Kyrgyz Plov Recipe

Kyrgyz chicken plov

Pilaf, plov, pulao, pilahvi, pelau, paella...different names for a rice based dish common in many countries. The Kyrgyz version called plov has meat and carrots while dried fruits and nuts are added in some other Central Asian countries like Tajikistan. Carrots are not commonly used to make plov other than in Central Asia. The Pakistani pulau has meat and lot of spices, the Spanish paella includes seafood while the Italian pilota has meat incorporated into a rice risotto. 

Plov is a surprisingly tasty dish made with just a few core ingredients. The Central Asian plov is probably almost always cooked with unlean (fatty!) chunks of meat and bones. Generally red meat is used but chicken plov is quite nice as well. Today I used (boneless!) sausage. Using sausage is uncommon, I used it because that’s what I had in the freezer.

Few points to note when making plov:

1. If you plan to use boneless meat keep the bones and add it together with meat when cooking

2. Garlic is cooked in stock, not sautéed. If you really want to sauté the garlic make sure it does not turn brown or burn, you will taste this later. I already made this mistake!
3. If you want to add spices, use pepper and cumin. Mixed herbs also works well.
4. Don’t be shy with the carrots. This is a carrot and meat dish after all, they both play a lead role.

 

I got asked a question regarding type of rice to use. I use parboiled rice. I think wholegrain/brown rice will work well also. For authentic Kyrgyz plov the variety of rice used is probably difficult to find in Europe. The rice is colored brick red, when you wash it the water turns red and streaks of red remain on the rice, even after cooking. The rice is thicker than long grain. Its thickness is comparable to calrose/arborio but longer and not as starchy. The rice remains firm even after cooking.

The recipe below is for one generous portion. A ‘standard’ recipe uses 1 part meat, 1 part carrots and two parts rice, by weight. 

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Ingredients

One portion meat (100-150 grams) cut into 2cm cubes, or bigger

1 large carrot, cut into strips (about 2 cm long and 2-3mm wide)

½ medium sized onion, diced

1 large clove garlic, diced

50ml rice, thoroughly washed

75 ml water

2 tablespoons oil

Directions

1.  Heat oil over medium flame

2.  Add meat, carrots, onion and salt. Cook until the meat has browned, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking

3.  Add water and garlic, cover and gently simmer for 10-15 minutes

4.  Reduce heat to medium low, add rice and cook covered until rice is done, about 25-30 minutes

5.  Serve. If you want to be authentic serve a large 'mountain' of plov scattered with chunks of meaty bones and a whole bulb of steamed garlic sitting on top

Spinach in Blue Cheese Sauce with Fusilli

Spinach in Blue Cheese Sauce with Fusilli

This is a simple dish that can be ready in about 10-15 minutes. It is packed with flavour and nutrition.

For the blue cheese sauce I used equal amounts of blue cheese and crème fraiche. The cheese I used was soft ripened. It had an intense flavour, hence only a small amount was needed.

Instead of crème fraiche you can use buttermilk, yogurt, cream or milk.

There is no need to blitz the sauce since the cheese will melt when you add to the warm spinach.

The recipe does not have amounts. I estimated the amounts when cooking. The only thing to be careful of is the amount of sauce. If you add too much you will have to add more spinach to balance it, and this will be tricky. Use less sauce to start with and add more if necessary. 

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Ingredients

Spinach

Onion, diced

Meat such as bacon or smoked sausage (optional)

Garlic, minced or finely chopped

Blue cheese

Crème fraiche

Paprika

Salt

Oil

Directions

1.       If using meat, fry it in oil over medium heat until caramelised

2.      Add onions and cook until translucent

3.      Add garlic and cook for a minute or two before it starts to brown

4.      Add spinach and seasoning

5.      Cook until the spinach is done

6.      Add blue cheese sauce and let it warm through

7.      To prepare blue cheese sauce, mix blue cheese and crème fraiche.

Savoury Polenta Recipe

Savoury Polenta with Pickled Herring and Carrots

This is a nice alternative to regular creamed cheesy polenta. Onion, garlic and mustard seeds add a nice savoury touch. Just a few additional ingredients, procedures and minutes completely transforms the polenta. I like both the creamed version as well as the savoury version but it is good to have choices to suit different moods and diets! The amount of water to use depends on your preference. If you use less water the polenta will be firmer.

Ingredients

50 ml fine polenta

150ml-250 ml water

½ medium onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

2 tablespoons oil

Salt

Cooked beans, meat or vegetables (optional)

Chili powder or paprika (optional)

Directions

1.      Heat oil over medium heat

2.      Add mustard seeds and when they start pop add onion and salt

3.      Sauté onion until it starts to turn brown, then add garlic and sauté for few minutes more. Don’t let the garlic burn

4.      Add water and polenta and stir vigorously to avoid lumps being formed

5.      Cook until polenta is ready, about 10 minutes. Keep stirring the whole time