Bukharan Lagman – Noodle Soup with Meat and Vegetables

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveLarge pot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the onion turns golden.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Add the turmeric, cumin and paprika and stir for a minute, until fragrant.
2. 5
   Add the meat and fry 5 minutes, turning, until the meat is browned on all sides.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
3. 6
   Add the tomatoes, pepper, carrot and potato and cook 3 minutes.

   Stove
4. 7
   Add the water and bring to a boil.

   Stove
5. 8
   Turn down the heat and simmer 35 minutes, until the meat is tender.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
6. 9
   Add the pasta and cook 10 more minutes, until the pasta is tender.

   Stove

   💡Hard vegetables (carrots, celery, potatoes) cook from the start; zucchini and pasta go in at the end so they don't fall apart.

   💡Small pasta keeps absorbing liquid even after cooking: if you're not serving right away, cook it separately and add it to each bowl.
7. 10
   Season with salt and black pepper, taste and adjust.
8. 11
   Sprinkle the cilantro on top and serve.