Azerbaijan: Lamb Plov

Name: Azerbaijan: Lamb Plov
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Azerbaijan
Ingredients: butter: 3 Tbsp; lamb shoulder: 1 1/2 pound; yellow onion: 1 large; dried prunes: 1/2 cup; dried apricots: 1/2 cup; golden raisins: 1/3 cup; honey: 1 Tbsp; salt and pepper: to taste; white long grain rice: 2 cups; Kosher Salt: scant 1/2 tsp; white flour: 2/3 cup; eggs: 2; clarified butter (ghee): 2/3 cup (5 oz); saffron: large pinch; cumin: 1 tsp

Cuisine:

Azerbaijan

Ingredients

For the Lamb
3 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 pound lamb shoulder
boneless, diced
1 large yellow onion
sliced
1/2 cup dried prunes
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/3 cup golden raisins
1 Tbsp honey
to taste salt and pepper
For the Rice
2 cups white long grain rice
scant 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
2/3 cup white flour
2 eggs
lightly beaten
2/3 cup (5 oz) clarified butter (ghee)
melted
large pinch saffron
1 tsp cumin

Directions

According to my cookbook, this fruit and lamb plov is a happy occasion dish, often served at Azerbaikani weddings. It’s definitely a luxury dish, with tender boneless lamb and rice flavored with saffron. The photo in my book immediately caught my eye, and it only seemed appropriate to serve a special occasion dish in celebration of my good friend Holly’s big 3-0!

I was so tickled that Holly & Jason managed to track down Azerbaijani wine! They are the best!

It’s sort of cool to see how this dish is prepared. The gazmakh, or crispy rice shell, is a batter of egg, flour and partially cooked rice fried in clarified butter (ghee). The rest of the rice is then steamed on top of it, doused in more butter that has been infused with saffron and cumin. While I usually am a big proponent of subbing similar ingredients I have rather than buying news ones, I decided to look up the differences between standard butter and clarified butter and found that one of them was the smoke point: clarified butter has a higher one. This prevents the gazmakh from burning while the rice steams.

One thing I didn’t realize until researching this dish a bit more is that plov is synonymous with pilaf! There are over 40 common varieties in Azerbaijan, defined largely by the type of gara (fried meat) and other accompaniments. It’s so beloved in the country that it graces a postage stamp!

Anyways, this is a fancy dish that I highly recommend for special occasions. It presents itself beautifully and is so delicious that four of us nearly polished off the entire platter! I will definitely be making this again, likely testing out other varieties.

Recipe Source: Mamushka (cookbook)

Steps

1 Done	For the Meat Trim excess fat from the lamb and cut into medium size chunks. Heat the butter in a large dutch oven and brown it lightly all over. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally until caramelized. Stir in dried fruit, salt and pepper. Add ~1/2 cup water and simmer covered on the lowest possible heat for 30 minutes; if the water cooks off for the fruit is tender, add a bit more.
2 Done	For the Rice Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add rice and season with salt. Give the rice a good stir and parboil for 5 minute; it should still be al dente. Drain the rice and spread it over a baking sheet to cool a bit and top from cooking further.
3 Done	For the Gazmakh (crispy rice shell) Mix flour, a scant (a little less than) 1/2 tsp salt and beaten eggs together in a bowl; add 2/3 cup of the parboiled rice and mix everything well. It should look like a thick batter.
4 Done	To Assemble the Plov Wash the rice pan and add 2 Tbsp clarified butter, making sure it covers the entire base of your pot. It is important to use clarified butter, as it has a higher smoke point so your plov won't burn. Once the butter is hot, use a oiled spatula to spread the gazmakh batter across the entire base of the pan; the larger the pan, the thinner the crust. Cook for about 1 minute.
5 Done	Meanwhile, stir saffron and cumin into the remaining 1/2 cup melted clarified butter. Spoon the remaining parboiled rice over the gazmakh and pour the spiced butter over it. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and wrap a damp tea towel around the edges allowing no steam to escape. Cook the rice for 30 minutes at the lowest heat possible.
6 Done	To serve Flip the rice onto a large platter. Break the gazmakh into pieces and arrange on top of the rice. Arrange the lamb and fruit mixture around the edges.