Uzbekistan! Shivit Oshi!

I'll be honest with you. I had only heard about Uzbekistan only once before I made this dish and that was only because I saw it when I googled the list of all the countries in the world for this blog lol but see, this is the reason I decided to start this project, so I can learn about the world around me!

Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia and it was once at the heart of the ancient Silk Road. The Silk Road was a network of trading routes that went from China to Europe that started in the second century. As I researched all about this country, the most captivating part for me was the blue mosaics that covered the city!

Plov, also known as osh, is considered to be Uzbekistan's national dish, but for me the purpose of this blog is to for one, find healthy meals, and two, explore not so popular dishes that most people have never tried or heard of. Shivit Oshi was one of those dishes for me and holy moley am I glad I went with this dish! WOW! It did take a bit of time to make (the pasta was the hardest), but it was SOOOO worth every second of it! This pasta is infused with dill, and at first I was a little skeptical about it but Oh man! BEST. THING. EVER!

Shivit Oshi

Ingredients:

For the noodles:

• A bunch of dill (20 grams)

• 200 mL water (a little under 1 c. water or about 7 fl oz.)

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp salt

• 500-600 g of flour

For the sauce:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

• 500 grams (1 lb.) of sirloin steak, cubed

• 1 large tomato, cubed

• 2 medium carrots, cubed

• 1 medium onion, cubed

• 2 russet potatoes, peeled & cubed

• 1 red bell pepper, cubed

• 1 yellow bell pepper, cubed

• 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

• 2 tbsp. tomato paste

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp coriander

• ½ tsp paprika

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp salt

• Pepper to taste

Directions:

Step 1:

Rinse your dill really well under cold water and then place in a blender with 200 mL of water and blend.

Step 2:

In a large bowl, add in the blended dill, the egg, the tsp of salt and whisk together.

Add the 500 grams of flour and mix until a firm dough forms. Mix with your hands until the flour no longer sticks to your fingers or the side of the bowl.

If it still sticks, add in flour little by little until smooth. Once smooth, cover with saran wrap or a damp towel and let it rest while you do the next few steps for the sauce.

Step 3:

In a large pot, on medium high heat, heat up oil, then add in onions and cook until slightly softened. Next add in the minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds until aromatic. Then add in your cubed beef and season with a little bit of salt and pepper.

Step 4:

Once the beef is browned add in the 2 tbsp. of tomato paste and stir until everything is coated in the paste. Continue to stir for 2 minutes.

Step 5:

Next add in the carrots and potatoes, continue to stir and cook for 3 minutes.

Step 6:

After cooking the potatoes and carrots for 3 minutes, add in the cubed tomatoes, bell pepper, cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and bay leaf . Add black pepper to taste. Stir for two minutes.

Step 7:

Add enough water to just barely cover the vegetables and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat and bring to a simmer. Cover and let cook for 35 minutes. Give it a taste test to see if it needs more salt or not. Salt to your taste. Let simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes, or until the water is reduced by half.

Step 8:

As you’re letting the sauce simmer, bring out the dough and cut in half. On a clean surface, sprinkle flour and roll out half of the dough until just a few millimeters thin (think pasta thin).

Once it’s been rolled out, cut into thin strips, no wider than a pencil (think fettuccine wide). Using a pizza cutter is an easy way to do this, or if you have a pasta maker that's even better!

If not, using a sharp knife works just as well! Let them sit out to dry a bit while your sauce finishes to simmer.

*Tip: If you feel that you made a lot of noodles, you can dry out the portion you don't think you'll use for this recipe. Save it for another meal!

Step 9:

Once your sauce is just about ready, boil a pot of salted water to a boil and boil your noodles until they rise to the top, no longer than 5 minutes! Drain your noodles, and serve on a plate and top it with your meat sauce! This is normally served with a side of plain yogurt or sour cream! Garnish with fresh dill or cilantro and you have yourself a healthy meal from Uzbekistan!

Yoqimli Ishtaha! (translation: “Bon Appetit!”)

Cost and Calories:

• This meal cost us around 20 euros! Around $25 USD. The most expensive part, as always, was the meat.

• This meal made 6 hearty portions. Each portion was around 500 calories! Not going to lie, I definitely helped myself to a second serving lol