Polo Pilaf

Polo (Uyghur) or shǒuzhuā fàn (Mandarin, 'hand-grabbed rice') is the celebratory pilaf of Xinjiang's Uyghur and Uzbek communities. Lamb fat is rendered in a large cast-iron kazan, then onions are fried until golden, followed by julienned yellow carrots, lamb pieces (bone-in) and soaked long-grain rice, then water in a measured ratio. Cumin and sometimes chickpeas, raisins and dried barberries are layered in during cooking. The kazan is sealed and the rice steams until every grain is separate and has absorbed the lamb-fat-infused stock. At a traditional feast, diners wash their right hands and eat directly from a communal platter. The carrots and lamb are mounded on top of the rice at serving. Regional Uyghur variations add garlic heads, eggs or quail eggs cooked in the rice.