By Mia Hanuska
Welcome to the Traveling Cart! I’m Mia Hanuska, and I’ll be your guide on this world tour. Each issue, the cart travels to a new country and explores its history and culture through a customized 3-course meal of traditional dishes cooked by yours truly. This issue, the cart has ventured to the beautiful river valleys of Uzbekistan.
About Uzbekistan
Pronunciation: ooz-beh-kuh-stan
National Language: Uzbek
Population: 38.2 million
Capital: Tashkent
Flag: 🇺🇿
A Condensed History of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan began nearly 55,000 to 70,000 years ago in the states of Bactria, Khwarezm, and Sogdiana, through which the silk road connected East Asia to the general European continent. It experienced a large number of military invasions, including from Arabs, Mongols (Genghis Khan), Dzungars, and Persians, yet none settled in the area for a long time, leaving minimal trace on the culture of the country today. The demography was affected however by a large migration of Turkic-Mongol tribes that likely adapted the name “Uzbek” from the revered Golden Horde Muslim ruler Öz Beg Khan.
After the Dzungars invaded and killed the Uzbek’s leader, the Uzbek tribesmen went on a rampage, conquering countless neighboring regions under their new leader, Muḥammad Shaybānī Khan. Many of the tribesmen practiced Sunni Islam and allowed it to influence the culture of the area greatly as they constructed immense architectural structures and wrote detailed poems.
By 1600, the Ashtarkhanid dynasty was leading Uzbekistan, but their influence over land was declining. The dynasty ended in 1785 when Iran’s ruler defeated the two major cities of Bukhara and Khiva. At that point, the country split into three tribes: the khanates of Bukhara, Khiva, and Kokand. Both the Khiva and Kokand tribes established incredible cultural and literary monuments, though the Kokand khanate’s reputation tended to be higher-end.
From 1868 to 1876, Russian forces invaded the three tribes and claimed the land as the province of Turkistan. The Bukhara and Khiva khanates generally resisted the modernization Russia attempted to enact in the area, although small groups of reformers called the Jadids were able to teach large numbers of intellectuals for change. In 1924, the Russian Community Party (Bolsheviks) redrew the map of Central Asia, grouping single ethnicities into territories. Uzbekistan became a new territory, and soon after, a constituent republic of the U.S.S.R., although they were still outrageously outnumbered in the Soviet bureaucracy. World War II then brought greater turmoil as the U.S.S.R. brought thousands of Russian, Polish, and Jewish people to Uzbekistan. The U.S.S.R. maintained control of Uzbekistan until its independence on September 1, 1991.
This Stop’s Menu
Main: Plov (Палов)
Side: Olivye Salad (Салат Оливье)
Sweet Treat: Holvaytar
Main: Plov (Палов)
According to legends, Plov was invented by Alexander the Great after invading the early Sogdiana; bringing the dish back to the Balkans to share with his home. Due to its simple base ingredients, it’s often thought of as a dish that brings people together as cultural differences in recipes prompt conversation and bonding.
To make this dish, I followed this recipe from Peter’s Food Adventures. I found this dish fairly simple to make, although it does take more time than I originally expected. Not only does the meat need to be simmered for an hour, but an extra 20 minutes for rice is added afterwards! My rice turned out a bit wet and gooey still, but I think that was an issue with my cooking skills rather than one of the recipe’s. This recipe calls for raisins and chickpeas in addition to the regular beef, rice, carrot, and onion, which, I’ll admit, I was apprehensive of at first, but ended up being quite tasty and provided a good sweet element to the dish. I also would definitely recommend serving this with cucumber, as it provides a good contrast to the bites.
Side: Olivye Salad (Салат Оливье)
Originally a Russian dish created by a Belgium chef making the most of the seasonal ingredients available to him in tsarsist Russia, this dish has been prepared in Uzbekistan for so long it’s become an integral part to their cuisine. This salad is a staple on every menu and in every house and is typically prepared specially for New Years Day.
I used this recipe from Uzbek Cooking for this meal. Originally looking at the recipe and photo, I instinctively thought “oh, definitely not.” With a fairly normal ingredients list (potatoes, eggs, carrots, pickles, dill, and mayo) plus one absolutely curve ball of canned green beans, I didn’t quite expect all the work for this single salad. After peeling, chopping, and boiling the carrot and potato, I spent most of my time multitasking cooking and homework. As for the taste, I’m still a bit unsure about this one, to be honest. I really liked the pickles and wished I added more. Overall, it just tasted like an oddly potato-y egg salad, which wasn’t too bad.
Sweet Treat: Holvaytar
Traditionally a ceremonial dish prepared mainly for condolence ceremonies, Holvaytar has played an important role in the practices and beliefs of the Uzbek. This dessert would typically be the first dish made for the mourning ceremony and had to be cooked in silence by a woman who had seen the individual a lot. When cooked, this dish is supposed to help the souls of the deceased pass the purity test to enter heaven, according to Muslim beliefs. Now, the dish is often made as a housewarming gift when new neighbors move in.
For this dish, I read this recipe from Uzbek Cooking. Look, I’m not sure if I did something wrong for this dish, but it ended up taking well over an hour just to fry the butter and flour until browned. After the long, long wait, it actually surprised me with the taste. It smelled incredibly burnt, but the dish didn’t taste super burnt. In fact, it was just so severely sweet that I couldn’t finish it all in one sitting—I have a feeling I was supposed to make smaller portions. I was also pleasantly impressed at the texture, as the four ingredients somehow created a gelatinous, almost jello-like texture that was very pleasant! With a few tweaks, I could definitely see myself making this again.
Packing up the Cart
Thank you for joining the Traveling Cart as we dove into the history of Uzbekistan through making four delicious dishes! Each dish shows a distinct aspect of Uzbekistan’s rich history, from the early days of Plov to the traditional ceremonial dish of Holvaytar. If you’re interested in learning more about Uzbekistan, I’ve scribed a few sources on the back of this parchment you can check out. Ah, the horses are ready for our next adventure—see you at the next destination!
Sources:
Russian and Soviet Rule: https://www.britannica.com/place/Uzbekistan/Russian-and-Soviet-rule
Ceremonial Dishes and Traditions: https://ijmmu.com/index.php/ijmmu/article/viewFile/2716/2280