Russian Ploff Recipes

RUSSIAN LAMB PILAF (PLOV) RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the raisins and prunes into a small bowl and pour over enough water to cover. Add lemon juice and let soak for at least 1 hour. Drain. Roughly chop the prunes.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large pan, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes. Add cubed lamb, ground lamb, and crushed garlic cloves. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until browned.
• Pour 2/3 cup (150 milliliters) of stock into the pan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, or until the lamb is tender.
• Add the remaining stock and bring to a boil. Add rinsed long-grain white rice and a large pinch of saffron. Stir, then cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
• Add the drained raisins, drained chopped prunes, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat through for a few minutes, then turn out onto a warmed serving dish and garnish with sprigs of flat-leaf parsley. Source: " Polish & Russian: 70 Traditional Step-by-Step Dishes from Eastern Europe " from the "Cooking Around the World" series by Lesley Chamberlain & Catherine Atkinson (Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006).

UZBEK PLOV (LAMB AND RICE PILAF)

Steps:

• Place basmati rice in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside. Wash heads of garlic. Set aside.
• Heat vegetable oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over high heat until smoking, then add lamb, turning occasionally until the lamb is evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the onions; cook and stir until the onion has softened and browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the carrots; cook and stir until the carrots have softened, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cumin, coriander, barberries, and peppercorns. Drop whole garlic heads into the mixture, stirring to evenly distribute ingredients. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
• Wash and drain basmati rice with hot water. Pour cleaned rice over the lamb mixture in an even layer. Slowly pour in the boiling water. The rice should be covered with about 3/4 inch of water. Do not stir. Season with salt, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir rice and lamb together, and serve with the garlic heads on top.

PLOFF / PLOV

Steps:

• In a cast iron pot, or dutch oven (any heavy pot that's moderately sized, not large), heat oil and sautee the onion until translucent.
• Add meat with bones, and sear on all sides.
• Add little bit of water, and braise. Don't let it dry out, add more water as you need to continue braising (if you don't have time and prefer stewing, it's OK, but you can't let the meat drown in water and at the same time you can't let it dry out. Be gentle.)
• Add the paprika and garlic. Braise it for total of 45min, or until meat is soft.
• Some cuts will require longer braising times (no shortcuts, meat has to be tender, and a little bit of brown sauce needs to develop).
• Stir and stir, don't let anything stick, just add some more water to make sure you're getting a sauce. Remember, we're working with very little oil here.
• Add the cumin seeds (preferable toasted and crushed).
• Now that the meat is soft, add your parsley, carrots, salt, 1 cup of rice, and 2 cups of water. Mix well, and cover.
• Let cook for about 30-40min on low heat, until all water is absorbed.
• Enjoy!
• Note: True Uzbekistanian ploff also contains dried apricots and dried cherries.

RUSSIAN PLOFF

Steps:

• steam meat (anykind) until almost done, throw in onions and carrots, steam until tender, pour in rice on the meat and pour water over it so that it covers the rice and meat about 1 to 2 cm.
• bring to boil and turn on low temperature, let cook for about 30 minutes.