Plov – a mixture of rice, vegetables, meat and spices – is popular throughout the Silk Road countries, but is most closely associated with Uzbekistan. Widely eaten at least once a week, it is the national dish of the country and is considered an indispensable part of family celebrations, served at births, weddings and funerals and to honor Muslims returning from Hajj.
According to legend, plov was invented for Alexander the Great, who ordered the creation of a satisfying meal to support his army during his campaigns in Central Asia. “We don’t have historical documents to prove it, but what we do know is that in the 9th and 10th centuries, plov had become very popular here,” said Nilufar Nuriddinova, an Uzbek tour guide who is passionate about the history of food. “Rice has been a staple crop in this region for over 1,000 years. Cultivating it requires intense physical labor, as does harvesting and raising livestock. So plov would have been an ideal dish, high in calories and in nutrients. the largely agricultural society.
Plov is now considered such an essential part of the country’s culinary traditions that it was recently included on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. “It’s more than just a meal,” Nuriddinova said. “It creates social bonds and encourages friendship; it brings our nation together.”
She told me that even this word was an important part of the Uzbek language. “It shows up in many everyday expressions such as, ‘If you know you only have one day left on Earth, spend it eating plov,'” she said. “It means that afterwards you can die happy. In Uzbekistan, life without plov is unthinkable.”