I come from a family of enthusiastic and capable cooks, and plov was my father’s signature dish. As the child of Soviet refugees, I grew up eating many beloved dishes from Ukraine. Plov was a special-occasion meal; my father would painstakingly prepare lamb or beef, allowing it to simmer until tender before combining it with rice in a single pot. Piled onto a platter, he garnished the dish with a shower of freshly chopped cilantro — his own signature aromatic touch.
Plov is an Uzbek rice pilaf that originated in the Bukharian Jewish community. When Mizrahi Jews migrated to Central Asia during the Persian Empire, they formed a culture with their own culinary customs as well as a distinctive Persian dialect, “Bukhori.” Plov is a play on the rice pilafs of Persia, and the Bukharian dish was eventually popularized in the Russian Empire by Alexander the Great.
Plov remains a popular dish across the former Soviet Union, where there are many forms and iterations depending on the region and cook. Traditionally it’s made with lamb, carrots and onions but you’ll frequently find versions with beef or chicken, often studded with dried fruit. Like my father, I love to make plov with tender cubes of beef or lamb for special occasions. During the High Holidays, I add turmeric for a sunny hue, pops of apricot and currant for added celebratory sweetness, and an enlivening handful of chopped herbs. I finish the plov off with ample jewel-like pomegranate seeds for their tartness and joyful crimson color.
While plov involves a few steps to prepare and some time in the oven, the dish satisfyingly comes together in a single pot to form a complete meal. What emerges is aromatic golden rice with tender pieces of subtly spiced meat, along with sweet and tart bites of veggies and fruit. The play of colors and textures is a regal addition to any table, or in this case, a welcome start to a royal new year ahead.
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Notes:
- Plov can be made ahead of time and frozen (without garnishes). Allow the plov to fully cool, then place in freezer bags or in an airtight container. When you’re ready to serve, transfer to a foil-covered baking dish and reheat at 350°F for 40-45 minutes, or until fully warmed through. The meat will be slightly drier when reheated, but still tender. You can also reheat this in a microwave if desired.
- If you prefer lamb, you can swap it for the beef sirloin in this recipe.
Jeweled Beef Rosh Hashanah Plov
This special-occasion rice pilaf with beef is full of flavor and texture.
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 3 cups basmati or jasmine rice
- 1 ½ lbs (680 g) beef sirloin, cubed into 2–3-inch pieces
- 4 tsp Diamond brand kosher salt, divided (or to taste)
- 3 Tbsp oil (avocado, sunflower or any neutral oil)
- 4 large (1 lb/ 475 g) carrots
- 1 large (350 g) yellow onion
- 1 large head of garlic
- 2–3 bay leaves
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 5 ½ cups boiling water or stock
- ½ cup apricots, diced
- ¼ cup currants or barberries
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds, for garnish
- ⅓ cup chopped mint or cilantro, for garnish
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Rinse the rice well, then place it in a bowl of cold water to soak as you prepare the other ingredients, or for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour. This helps remove excess starch and makes for fluffy rice.
- Cut the beef into 2-3-inch pieces, and salt with 1½ tsp kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Reserve.
- Prepare the vegetables: Peel and cut the carrots into large matchsticks, about ¼-inch thick and 2-3 inches long. Alternatively, you can use the medium holes of a box grater, or the shredder attachment on a food processor and grate the carrot. Bigger pieces of carrot hold their shape and texture, while grated carrot softens and almost melts into the rice once cooked (still delicious!). Dice the onions. Peel the outer layer of the garlic, and rinse off any dirt. Halve the garlic heads crosswise, leaving each half intact.
- On medium-high heat, add the oil to a large Dutch oven or a wide heavy-bottomed deep skillet or pot (at least 12-inches wide, and 3½-4 inches deep). Alternatively, you can brown the beef and vegetables in any large skillet, and then transfer everything to a deep roasting pan or baking dish. Once the oil is hot, brown the beef, about 8-9 minutes or until deeply browned and caramelized on all sides. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan or the beef will steam; cook in batches if needed.
- Lower the heat to medium, and into the same Dutch oven or skillet, add the onions and carrots. Season with 1½ tsp kosher salt and ½ tsp pepper, and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until slightly softened. Any brown bits on the bottom of the pot will get absorbed into the veggies, and will add flavor to the plov.
- Add the coriander, turmeric and cumin to the onions and carrots and sauté for an additional minute until fragrant; this helps bloom the spices. Add the bay leaves to the pot.
- Add the boiling water or stock to the top, and the remaining 1 tsp salt. If using a heavily salted stock, use less salt. Cover the pot with a lid or tightly with foil for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the oven, and stir in the apricots and currants.
- Drain the rice that has been soaking, and then add it to the pot by sprinkling it evenly over the top of the beef mixture. Do the best you can to add the rice in an even layer and fully submerged under the cooking liquid. If there is rice poking above the liquid, gently pat it down into the pot so that it is fully submerged, but do not mix the rice into the beef mixture. If the rice is still not submerged, add an additional ¼ cup boiling water to the pot. Nestle in the garlic halves. Cover and place back into the oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the oven and peek on the rice. The rice should have absorbed all of the visible liquid; to make sure, gently fluff one edge of the pot with a fork. If the rice looks liquidy, return it to the oven for 10-15 more minutes.
- Once your rice is cooked, leave the pot covered and allow it to rest for 15-30 minutes before serving. Fluff the rice with a fork just before serving. There may be delicious browned crispy bits of rice on the edges of the pot.
- Garnish with freshly chopped mint or cilantro, and pomegranate seeds if desired.
Notes
-
Plov can be made ahead of time and frozen (without garnishes). Allow the plov to fully cool, then place in freezer bags or in an airtight container. When you’re ready to serve, transfer to a foil-covered baking dish and reheat at 350°F for 40-45 minutes, or until fully warmed through. The meat will be slightly drier when reheated, but still tender. You can also reheat this in a microwave if desired.
-
If you prefer lamb, you can swap it for the beef sirloin in this recipe.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Jewish
it remember mine chilhood, i was born in KIRGUISTÁN. But my mother prepares in Argentina during important events !!!!