Elite life
Turkmenistan (Turkmenistanian Recipes)
Plov
Ingredients:
1 lb carrots, at least 1 lb
1 head Garlic
4 medium Yellow or white onions
1/2 pounds Marbled beef, not lean
Rice, not Minute Rice
Salt
Vegetable oil
Cooking Instructions:
Chop the onions, fairly
small but not minced. Cut the carrots into slivers, about 3 inches long
and only 1/8 of an inch wide. If you have some type of slicer, go for
it! The important thing is that there are no big chunks of carrots, just
thin slices. Cut the beef into 1-2 inch cubes. Now for the fun part. Put
on an old shirt or an apron. Find a big, heavy pan or pot. An 8 quart
cast iron or hard anodized dutch oven works well. Turkmen use a heavy
pot called a cazan. Now you must heat the oil in the pot. The amount of
oil you use will depend on the size of the pan you use. The oil should
be about 1 centimeter, or 1/2 of an inch deep. It will seem excessive,
but go ahead and pour it in. Drop a little piece of onion into the cool
oil and turn the burner to medium. When the onion turns black, remove it
with a fork. Now your oil is hot enough to cook with.
Add the meat and the whole garlic cloves. Turkmen people often throw
in the whole garlic head, skins and all. You can do that, or peel the
cloves. If you don't cook much with garlic, don't worry about it being
too spicy - garlic sweetens as you cook it. Cook the meat and garlic
until the meat starts to turn a nice roasted-looking brown. Add the
onions to the meat and oil. Cook, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots
to the mixture and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Add a
couple teaspoons of salt, or you can add the salt later to taste.
At this point, Turkmen would add rice and water into the pot with the
meat. Cook as much rice as you think will fit into the rest of the pot.
According to the directions on the package of rice. Just use your best
judgement as to the amount. When the rice has finished cooking, add it
to the meat, onions and carrots mixture in the big pot. Mix it well and
serve it hot.
Ingredients:
1 lb. lamb
1/4 c oil
2 onions, sliced
2 tomatoes, cubed
2 c pumpkin, cubed
1 tsp paprika
4 c boiling water
Cooking Instructions:
In a skillet, fry the lamb in the oil until brown on surface. Add thevegetables, salt by taste, reduce heat and simmer for 30 min. In a largepan, boil the water and add the fried mix. Add paprika and simmer until thelamb is soft. If you are not concern about carbs, serve with flat bread.
Ingredients:
2 lb. lamb chops
4 onions, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
5 clove garlic, minced
2 c spinach, chopped
2 T parsley, finely chopped
1/4 tsp saffron
1/2 tsp dry mint
1 T paprika
5 c boiling water
Cooking Instructions:
In a large pot, boil the water. Add the lamb and simmer for 1.5 hours. Add the onions and tomatoes, boil 20 min. more. Add spinach and boil 10 more min. Salt by taste, add paprika and saffron, and remove from heat. Add garlic mix well, cover with a thick cloth, and let stand for 15 min.
