Beautiful colors, subtle flavors, highly nutritious, and incredibly satiating. In simple words, this is an exotic cuisine that can be appreciated endlessly, almost every day! The Uzbeki food is not something you leave for special occasions. It can be had every day without ever losing its special touch.
I was first introduced to "Shurpa" years back in the UAE. Back then I was not aware of the incredible line of other delicacies lined up. I was simply blown away by the Shurpa. Only after I came to Ukraine was I really introduced to Uzbeki food completely. And man, are people missing out on this!
The crem de la crem is the Plov. It is the iconic plate of rice and the most popular dish in Uzbeki cuisine. Rice, meat, carrots, raisins, lots of oil, and everything else is additional. One plate of this is a bite straight from heaven.
In Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, there is a popular restaurant that cooks 100s of kilos of Plov every day. There are many documentaries made about that restaurant and it has been in business for quite a few years now. Every day thousands of people gather there for this single plate of race. It seemingly has become a tourist spot, too.
The best part is that the recipe has been untouched for years now. It is the same everywhere you go. From time to time there are people who like to add a few other things to the recipe, but nothing tastes as amazing as the original.
The most attractive part of the Plov is the meat. It is cooked for hours in end. A very precise cooking method is used to achieve this exact cook of the meat. Plov is usually made with Halal beef. There are other variations with chicken and mutton, but the authentic recipe is done with beef.
The meat is super tender. Not overcooked, but still will melt in your mouth. I have done the maths and with the help of super accurate science I have deduced that it takes less than half a bite to disintegrate the meat in the mouth. It is juicy, delicious, and melts as it oozes out all the oil and flavor trapped in it.
This is the man behind the "dream come true". Jamal has been in Ukraine for quite the years. This restaurant is his first ever. He opened it many years back in the biggest bazar of the Eastern Europe, Barabashova. He has since opened multiple branches around the country in some of the best locations. Anybody visiting those branches of his restaurants would not belive that this small shop in the bazar is where the business started and still exists.
I met Jamal in Ramadan a few years back. He had flooded the local Masjid with Uzbeki food. Plov, Shurpa, bread, samsa and salads. It is hard to believe that this guy is a multimillionaire. He is by far the friendliest and most approachable multimillionaire businessman I've ever met.
Till date he prefers sitting in this tiny tin-roofed shop. He is quite popular to the locals but many do not know his story. His behavior is quite the trickster. Every time I walk into the restaurant he greets me with a big smile on his face and he will always be the first one to put forward his hand to shake. All that without ever recalling that we've met before!
I have started to belive that the Uzbeki cuisine is based completely on commonly found local produce, nutrition, and satiety. Every popular Uzbeki dish I've had will have either potatoes, oil, carrots, meat, onions, rice, or all of them in one.
The Shurpa follows the same trend. An incredibly filling soup made with potatoes, carrots, cunks of meat, meat broth, and topped off with onion slices and herbs. It is usually paired with "Leposhka", a thick and fluffy bread made in a deep oven.
 |  |  |
|---|
The soup is unlike any other out there. It is rich and flavorful. The meat flavor flows smoothly along with the slight sweetness from the carrots and boiled full potatoes.
Uzbekis have been historically some of the greatest fighters and warriors. They have a notorious history and till date believe in hard physical labor. The food pays precise attention to the needs of the Uzbeki people. That being said, it is unbelievably delicious and something I would have every day if I could.
From the last time I attempted cooking Plov, I can tell you that it isn't an easy feat. For one, the cooking process is long. The carrots must go 1:1 with the amount of rice in kilos. The meat prep takes almost half a day and then there is the cooking. I am truly a fan of the Uzbeki food, as long as I am not cooking it.
Affiliate links
Exode
Huobi. Earn upto $170 with my link.
Appics
Splinterlands
Actifit
Binance
Ionomy
Cryptex