I've been working hard recently trying to get my Noah to be able to pronounce this dish correctly. P-l-oh (make an 'O' with your mouth!)-ve. Plov, rhymes with mazel-tov! To the Americans, plov rhymes with drove. Despite the confusion around the differences between Russian and English pronunciations, this dish pleases both cultures equally.
Mom makes this plov regularly, and now I understand why: it takes no time at all, and hardly requires any crazy ingredients. This simple serving of rice, chicken, onions, carrots, and dried fruit, reminds me of a risotti-style dish, but heartier. The rice comes out soft and absorbs all the excellent flavors from the rest of the pot.
This is what the dish looks like right after you take it off the stove top and right before you mix it all up!
And here is the beautiful after..
I easily made this after a long, tiring day of work since it requires hardly any effort but yields true comfort!
Plov
Mom's recipe
Ingredients:
1 lb or 1 package chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 carrot, grated
1 large onion, chopped
1 c. rice
boiling water (directions on how much to follow)
1 c. your choice any dried fruits; raisins, prunes, apricots work best
Directions:
1.) Melt some butter into a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot
2.) Saute onions until they are soft and lightly browned
3.) Meanwhile, boil a few cups of water
4.) Add chicken and brown, constantly mixing, about 5 minutes
5.) Put rice, dried fruit, and grated carrot on top of the chicken. DO NOT MIX!!!
6.) Add enough boiling water so that it is about 2 inches above the chicken/rice
7.) Bring to a boil
8.) Lower heat and cover
9.) Allow rice to cook, about 20 minutes
10.) Take pot off of the stove, and mix!
11.) Scoop out of pot and eat!
