Fergana Pilaf with Lamb

Prepare all ingredients in advance — you won't have time to chop them during cooking.

Separate the meat from the bones and cut into small pieces. Leave the bones aside. Cut the fat into cubes. Slice the onion into thin half-rings.

Peel the carrots by cutting off the skin (do not scrape), then cut them into thin julienne strips. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and mix well — this will help release the juice.

Peel the garlic: remove the roots and top skin, exposing the cloves.

Sort through the rice, removing any pebbles. Rinse it in cold water several times until the water becomes clear. Pour warm water over it and let it sit.

Heat a cast iron cauldron. Pour in oil and heat it until a light smoke appears. Add a small onion — it should brown in a few seconds. Remove the onion.

Add the fat tail and render it until golden. Place on a plate and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Put the bones in hot oil, salt them, sprinkle with a pinch of cumin and fry well. The meat on the bones should acquire a bright brown color.

Add the onion and fry, stirring constantly, until golden. Then add the meat and fry gently for 10 minutes — the meat should not burn.

Add the carrots. Carefully mix with the meat and onions, being careful not to break the carrots. Fry, stirring constantly, until the carrots become soft. This mixture is called zirvak.

Pour cold water (approximately 1–1.2 liters). Increase the heat. When the zirvak comes to a boil, add garlic and red pepper. Reduce the heat so that the mixture simmers gently.

After 30 minutes of boiling, taste the zirvak and add more salt so that it is slightly over-salted. Remove the garlic and pepper to a separate plate.

Increase the heat. Drain the water from the rice and carefully place it into the zirvak using a slotted spoon. Level out the rice. Do not mix the rice with the zirvak.

As the liquid is absorbed, gradually reduce the heat. When the water is completely absorbed, sprinkle the remaining cumin on the rice. Rub it in your palms to release the aroma.

Carefully gather the rice from the edges toward the center, without touching the vegetables, shaping it into a convex mound. Wait a couple of minutes and check if the rice is cooked from the middle — it should be firm but not hard. If necessary, add another cup of water.

Make a small hole in the rice and place garlic and pepper inside. Cover them with rice, reshaping it into a mound. Tightly close the kazan with a lid, placing a towel underneath it to prevent any gaps.

Keep the pot over minimum heat for another 10 minutes, then turn off the heat. Do not remove the pot — the rice should finish cooking with the heat off. Leave it for 10–15 minutes.

Open the cauldron. Remove the pepper, garlic and bones. Mix the rice well with the vegetables and meat. Place the pilaf on a large round dish. Garnish the top with bones, garlic and pepper.

Salad for Pilaf

15 minutes before serving, slice the tomatoes into thin slices and cut the onion into thin rings. Rinse the onion in cold water. Mix the tomatoes and onion, salt to taste, pepper with ground red pepper, add a pinch of cumin and stir.