Uzbekistan’s Silk Road cuisine: from Tashkent’s markets to mountain flavours in Parkent

euronews (in English)

In this episode of Silk Road Adventures, we explore Uzbekistan’s culinary heritage, from Tashkent’s food markets and plov centre to a mountain village famous for its seasonal samsa.

Transcript

00:00Uzbekistan is a true culinary crossroads. Its legendary Silk Road cities didn't just trade

00:25goods and ideas, but fused flavors from both the East and West. The result? Fabulous food.

00:32Get a load of that. Chosu Bazaar is Tashkent's biggest and oldest

00:36food market. Isle upon isle of meat, mountains of spices, and endless stalls of fresh fruit

00:43and veg. You name it, it's here. But I'm after something pretty unique to Central Asia, a horsemeat

00:49sausage said to boost strength and maybe even virility. Now this is kazi and apparently

00:56it's good for men's health. Is that the case?

00:58Oh, yeah? OK.

01:01Oh, really?

01:04Oh, wow. OK, yeah. It's very tasty. Very good.

01:14Maybe next time, yeah? Oh, thank you.

01:17Uzbek cuisine is diverse, but if one dish stands out, it's probably plov. A glorious

01:24mix of meat, vegetables, spices, and rice, plov is cooked in a giant cauldron called a kazan.

01:30I'm meeting up with Ravshan, a well-known food blogger here, to find out more.

01:38Oh, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello.

01:40Look at this place.

01:41You need to hurry, because it's very soon, everything will be finished.

01:44Ravshan, what makes the perfect plov?

01:47There's a lot of oil in this. How many calories are in a portion?

02:03It's almost a day normal.

02:051700 calories in one portion of Tashkent's holiday.

02:10First the beef and lamb are fried, then it's the turn of the carrots and chickpeas.

02:16For a bit more kick, garlic, chilies, and raisins can be added. Finally, a mountain of rice

02:23is spread over the top and left to steam.

02:25The chefs here can make between 10 and 12 tons of plov per day.

02:45Oh, wow. The flavor from it is really amazing, and the meat is so tender. I understand now

03:02why it's been around for centuries.

03:09Before my food adventure ends, there's one last thing I have to try.

03:13It's called Samza, Uzbekistan's version of the Samoza.

03:17Samzas are usually stuffed with meat, but during springtime, they're also filled with a wild

03:22mountain garlic called mador. Located about an hour from Tashkent, Gulbahor's restaurant

03:28has been serving this vegetarian version of the classic street food for the last 20 years.

03:33Gulbahor, this is the special ingredient, the mador. Why is it so popular?

03:39The mador is mixed with onion and oil before being wrapped in freshly made dough. And then

03:53you're sticking them in there. The heat from here is unbelievable.

04:09Oh, wow. That's so good. The perfect midday snack.

04:13Yeah. Thank you.

04:40From freshly baked Samza to smoky plov, Uzbek cuisine is a feast of flavor, shaped by history,

04:52trade, and tradition.

04:54You.

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