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I found a recipe for a Fergana-style plov (English version), one of the main versions of Uzbek plov. The description asks for devsira, a type of Uzbek rice. Not having that I wonder which other types of rice I can use instead. Any hints?

FuzzyChef
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Martin Peters
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    I can't provide an answer, but Google turned up this great explanation from a user on [TripAdvisor](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g293967-i9281-k12743031-Rice-Uzbekistan.html) Looks like it may be hard to substitute, as it's fermented & aged. [This](https://silkroadchef.com/tag/uzbek/) says you can use baldo, but I know baldo well & it's more like regular risotto rice, arborio etc. – Tetsujin Oct 28 '20 at 08:20
  • BTW, I didn't realise the recipe was in Russian until just now - [Google Translate to English link](https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fzen.yandex.ru%2Fmedia%2Fsavedaru%2Fuzbekskii-plov-poferganski-vkus-i-aromat-bespodobn-5f93ccc1a81c50318e584c8c) – Tetsujin Oct 28 '20 at 14:44
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    @Tetsujin Uzbek food is very popular in Russia; rightly so, in my opinion. – Martin Peters Oct 28 '20 at 17:54
  • ...but this site works in English, so I assumed most people would prefer to be able to read it in English. Now they can ;) – Tetsujin Oct 28 '20 at 18:50
  • @Tetsujin Sure! These days with Google or Yandex translate one can always get a reasonable result. – Martin Peters Oct 28 '20 at 19:04
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    I would not recommend risotto rice for a Fergana-style plov as it might turn out too sticky, while plov should be crumbly. – Alexander Pozdneev Mar 15 '21 at 22:45

4 Answers4

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Surely this will make your Plov unauthentic, but in practice any medium-grained rice will be an acceptable substitute. If you find the correct spices (or close enough; cumin gives most of the flavour anyway), and some nice fat lamb, you should be able to make a delicious dish.

Even if the article on TripAdvisor mentions fermented and aged rice, this is a rarity; in most cases ordinary non-aged rice is used.

IMil
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You can't replace devzira—it's unique. That said, I've seen people use anything from Arborio to Kokuho and results were quite good.

Of course it tastes different, and it's much harder to cook it without getting rice sticky, but with some trial and error it's possible. The authentic plov taste is dpominated by the taste of lamb, carrots, and zeera (cumin). Rice contributes more to the texture than the taste. If you can't find Uzbek zeera, buy Iranian variety it's pretty close. Moroccan and Indian has very different taste.

Alex Popov
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The comments under the Yandex recipe reveal an interesting fact: devzira sold in Moscow is significantly cheaper than other varieties. Most likely what was used is not an authentic devzira, but just an unpolished rice.

So don't bother with it.

user58697
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Trying the Baldo style (Bodrum) and the performance isn't good. Its sticky and make u the king chief of british lamb pudding.I used several times Stalik recipe with devzira style rice and also 'lazer' style rice if it available. https://stalic.livejournal.com/1457.html

Kirill Do
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