Ok, so lately I have become obsessed with lamb – after the day that I’ve made lamb gyros for dinner. Since that day, I have been wanting to make other dishes using lamb. I bough New Zealand Lamb from Whole Foods, but you can certainly buy local lamb or whatever is available at your local market. So yesterday, I decided to make Uzbek plov before going to a soccer game with the hubby. The recipe is not that much different from the traditional plov that I make, aside from the meat and spices. Now, I know what you are thinking…”my recipe is different”, or “that’s not how my grandmother used to make it”, and I get it, there are as many variations of this dish as there are cooks on this planet. Everyone makes a recipe the way they like it (also depends on the origin), and that’s ok. If we all cooked food the same way, there would be no variety, how boring would that be? So this recipe contains ingredients that I like (my favorite spice in the whole wide world — Coriander!!!!), and this is how I made Uzbek plov. Now, if you are not a fan of lamb, you can see my Uzbek Plov with Chicken recipe here.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of Lamb shoulder, cut into one inch pieces
• Olive oil, a few tablespoons
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 2 Carrots, chopped or grated
• 5 cloves of Garlic, whole
• 3 cups Long Grain Rice
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 2 TB spoons ground Cumin
• 2 TB spoons ground Coriander
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Hot Boiling Water

Directions

Rinse the rice in cold water, set aside.

In a large dutch oven, add olive oil (a few tablespoons), onions and carrots and fry until golden brown. Add lamb pieces, fry until golden brown. Add the cumin, coriander, and salt and pepper. Add enough hot water to cover the meat completely, add the whole garlic cloves, and cook on low heat for 1 hour, until the meat is tender. Add rice, ensure that there is an inch of liquid above the rice and cook until all the water is absorbed. Do not stir the rice. If the rice is still not done after the liquid is absorbed, poke holes with a wooden spoon and carefully add hot water, not to disturb the rest of the ingredients. Check for seasoning, add more salt or pepper if desired. Serve hot.