Few dishes carry the cultural weight and everyday joy of Uzbek Margilan Plov. More than just a meal, it’s a symbol of hospitality, abundance, and tradition, served at weddings, family gatherings, holidays, and everyday dinner tables, as well. Each region, indeed each town and cultural group, of Uzbekistan brings its own flair to the dish, but all versions celebrate the same essential harmony of rice, meat, carrots, and spices.
What’s a Margilan Plov?
As Aziz Murtazaev of Crafts Studio ikatUz explains:
“I am sharing a recipe for one of the most beloved and popular dishes of Uzbek cuisine: plov or pilaf. This marvelous dish is popular among both old and young, men and women, locals and tourists, office workers and students. Uzbeks have many proverbs in honor of pilaf:
Eat pilaf even if just the last pennies of the day are left. Eat pilaf even if just the last day of life is left.
Although the ingredients are simple and consistent, the dish is prepared differently in each region of Uzbekistan. This recipe comes from Margilan, the silk center of Central Asia.”
Rooted in community and heritage, this Margilan plov is both everyday sustenance and festive indulgence—a dish that continues to unite generations at the table.
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Margilan Plov
Description
Margilan plov is a classic Uzbek rice dish layered with lamb, onions, carrots, garlic, and spices, then gently steamed to rich, fragrant perfection.
Ingredients
- ½ cup oil
- 700 g mutton or lamb
- 0.2 kg onion
- 1 kg yellow carrots
- 1 tbsp salt, divided
- 1.5 liters water, divided
- Bunch of garlic
- Dried red or green pepper
- Rice
- Zira (cumin)
Instructions
- Place the oil in a large dutch oven with a lid. Heat over medium flame.
- Cut the meat into pieces about 2 inches by 2 inches in size.
- Peel and slice the onion. Peel yellow carrots and cut into strips.
- As soon as the oil is hot, add the meat. Sautee for 5-10 minutes.
- Add onion, sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon of salt and stir until translucent.
- Add carrots and sprinkle another 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Cook for 5 minutes and stir.
- Add 1 liter of water along with garlic and dried red pepper. Wait for the mixture to boil again.
- Meanwhile, rinse the rice with warm tap water. Let drain. Set aside.
- Once mixture boils, remove meat and vegetables from the pot. Set aside.
- Add rice to pot. Follow cooking instructions on the container.
- About halfway through the cooking time, turn off the heat. Cover the surface of the rice with meat and vegetables. Sprinkle with cumin. Place a plate over the mixture, leaving about an inch of space between the edge of the plate and the wall of the pot.
- Cover the pot and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Make a fresh salad while you wait. The most suitable salad for pilaf is shakarob, which means “sweet water” in Persian. It is a simple mélange of sliced onions and tomatoes sprinkled with salt.
- Serve the pilaf in an artisanal ceramic lyagan (serving plate) and set your table with a handmade Uzbek dastarkhān (tablecloth).
Learn more about IFAM here!
Recipe shared by Aziz Murtazaev, Crafts Studio ikatUz
Food Styling by Veda Sankaran
Photography by Dave Bryce
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