Uzbek cuisine is like mathematics, it is endless for learning and it doesn’t fit into any books. Mastava is one of Uzbek dishes which is not often mentioned. But it deserves some attention. Shal we cook it right now?
There are only three main ingredients we surely need: rice, onions, carrots. A couple of spoons with vegetable oil is necessary too.
Lamb ribs are perfect for the dish. Put them into the pot and wait till they give some fat. If you do not have lamb ribs you can use beef instead. Cut it into pieces and fry till they become golden. By the way, you won’t need much meat. If you want much meat, better make barbecue!
Do not fry the ribs too much, let them remain light.
Some onions and a bit of garlic are to be fried too. Add some water.
More! More! want more food making stuff!
I mast-ave-a taste
hahaha, funny comment, D
I’ve done this, but with Mule Deer. Used CalRose rice, Russet potatoes, home grown herbs and chilies (cilantro, basil,thyme, Thai and habinaro chilies). Had no idea the Uzbeks did it too! Cool!
Looks pretty good tucker for when its a cold winters day one question what the heck is Jeera and Clabber ???
jeera -http://www.topnews.in/files/Jeera_01.jpg , such a plant to spice your dish. Clabber is sour milk.
Looks delicious, can we see the whole recipe?
Potatoes, tomatoes, and chilies? Hardly Uzbek.
Those are all new world crops.
Looked at the Jeera picture; pretty sure it’s either Caraway (Carum carvi) or Cumin (Cuminum cyminum). Size would be the judgement call, but really hard to judge on a computer screen.
I’m leaning towards Cumin based on geography; however, I wouldn’t be surprised if caraway was substituted in the past (eastern european influence .. I’m 1/2 Lithuanian and wouldn’t want my rye bread without it!). Besides many Eastern European languages only have one word for both.
So, my Canadian sensibilities tell me use less cumin (as it is hotter to the taste, lighter in color, and larger grained) or more caraway to taste.
Clabber – comes from the Gaelic clábair. Something akin to / like sour cream or crème fraîche. How that vocabulary ended up in an Uzbek recipe is beyond me. Definitely has to do with immigration, accommodation and replacement with local ingredients. In Toronto I use 4% sour cream and although I’ve never set foot in the former Sassanid Empire it’s on my wish list.