Fergana Uzbek

The Fergana Valley is Uzbekistan's agricultural heartland — a fertile river valley shared with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, providing the country's wheat, fruit, cotton, and silk. The Fergana table reflects this abundance: the Andijan plov (the most-celebrated regional plov, originating in Andijan city and considered the original Uzbek plov), the dimlama steamed-vegetable-and-meat stew, shurpa lamb soup, kovurma fried meat, and the heavy use of dried fruit (raisins, apricots, jujubes) as both ingredient and garnish.

Kazy (horse sausage) is the Fergana valley's signature cured meat, reflecting the historical Kyrgyz-Kazakh herder traditions that share the valley. The dish appears at every wedding and celebration in Fergana, served sliced thin alongside plov. The wedding plov (toy oshi) is a Fergana institution: when a son marries, his family prepares 50+ kg of plov in a giant kazan over open fire for the entire neighborhood. The Fergana table is the most ceremonial in Uzbek cuisine — the everyday food may be simpler, but the festival food is among the most-elaborate in Central Asia.