Jeweled vegetarian rice plov

Tried and loved this recipe? Please leave a 5-star review below! Your reviews mean a lot to me, so if you've got any questions, please let me know in a comment.

small saucepan with Russian plov sprinkled with herbs

Russian vegetarian plov is a festive dish that combines Eastern spices and flavours with a Russian love of dried fruits, starch and root vegetables.

Course Main

Cuisine Russian, Ukrainian

Keyword almonds, apricots, carrots, dairy-free, fall, gluten-free, nut-free, pistachios, raisins, rice, Russian, soy-free, Ukrainian, vegan, vegetarian, winter

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Soaking time 2

Total Time 3

Servings

Calories 270kcal

Author Ksenia Prints

Equipment

Dutch oven (Or heavy bottomed pot)

Ingredients

2 cups of long-grain or basmati rice
1 large onion
2 carrots
2- inch piece of ginger or 2 tsps of dry ginger
2 tsps ground coriander
3 tsps salt and more, to taste
½ cup raisins
½ cup dried apricots
½ cup prunes or any other dried fruit of your choice
¼ cup chopped almonds or pistachios
parsley or cilantro optional

Instructions

Soak rice overnight, or at least for a couple of hours.
Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pot. Finely chop onion, and add to pot. Sauté onion until it turns golden, about five minutes.
Reduce heat to low-medium. If using fresh ginger, grate it, or add dry ginger, coriander and 1 teaspoon of salt to onion. Mix and sauté for another 2 minutes.
Finely grate carrots. Add them to pot and let soften for another 5 minutes.
Finely chop all of your dried fruit in equal-sized bits. Add them to pot with just enough water to cover, mix well, and let cook on low-medium heat for 10 minutes.
Drain rice, and mix in an additional 2 tsps of salt. Add rice to pot, but do not stir or mix it with any of the other ingredients! Add 1 Tb of oil, and just enough water to cover the rice, plus an additional two inches.
Using the end of a wooden spoon, poke five to six holes in rice all the way through to bottom of pot. This will help it release steam and cook evenly.
Place a clean kitchen towel over pot, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and secure the loose edges of the towel on top of lid. Cook on medium heat until pot is beginning to steam, about 5-10 minutes (no peeking!), and then reduce heat to very low. Let cook slowly, without stirring or peeking, until rice is cooked through, about 35-40 minutes. Turn off heat and let plov rest for about 15 minutes without removing lid. Check for doneness, and if need be, let cook 10 minutes longer.
When serving, pick a large platter that is bigger than the circumference of your pot. Cover the top of the rice pot with the platter, face-down, and turn the whole thing over, gently wiggling the pot and allowing the rice to pour out with the veggies on top. Russians like to turn the pot over in front of their guests, letting the rice and jeweled mixture spill onto the platter. If this is your first time making it, do this ahead of time in the kitchen to avoid embarrassing mishaps. Decorate with chopped almonds or pistachios and chopped cilantro or parsley, if desired.

Video

Nutrition