Uyghur Polo (Pilaf)

Polo is a staple of the Uyghur, Uzbek and Kazakh peoples, its name in Uyghur meaning a steamed rice dish. Bone-in lamb is first browned for its fat, then stir-fried with yellow carrot and onion before soaked rice is added and steamed; the finished rice is distinct-grained, glossy and golden, the meat's savoury braided with the carrot's sweetness.

Polo is widespread across Central and West Asia, with the earliest written record in a thirteenth-century Arabic text. Xinjiang sits where East Asian chopstick culture meets Central Asian hand-eating culture, and its oasis rice farming supplies the grain, making polo the most representative guest dish of Uyghur society—indispensable at festivals, weddings and funerals alike.

Traditionally served in a large tray and eaten by hand—hence the Chinese name "grabbed rice"—it is today more often taken by the spoonful in a bowl; it is commonly paired with a cooling salad of onion, tomato and chilli and with clear tea to cut the richness, a daily and ceremonial staple across Xinjiang.

The glossy golden grains, the marriage of lamb with sweet yellow carrot, and the old custom of eating by hand are the clearest marks of Xinjiang polo.