Mastava
When I asked how to cook Uzbek food, mastava was the first dish I was taught how to cook. It is simple and tasty.
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound beef cut into 1/4 inch cubes (it just tastes better than using ground beef)
1 small onion chopped
1 large carrot peeled and diced
1 large potato peeled and diced
1 stalk of celery chopped
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
6 cups of water
salt and pepper
3/4 cup rice
sour cream
Heat oil until very hot. Fry onion add tomato paste and fry. Add beef and fry until browned. Add carrot and celery. Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly until the vegetables are soft.
Pour in the water. Raise the heat until the water boils. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add potato and rice.
Lower heat and cover, simmer for 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Serve in a bowl and put some sour cream in it.
Easy, cheap, and tasty. The best introduction to Uzbek cooking.