Samarkand Uzbek Pilaf-Making Cooking Class with Local Market Tour

Cook Uzbekistan's national dish from market to table in a hands-on Uzbek plov master class with round-trip transfers and village dinner.

Getting started

Begin your experience with round-trip transfers between Samarkand and the nearby village where the class takes place. On arrival, meet your experienced local hosts who will outline the flow of the day. You then head to a traditional local market, where the guided visit starts with choosing the ingredients for your Uzbek plov cooking master class.

What to expect

Traditional local market

Visit a traditional local market to see where everyday shopping happens and to select what you will cook with later in the day.

Features

• A guided visit to a traditional local market shows you how locals choose rice, meat, carrots, spices, and other ingredients used for authentic Uzbek plov.
• Your experienced local hosts explain which products work best for preparing plov in a large kazan over a wood fire and answer questions with assistance and translation during activity if needed.
• There are opportunities for photography throughout the experience, so you can capture colorful stalls, ingredient details, and moments from this first stage of your day.

Village home cooking class

Continue to a welcoming village home near Samarkand for your hands-on Uzbek plov cooking master class.

Features

• During this hands-on plov class with ingredients provided, you help prepare Uzbekistan’s national dish from scratch, learning how to layer and cook it in a large kazan using traditional cooking equipment and utensils.
• Instruction from experienced local hosts introduces you to traditional cooking techniques and the history, cultural significance, and regional variations of Uzbek plov.
• Cultural interaction and insight into Uzbek culinary traditions and village life come naturally as you cook alongside a local family and observe everyday routines around the village home.
• Throughout the master class, you can take photos of the cooking process, traditional kitchen tools, and rural surroundings, creating a visual record of each step.

Traditional Uzbek dinner

After cooking, sit down in the village home for a traditional Uzbek dinner that features the dish you have just prepared.

Features

• A traditional Uzbek dinner with plov, bread, tea and homemade sweets is served, including freshly prepared plov, freshly baked Uzbek bread (non), tea and drinking water, and traditional homemade sweets or desserts.
• Interaction with a local family over the meal deepens your understanding of village life, local customs, and family traditions that have been passed down through generations.
• The small-group atmosphere supports conversation, cultural exchange, and time to ask questions about Uzbek culinary traditions and village life while you eat.
• Assistance and translation during activity remain available, and you can take final photos of the table setting, dishes, and shared moments before your round-trip transfers take you back to Samarkand.