Uzbekistan

Uzbek cuisine is the crossroads of the Silk Road, anchored by plov, a fragrant rice pilaf of lamb, carrots, and cumin cooked in a giant cauldron. Bread (non), samsa pastries, and green tea define its generous, hospitable table.

Palov culture and tradition was inscribed by UNESCO in 2016, and the inscription records the Uzbek line that guests may not leave until palov has been offered. It is cooked by men and women alike in a kazan, the wide cast-iron cauldron, for weddings, funerals, new year and charity meals, using rice varieties such as devzira.

Uzbek non is stamped before baking with a chekich, a handled block of nails that punches a pattern into the middle of the loaf. The pattern is decorative and functional at once, holding the centre flat so only the rim rises and letting steam escape, and bakers use their own designs as signatures. Bread here is torn by hand, never cut.

Flaky, layered pan-fried flatbread brushed with oil and folded, a Central Asian morning staple.