Hearty soup "Mastava" - rich taste from Uzbek cuisine
What could be tastier than a hot rich soup with spicy notes of oriental spices? This is how the soup "Mastava" is obtained - a traditional dish of Uzbeks. As you know, rice is the most popular product in their kitchen. It was not without it here: one of the main components of the soup is meat and rice. And if we use only half a glass for the soup, then the Uzbeks put cereals "from the heart." An unaccustomed person cannot immediately understand whether it is liquid pilaf, or a very thick soup. But be that as it may, the first course comes out nutritious, rich and incredibly tasty. Shall we cook?
Mastava is traditionally made from lamb. If it is too fat for you, use beef.
Soup products
To make a rich soup, we need to cook:
- finely chopped meat - 0.5 kg;
- 6 potatoes;
- large carrots;
- rice - 150 g;
- 2 tomatoes;
- a couple of large onions;
- large bell pepper (red);
- salt.
And of course, what is Uzbek cuisine without spices? For the dish to get a rich and piquant taste, take red and black ground pepper, cumin and coriander. And for serving, pick on your green garden bed or buy dill, parsley and, of course, cilantro at the store.
Soup "Mastava": cooking step by step
Uzbek soups are distinguished by their richness and density, and they are prepared somewhat differently. If we first cook the broth, and at the end we make and add frying, then for mastava everything needs to be cooked the other way around.
But let's not confuse you and proceed:
- Pour about 50 g of sunflower oil into a saucepan with a thick bottom and fry the meat in it.
- While the meat is fried, cut the onion into half rings.
- Cut the carrots into cubes or also half rings, but not very thickly.
- When the meat releases its juice and takes on a golden crust, pour onions and carrots to it. Fry vegetables.
- Cut tomatoes into cubes (together with the skin) and pepper. Add them to the pan and put out a little too.
- Our meat and vegetable roast is ready. Now we begin to prepare the soup itself. Pour 2.5 liters of cold water into a saucepan, directly into the meat and vegetables.
- When the water boils, add the diced potatoes and the washed rice.
- When the broth is boiled again, salt it and add spices.
- We tighten the fire and cook until all ingredients are cooked.
After the soup "Mastava" is ready, let it brew a little (15 minutes is enough). Then pour into plates, sprinkle with chopped herbs and enjoy Caucasian cuisine.