Uzbek

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Shivit Oshi (Dill Noodles with Suzma and Meat Sauce)

The green noodles of Khiva, in Uzbekistan's Khorezm. Dill is ground into the dough and turns it pale green; the boiled, rinsed noodles are tossed in suzma, a thick fermented milk, and topped with qayla, a braise of meat and vegetables. It runs the usual order for a delicate herb backwards: the dill boils with the noodle, so what it leaves is not a bright top note but colour and a quiet background.

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Tuxum Barak (Dumplings Filled with Raw Egg)

A dumpling from Khorezm in Uzbekistan: a thin half-moon of dough sealed along its edge first, then filled through a gap left for it with raw beaten egg, still liquid, pinched shut and boiled. The rule for dumplings is that a liquid filling cannot be wrapped at all. This one keeps the filling and changes the order instead: seal first, fill last. In four or five minutes in the pot the egg sets, so what was a liquid when it was wrapped is a solid when it is eaten.

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Plov (Pilaf)

Uzbekistan's national dish: rice steamed undisturbed over a rich broth of seared meat and sweet carrots. It's what gets cooked in a giant cauldron at every wedding, and it's on the UNESCO intangible heritage list. One pot feeds six.