Tonight I made a palov, the national dish of Uzbekistan. There are at least a couple of hundred different varieties there, and probably as many different versions of these as there are cooks. I decided to create a big festive one, and so I made mine with lots of cubed beef (I didn't have any of the more traditional lamb), onions and carrots, dried apricots and raisins, cilantro and parsley, cumin, turmeric and black pepper. After all of this cooked for a bit, I flattened it all out, placed two big heads of garlic on top, and covered it all with basmati rice and boiling water. Then just turn it down and let it cook until all the moisture has been absorbed. I grabbed a big platter and inverted the whole thing out onto it. It looked glorious (I've really got to pick up some batteries for our camera. Grrr!) and tasted great. It was rich and savory, the meat fork tender, the apricots and raisins melting bits of sweetness in the mouth, the garlic cloves soft like butter...and it took some effort to stop before a food coma set in. Lol. I think the Emir of Bukhara would have been pleased with my efforts... 
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