Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Shah Plov
The crown pilaf of Azerbaijan: saffron rice, meat and dried fruit sealed in a buttered lavash crust and baked golden.
Azerbaijani · advanced · serves 6
prep 40 min · cook 75 min
~553 cal · 25g protein · 74g carbs · 17g fat · 2g fiber · 14g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
Shah plov, the king of Azerbaijani , is a showpiece: rice layered with meat, dried apricots, raisins and chestnuts, all wrapped in buttered lavash that bakes into a crisp golden shell. Sliced open at the table, it reveals its fragrant layers, which is why it crowns weddings and Nowruz feasts in Baku.
The rice is and drained so the grains stay separate, then built into the lavash-lined pot with plenty of butter and water. Inverted onto a platter, the burnished crust called gazmakh is prized as much as the filling itself.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 cups basmati rice
4 sheets lavash flatbread
1 lb lamb or chicken, cubed
6 tbsp butter or , melted
2 onions, sliced
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chestnuts, cooked and peeled
1/2 tsp threads
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Soak the saffron in a few tablespoons of warm water. Rinse the rice, boil in salted water 7 minutes until al dente, then drain well.
2
Brown the meat in a little of the butter, add the onions and cook until golden, then fold in the apricots, raisins and chestnuts and warm through.
3
Brush the lavash with melted butter and line a heavy pot, letting the edges overhang so they can fold over the top later.
✎ Chef’s note
Overlap the sheets with no gaps: this crust is the gazmakh everyone fights over.
4
Layer in the rice and the meat-fruit mixture, drizzling butter and saffron water between layers, then fold the lavash over the top and brush with more butter.
5
Bake at 350F for about 1 hour until the crust is deep golden. Rest 5 minutes, invert onto a platter, and cut into wedges.
Baku celebration table.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Baku. Sourness comes from fruit rather than vinegar. Pomegranate turns up as seeds, as juice and as narsharab, a thick syrup poured over grilled fish, while quince and dried alycha plums go into lamb stews such as parcha bozbash. Dushbara are pinched small enough that four or five sit in a single spoon.
🗺️
Azerbaijan. The prize in a pot of plov is qazmaq, the crisp golden layer at the bottom, formed from a dough of flour, egg, butter and yoghurt, or from lavash, or from sliced potato, and turned out in pieces at the end. Dushbara are pinched so small that several fit on one spoon, and a cook's reputation partly rests on how many go into one bowl.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Azerbaijan
PitiA slow-baked crock stew of lamb, chickpeas, and chestnuts scented with saffron and dried plum.
QutabThin, half-moon griddle breads stuffed with greens and herbs, folded and cooked until charred.
LavangiChicken stuffed with a tangy walnut, onion, and sour-plum paste and roasted, a specialty of Azerbaijan's Caspian south.
Browse all Azerbaijan recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Oven.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Azerbaijan meal
Azerbaijani ChayDrink
ŞəkərburaDessert
DovgaLunch
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Riz GrasBurkina Faso
Frequently asked questions
What is Shah Plov?
The crown pilaf of Azerbaijan: saffron rice, meat and dried fruit sealed in a buttered lavash crust and baked golden.
Where does Shah Plov come from?
Shah Plov is a Azerbaijani dish from Baku, Azerbaijan.
Can Shah Plov be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Shah Plov recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Shah Plov safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Shah Plov take to make?
About 115 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 75 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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