Name: Uzbek Lagman
Prep time: 1 h 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 11 min
Total time: 2 h 26 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Uzbekistan
Ingredients: 500 g Flour; 220 ml Water; 1 tsp Salt; 2 tbsp Sunflower oil; 500 g Beef; 80 ml Sunflower oil; 2 Onions; 2 Carrots; 2 Bell peppers; 3 Tomatoes; 1 tbsp Tomato paste; 2 Potatoes; 4 cloves Garlic; 1 tsp Cumin; Salt (to taste); 0.5 tsp Black pepper; 700 ml Water; 1 bunch Fresh cilantro

About this dish

Lagman is a dish of hand-stretched noodles served with a thick sauce of meat and vegetables. It is common across Central Asia and is linked to Uyghur cuisine; in Uzbekistan it is cooked both for everyday meals and for guests.

The Uzbek version is usually made with beef or lamb, plenty of onion, carrot, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes. The sauce is seasoned with cumin and garlic, and the boiled noodles are placed in a bowl, topped with the sauce and fresh cilantro.

Method

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl, add the water gradually and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is firm and smooth.
Cover and rest the dough for 30 minutes; then divide it, oil the pieces, shape into thick ropes and cover again to rest a few minutes.
Chop the meat, onions, carrots, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes, and finely chop the garlic.
Heat the oil in a wide pot until very hot, add the meat and fry for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Add the onions and carrots and fry for 8 minutes.
Add the garlic, cumin, black pepper, salt, tomato paste, tomatoes and peppers, and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the potatoes and hot water, partly cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes until the meat and potatoes are tender.
Stretch the dough ropes by hand, pulling, folding and slapping them on the table into long thin noodles.
Boil the noodles in plenty of salted water for about 3 minutes, drain and rinse under cold water.
Divide the noodles into deep bowls, ladle the hot sauce on top and serve with cilantro.