Tuy Palovi and Anor va Piyozli Gazak #CookingAroundtheWorldAdventure

Well, we are definitely crawling through the last of our Cooking Around the World Adventure. But, we're moving ahead and cooking from Uzbekistan today! That will wrap up the 'u' countries and leave us with just over half a dozen countries. I will finish this before R goes to college. I will finish this before R goes to college. I will finish this before R goes to college.

Actually, I am going to try and wrap up this lingering project before he finishes 10th grade! How about that?!

from worldatlas.com

Fun Facts About Uzbekistan

There are only two 'doubly landlocked' countries in the world. A 'doubly landlocked' country refers to a country that is landlocked by other landlocked countries. Uzbekistan is one; the other one is Liechtenstein.

With all the talk of  proper and improper gender interactions in the news, we found this interesting. In Uzbekistan, handshakes are only acceptable between men. Decorum dictates that you greet an Uzbek woman by bowing to her with your right hand placed over your heart.

Two interesting dining conventions: first, the most respected guest should be seated farthest from the house’s entrance and, second, they believe that turning bread upside down at the table will bring you bad luck.

And, according to an ancient tradition, when a family member departs on a journey, he or she must take a bite from a small piece of Uzbek bread. The remaining bread is kept buried or hidden until the traveler returns safely.

Tuy Palovi

This is similar to plov and is often served at celebrations. Traditionally made with chickpeas, we swapped in cannellini beans because D sometimes gets a tummy ache from chickpeas. Also, the dish usually has raisins, but I forgot to pick those up at the store. And though I loved the look of the whole heads of garlic in the dish, no one braved them except for me!

Ingredients

• 2 T oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 pound beef, cubed (you can also use lamb, but the boys voted for beef)
• 2 C carrots, chopped
• 2 C onions, chopped
• 2 C cooked cannellini beans
• water
• 2 garlic heads, tops sliced off
• 2 C long-grain rice
• 1 T salt
• 1 T ground coriander 
• 2 T ground turmeric
• 1 t ground cumin

Procedure

Place beef in a large mixing bowl and rub with spices. Let stand for at least 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a large skillet and add meat. Cook until browned, stirring frequently. Add the onions and carrots. Continue cooking until the carrots are fork tender.

Tuck the garlic heads in between the beef, carrots, and onions. Stir in the rice and beans. Pour in enough water to cover the rice by 1". Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover.

Let cook for 20 to 25 minutes. To serve, uncover and stir the ingredients together.

Anor va Piyozli Gazak

Pomegranate and Onions Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pomegranate or 1 C pomegranate arils
• 1 onion, peeled (I used a red onion because that's what I had)
• salt to taste
• olive oil to garnish

Procedure

Thinly slice onions - I used a mandolin slicer - and place in a medium mixing bowl. Cover onions with hot water and let stand for 5 minutes. Drain and repeat. This will soften the piquancy of the onions.

Place the onions on a serving platter and cover with pomegranate arils. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately.