Mastava

Ingredients

Meat

• 600 glamb or beef, in small cubes
• 3 tbspoil or rendered tail fat

Vegetables

• 2onions, chopped
• 2carrots, diced
• 2potatoes, diced
• 1turnip, diced
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 1red pepper, diced
• 3 clovesgarlic

Soup

• 150 grice
• 2 litreswater or stock
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tsppaprika
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• katyk or thick sour yoghurt
• chopped dill and coriander
• non, flatbread

Directions

1. Mastava is nicknamed suyuq palov, liquid plov, and it is built in the same order as plov: fat, meat, onion, carrot, then liquid.
2. Heat the fat in a heavy pot and brown the meat hard in batches until deeply coloured.
3. Brown it properly in batches. Crowded in one go the meat steams instead of browning, and that colour is most of the flavour of the finished soup.
4. Add the onions and cook until golden, about 8 minutes.
5. Add the carrots and cook 5 minutes more.
6. The carrots go in before the liquid, in the plov order, so they take on the fat and sweeten rather than just boiling.
7. Stir in the cumin, coriander and paprika and fry 30 seconds.
8. Add the tomatoes and pepper and cook until the tomatoes collapse.
9. Pour in the water, bring to a simmer, and cook covered for 30 minutes.
10. Add the potatoes, turnip and garlic and cook 15 minutes.
11. Rinse the rice well and add it, then simmer a further 15 to 20 minutes.
12. Rinse the rice first. Unwashed rice clouds the broth with loose starch, and mastava should be a clear soup with rice in it rather than a porridge.
13. The rice should be soft and the soup should still be soup. If it thickens too much, add more hot water.
14. Season generously with salt and black pepper.
15. Ladle into bowls and put a large spoonful of katyk into each one at the table.
16. The souring happens in the bowl, not the pot. Yoghurt stirred into the hot pot splits, and the point is the cold sour cream meeting the hot broth as you eat.
17. Scatter dill and coriander over and serve with flatbread.
18. It is everyday Uzbek home cooking rather than feast food, and it is eaten year round.
19. Katyk is the Central Asian fermented milk and it is sharper than most yoghurt, which is what the soup is balanced for.

Technique

• The vegetables are diced small and evenly, which is a mark of a well-made mastava.
• It thickens considerably overnight and is thinned with hot water when reheated.
• Some households add chickpeas or a handful of dried apricots.

Substitutions

• Thick Greek yoghurt thinned slightly, in place of katyk.
• Beef, lamb or even chicken, all of which are used.

Variations

• Made with more rice, as a thicker soup.
• Vegetarian, with chickpeas in place of meat.
• With a spoonful of tomato paste for a redder broth.

History

Rice soup nicknamed liquid plov, soured at the table with a spoonful of katyk.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mastava?

Mastava is a soup & stew from Uzbekistan: sour rice soup with meat and vegetables. Rice soup nicknamed liquid plov, soured at the table with a spoonful of katyk.

How long does Mastava take to make?

Mastava takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mastava?

Yes, within limits. Thick Greek yoghurt thinned slightly, in place of katyk. Beef, lamb or even chicken, all of which are used.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mastava?

Brown it properly in batches. Crowded in one go the meat steams instead of browning, and that colour is most of the flavour of the finished soup.