffron infusion and a few more tablespoons of butter.

RUSSIAN PLOFF

Steps:

• steam meat (anykind) until almost done, throw in onions and carrots, steam until tender, pour in rice on the meat and pour water over it so that it covers the rice and meat about 1 to 2 cm.
• bring to boil and turn on low temperature, let cook for about 30 minutes.