Turpan Polo (Hand-Grasped Rice)

Polo, the Uyghur "polao," recorded in Tang-era annals as "boluo," is rice braised with onion, lamb and carrot until glossy and plump, meat and vegetables in one pot; it is named for the old custom of eating it by hand and is the centrepiece rice dish at Uyghur feasts and festivals.

Polo reaches far back in Uyghur food culture; in grape-rich Turpan a local variant drops the lamb and heaps in native raisins, the rice glossed amber and studded with sweet dried fruit, a true child of the oasis and the Silk Road trade that shaped it.

Once braised it is heaped into a large platter and, by tradition, eaten by hand, the right thumb and fingers pressing a small ball to the mouth; today a spoon is common, with salad and yogurt on the side, rich yet not heavy.

The amber, glossy grains tinted by lamb fat and carrot, the falling-tender meat, and Turpan's distinctive sweet raisin version are the marks of polo.