Uzbek Cuisine

Uzbek plov is a rice pilaf generally prepared with rice, meat, carrots, and onions. The dish is cooked so the rice absorbs the savory flavor of the meat and seasoned cooking oil.

Lagman is a noodle-based dish, often served as a soup or saucy noodle meal with meat and vegetables. Plov instead centers on rice cooked with ingredients such as carrots and meat.

Samsa is a savory pastry filled commonly with meat, onions, or other seasoned ingredients. Its baked pastry shell makes it different from the rice-based plov and noodle-based lagman.

Uzbek cuisine reflects Persian, Turkish, and Russian culinary influences alongside Central Asian traditions. Those connections help explain why the cuisine includes rice pilaf, filled pastries, and noodle dishes such as plov, samsa, and lagman.