Uzbekistani recipe
How to make Mastava
Mastava
The whole country
A thick soup of rice, meat, carrots, onions, tomatoes and potatoes, sometimes called 'liquid palov' because it begins the same way, by frying meat and vegetables in a cauldron. It is served with a spoonful of yoghurt and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
- 300 g lamb or beef, in small cubes
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste and 1 fresh tomato, chopped
- 2 potatoes, diced
- 80 g short-grain rice, rinsed
- 1.5 litres water or light stock
- 1 teaspoon cumin, salt and pepper
- 4 tablespoons plain yoghurt and a handful of chopped dill or coriander, to serve
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pan and brown the meat. Add the onion and carrot and fry for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and the fresh tomato and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Pour in the water, add the cumin, salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and the rice and simmer for another 20 minutes, until the rice is soft and the soup is thick.
- Serve in bowls with a spoonful of yoghurt and plenty of fresh herbs on top.
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The name comes from Tajik words for yoghurt and water or broth.
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