Fergana Pilaf

Ingredients

Lamb 1500 g

Rice 3 cups

Onions 2

Carrots 3

Lard

Vegetable oil

Cumin

Turmeric

Paprika

Salt

Red chili pepper

Rinse the rice thoroughly and soak it in water for several hours. Place the cauldron over high heat, cut the lard into cubes, and place it in the cauldron. Rinse the fat from the lard for several minutes, stirring the cracklings occasionally to prevent them from burning. Then remove the cracklings, and add approximately the same amount of vegetable oil to the resulting fat.

After a short wait, until the fat mixture reaches a high temperature, add the coarsely chopped onion. Frying the onion to the desired consistency should take just a minute or so.

 

Next, place the bones in the cauldron and lightly fry them for a few minutes. Afterward, remove them and add the chopped meat. Fry the meat until golden brown. Again, this takes just a few minutes.



Once the meat has acquired the desired crust, add the julienned carrots. Mix them with the meat and fry for a few minutes. During this time, the carrots release a lot of juice, and the frying process gradually transforms into a stew over high heat.



Sprinkle the carrots, meat, and onions with cumin. Add a little turmeric and some dried paprika. Mix everything together, return the bones, and add the whole heads of garlic and hot pepper pods.



Now add water to the cauldron. Add enough to cover everything you added earlier. The resulting mixture is called zirvak. By the way, add salt at this time.

Cover the cauldron with a lid and let it simmer for an hour. Remove the lid, and it's time to make the rice. Before adding the rice, remove the garlic and hot pepper from the cauldron and set them aside on a separate plate. We'll need them later.

Add the rice. Our goal is to wait until there's not a drop of water left in the pilaf. To do this, you can periodically poke holes in the bottom of the cauldron during simmering, allowing the water to evaporate. Don't cover the pilaf until the water has evaporated. Once it's clear that the water has evaporated, add a little more cumin. Add the garlic and hot pepper, cover the pilaf, and let it simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes.

 

Finally, before serving, there's one last little step: smoothing out the pilaf. To do this, use a spatula to lift small portions of the pilaf and shake them over the cauldron. This will ensure the dish is fluffy and vibrant.

Enjoy!