Uzbek Osh Plov

Ingredients

• 700 g lamb shoulder, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 600 g long-grain rice, ideally devzira or basmati
• 600 g carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 3 onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 150 ml sunflower oil or rendered lamb fat
• 1 whole head of garlic, papery outer skin rubbed off
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp barberries or 60 g raisins
• 1 dried red chilli
• 2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 900 ml boiling water
• 1 tsp black pepper

Before you cook

• Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs clear, then cover it with warm salted water and leave it to soak while you cook the zirvak.
• Cut the carrots into matchsticks about 5 mm thick, by hand rather than grating them, so they hold their shape.
• Cut the lamb into 4 cm chunks and pat them dry.
• Slice the onions thinly and rub the loose papery skin off the garlic head, leaving it whole.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a kazan or a wide, heavy casserole over high heat until it is shimmering and almost smoking.
2. Add the sliced onions and fry them for 8 minutes, stirring, until they are deep brown at the edges.
3. Add the lamb chunks and fry them for 8 minutes, turning, until they are browned all over and the onions have darkened further.
4. Tip in the carrot matchsticks and stir gently, folding rather than mashing, for 2 minutes.
5. Leave the carrots undisturbed for 6 minutes, then fold them again and cook for another 4 minutes, until they have softened and lost their raw edge.
6. Crush the cumin seeds between your palms over the pot, then add the coriander, the dried chilli, the black pepper and 2 teaspoons of salt.
7. Pour in enough boiling water to just cover the meat and carrots, about 400 ml.
8. Bring the pot to a simmer, then cook uncovered at a steady bubble for 30 minutes, until the liquid is dark amber and tastes strongly seasoned.
9. Taste the zirvak and add more salt than seems right, because the unseasoned rice will absorb it.
10. Scatter the barberries over the surface and press the whole garlic head down into the centre.
11. Drain the soaked rice and spread it in an even layer over the zirvak, without stirring the two together.
12. Pour the remaining boiling water gently over the back of a spoon onto the rice, until it sits about 1.5 cm above the grains.
13. Turn the heat to high and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, until the water has dropped to the level of the rice.
14. Gather the rice into a dome in the middle of the pot with a spoon, then poke five or six deep holes down through it to the bottom so the steam can rise.
15. Turn the heat to its lowest setting, cover the pot with a tight lid, and steam for 25 minutes without lifting the lid.
16. Take the pot off the heat and leave it to stand, still covered, for 10 minutes.
17. Lift out the garlic head and set it aside.
18. Fold the rice down through the lamb and carrots with a wide spoon and pile it onto a large platter.
19. Sit the garlic head on top for people to squeeze out and share.