I thought I’d leave Uzbekistan with the words I most feared hearing being “can I see your passports”. Yet as the police presence proved to be more part of the architecture rather than an annoyance I learned to detest a new phrase, “sorry, plov finish”.
The national dish of Uzbekistan is ubiquitous across this double land-locked nation. The traditional ingredients lining up alongside rice are mutton and carrot. It is flavoured with onion and some of various spices sold by the handful in the colourful marketplaces. Yet this hearty meal, as we have noted first hand, can be found right across the Central Asian region and through to the Middle East where it becomes pilaf. (read below for Plov Recipe)
