Meatless Osh Sovo: Bukharian Slow-Cooked Rice With Dried Fruit

As Sukkot is a harvest festival, Sukkot menus typically include dishes with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Since Sukkot takes place during the beginning of the fall season, it’s a perfect time to utilize the bounty of the season into this all-in-one-pot richly aromatic rice dish.

This soft, fruity rice, with its lovely fragrance and flavor, is a modern adaptation of traditional Bukharian rice that is typically served every Shabbat lunch. Traditionally this rice dish was cooked in a linen bag (called a khalti) immersed in a soup stock and cooked slowly overnight. This method significantly enhances the flavor, as the vegetables and fruits melt into a thick brown sweet risotto. Osh Sovo was always made with pieces of meat; however, this meatless version is substituted with beans. Fusing European influence into this dish, you will find root vegetables typically found in the Ashkenazi cholent. Cooking this dish in a slow cooker not only allows observance of the no-cook rule on Sukkot, but it will form a dark crust at the bottom of the pot that can be enjoyed as a delicacy on its own.

Cook Time: 720 minutes

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 8 – 10

INGREDIENTS

1 cup dried red kidney beans, soaked 12 hours in advance

2 cups short-grain brown rice, soaked 4 hours in advance

½ cup oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

3 carrots, cut into thin matchsticks

3 large tomatoes, chopped

3 potatoes, peeled and quartered

2 apples, peeled, cored and quartered

1 sweet potato, peeled and quartered

5 pitted prunes, chopped

5 dried apricots, chopped

2 tablespoons raisins

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground ginger

5 1/2 cups water

2 teaspoons sea salt

PREPARATION

1. Soak the dried kidney beans (12 hours in advance).

2.Wash and soak the rice (4 hours in advance).

3. When you are ready to cook, add the beans, rice, oil, onion, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, apples, sweet potato, prunes, apricots, raisins, turmeric and ginger to the slow cooker and cover with water.
4. Turn the slow cooker to the lowest setting. Cover and cook for 12 to 18 hours. Periodically check the pot to make sure that the water has not dried up. If it has, add ½ cup at a time. The minimum amount of time required to cook Osh Sovo is 12 hours, upwards of 18 hours. Cooking time is very forgiving, since the longer it cooks, the more the flavors meld. Season with salt at the end.

5. Spoon onto a large platter and top with the crust from the bottom of the pot, if you can. Serve hot.