Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Oshi Palav
Tajikistan national dish and king of meals: rice steamed over lamb, yellow carrots, chickpeas and cumin in a single pot.
Tajik · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 75 min
~668 cal · 27g protein · 80g carbs · 26g fat · 5g fiber · 13g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Oshi palav, known as the king of meals, is the national dish of Tajikistan and a UNESCO-recognised part of its heritage, prepared for weddings, gatherings and rituals. Lamb is browned, then onions, carrots and chickpeas build the flavour base before the rice is layered on top and steamed until every grain is separate and infused.
Tajiks say no osh, no acquaintance, and to eat someone osh is to owe them respect for forty years. Groups cook it together over fire, and it is eaten communally, often with the hands, around a shared platter.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, 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
1 lb lamb, cubed
2 cups long-grain rice
4 carrots,
2 onions, sliced
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 whole head of garlic
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 cups water
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Rinse the rice until the water runs clear and soak while you build the base.
2
Brown the lamb in the oil, add the onions and fry until golden, then add the carrots and cook a few minutes without stirring too much.
3
Add the chickpeas, cumin, coriander, raisins, salt and the whole garlic head, pour in enough water to cover, and simmer 20 minutes to make the zirvak.
✎ Chef’s note
Cut the carrots into matchsticks, not coins: they should hold their shape and sweeten the rice.
4
Spread the drained rice evenly over the top and add water to sit a centimetre above the rice. Do not stir.
5
Bring to a boil, then cover and steam on low 25 minutes. Rest 10 minutes, then fold together and serve on a platter.
Tajik communal cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Dushanbe. The bread in qurutob is fatir, a flaky layered flatbread rather than the round tandoor non, and it is torn into a wide wooden bowl before the qurut is poured over. Everyone eats out of the same dish with their hands; it is meant to be shared rather than portioned out.
🗺️
Tajikistan. More than nine tenths of Tajikistan is mountain, and the Pamirs at the eastern end sit so high that little grows. What that produces is a cuisine of things that keep: dried fruit, nuts, hard cheese, flatbread stacked and stored, and green tea drunk constantly and offered before anything else is discussed.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Tajikistan
QurutobTajikistan's national dish: flaky fatir bread torn into a tangy qurut yogurt sauce, topped with onions and herbs.
ShirchoyWarm milk tea poured over torn bread with a knob of butter, a simple Tajik mountain breakfast.
MastavaA hearty rice soup with meat, chickpeas, and vegetables, brightened with herbs and a spoon of yogurt, a Tajik staple.
Browse all Tajikistan recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
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 Tajikistan meal
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Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet)Dessert
MastavaLunch
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Themes
Frequently asked questions
What is Oshi Palav?
Tajikistan national dish and king of meals: rice steamed over lamb, yellow carrots, chickpeas and cumin in a single pot.
Where does Oshi Palav come from?
Oshi Palav is a Tajik dish from Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Can Oshi Palav be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Oshi Palav 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 Oshi Palav 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 Oshi Palav take to make?
About 100 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 75 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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