Name: Palow (Turkmen Rice Pilaf with Meat and Carrots)
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: Turkmenistan
Ingredients: 450 g long-grain rice, such as devzira or basmati; 240 ml neutral oil, or lamb tail fat; 600 g lamb shoulder or beef chuck, in 1½-inch (4 cm) pieces, or 800 g bone-in chicken thighs; 2 medium onions, in thin half-moons; 700 g carrots, cut into thick matchsticks; ½ tsp black pepper; 2 tsp kosher salt, divided; 12–15 garlic cloves, peeled; 1 dried red chili (optional); boiling water

Method

Soak the rice. Rinse the rice (450 g2¼ cups) in several changes of water until it runs nearly clear, then cover with warm salted water and soak 30 minutes.
Brown the meat. Heat the oil (240 ml1 cup) in a heavy pot or Dutch oven, about 5 quarts, over high heat until it shimmers. Add the lamb shoulder (600 g1⅓ lb) and brown well on all sides, in batches if needed.
Onions and carrots. Turn the heat to medium, add the onions (2) and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent but not browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Spread the carrots (700 g1½ lb) on top and cook 5 minutes without stirring much, then turn them through the meat and cook 5 minutes more, until they soften.
Simmer the base. Stir in the black pepper (½ tsp) and half the kosher salt (2 tsp). Pour in boiling water just to cover, bring to a boil, then simmer, partly covered: 45 to 60 minutes for lamb or beef, 20 minutes for chicken, until the meat is tender.
Taste the broth and add a little salt if it needs it. Add the chili now, if using.
Add the rice. Drain the rice and spread it evenly over the top; don't stir. Sprinkle with the rest of the salt and push the garlic cloves (12–15) into the rice, spaced out. Gently pour in boiling water over the back of a spoon until it covers the rice by ½ inch (1 cm).
Steam. Boil over high heat until the water has sunk below the surface of the rice. Gather the rice into a low dome, poke 5 or 6 holes down to the bottom with the handle of a wooden spoon, cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 25 minutes.
Rest and serve. Leave it covered off the heat 10 minutes. Turn the rice through the meat and carrots and pile it onto a large platter with the meat on top.

Notes

Plenty of oil. Palow should be quite oily, every grain glossy, with a little oil pooling on the platter. The oil carries the flavor of the meat and carrots, so don't cut it back.
Carrots. Cut them by hand into thick matchsticks, not grated, or they turn to mush. Yellow carrots are traditional where you can find them.
The meat. Lamb is the most traditional; bone-in pieces give the richest pilaf. With chicken, thighs stay juicier than breast.
Serve it with a salad of sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and onion, and plenty of green tea.
Uzbek variation. Uzbek plov often buries one or two whole heads of garlic, loose skin rubbed off, in the middle of the rice to steam, and serves them on top, and many cooks add a handful of dried apricots to the rice before it steams.