Turkmen Fish Plov

Turkmen style fish pilaf

Turkmen Fish Plov

On the Caspian coast of Turkmenistan there is an abundance of freshwater fish like sturgeon, carp and trout. Here plov is made with poached fish with a saffron cream sauce. Plov is usually made with either short or long grain rice, but in turkmenstian they use basmati rice. This plov is also unique fro the use of yellow plum sauce as a seasoning which ads a nice touch of tartness.

⏰Prep Time: 15 min ⏲️Cooktime: 40 min 🍽️Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 500g fresh water fish filets of choice (Sturgeon, trout or carp)
• 1 1/2 onion
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 2 carrots
• 3tbs sesame oil
• 1/3cup oil
• 4tbs Yellow Plum sauce (Tkemali)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1tsp caraway seeds or wild cumin
• 1tsp ground caraway
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup dried apricots
• 1 pinch of saffron
• lemon wedges
• fresh dill
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Wash the rice and dried fruits , julienne the carrots, slice the onion and brew 1tbs of saffron infusion.
2. In a shallow pot on medium heat add 2 tbs of plum sauce, 5 cups of water, a dill frond, salt and caraway powder and 1/2 onion. Bring to a simmer and poach fish filets for 2-3 minutes. Reserve 3 1/4 cups of the liquid.
3. In a large pot, heat the oil and sesame oil and fry the onions until slightly brown, the add the carrots and teapot the procedure, season with salt pepper and caraway seeds. Add the dried fruits and the remaining plum sauce and stir fry for 2 minutes on medium, then add the rice and cover with 3 cups of the poaching liquid and some saffron infusion. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. After simmering fluff the rice and shape into a mound and steam an additional 6-7 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked.
5. Make the sauce by heating 1 cup of sour cream with 1/4 cup of the poaching liquid, bring to a simmer, add the saffron and fresh dill and gently heat the fish in the sauce.
6. Plate with rice on the bottom and fish on top with some sauce, fresh dill and lemon wedges.
7. Serve with salad and bread!