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Shavla
Shavla: soft, sticky Uzbek rice cooked with lamb, carrots and onion
Shavla is the softer, homelier cousin of plov, made in Tashkent and Samarkand households when someone is unwell or for a weekday supper: the same lamb, onion and yellow carrot zirvak as plov, but cooked with more water and stirred so the rice turns soft and porridge-like. Children often prefer it, and it reheats well. A common mistake is treating it like plov and leaving it unstirred; shavla needs gentle stirring to turn creamy. Chef's tip: use short-grain rice and cook the zirvak until the carrots are soft and sweet before the rice goes in.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the zirvak
- 5 tbsp sunflower oil
- 14 oz lamb shoulderboneless, cut into 2 cm pieces
- 2 onionssliced
- 14 oz carrots, yellow if you can find themcut into matchsticks
- 1 ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the rice
- 10 ½ oz short-grain ricerinsed
- 5 cups boiling water
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat 5 tbsp sunflower oil in a heavy pot over a high heat and brown 14 oz lamb shoulder for 8 minutes. Add 2 onions and fry for 6 minutes, until golden.
14 minStep 2: Add 14 oz carrots, yellow if you can find them, 1 ½ tsp cumin seeds, 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper and fry for 8 minutes, until the carrots soften.
8 minStep 3: Pour in 500 ml of 2 cups boiling water and simmer for 25 minutes, until the lamb is tender.
25 minStep 4: Add 10 ½ oz short-grain rice and the rest of 3 cups boiling water. Simmer, stirring gently every few minutes, for 20–25 minutes, until the rice is soft and the shavla is thick and creamy. Common mistake: not stirring; it sticks and stays grainy.
25 minStep 5: Cover and rest off the heat for 10 minutes before serving.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 590 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 68 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does shavla take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of carrots, yellow if you can find them?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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