On Tuesday, April 7, Macalester’s Elementary Russian II and Intermediate Russian II classes and several other members of the Russian Studies department visited the Uzbek restaurant Samarkand for dinner. The trip was funded by Macalester’s Twin Cities Action Fund, intended to foster student engagement with local communities.
While it boasts the distinction of being Minnesota’s only Uzbek restaurant, Samarkand itself is relatively nondescript. A twentyminute drive from campus, the restaurant is tucked into a strip mall in Plymouth, Minn. Thick green curtains cover the windows, so the only clue to the restaurant’s existence from the outside is a small sign above the door. But as soon as guests step inside, bright colors and detailed paintings of mosques and bazaars in Samarkand, the restaurant’s namesake and the historic capital city of Uzbekistan, banish any doubt that they might be in the wrong place. When we arrived, the lights were turned low and a long table with a white tablecloth awaited us in the corner of the dining room, set with a wide range of appetizers.
The tandoor bread had the right amount of texture – the crisp, buttery crust was lightly sprinkled with sesame seeds, balanced by a light, airy interior. Small pastries called samsas, resembling samosas or handheld meat pies with lamb, beef and onions in the center were also served. A refreshing mix of thinly sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and onions drizzled in a light mix of olive oil, lemon juice and spices accompanied the bread and meat pastries.
The first main course was a cart full of small bowls of a soup called shurpa. The soup quickly became a favorite among our group, and the hearty combination of bone broth, beef, potatoes, turnips, chickpeas and carrots made for a very satisfying and warming dish. Each vegetable was cooked to tender perfection, and the simple, comforting flavors in the broth pulled everything together.
The second main course was a staple of traditional Uzbek and Eastern European cuisine, Samarkand plov. Plov is a very old fried rice and meat dish. At Samarkand, a large pan of rice, beef, carrots, chickpeas and raisins is cooked with a special imported dark sesame seed oil, which helps achieve a deep golden-brown color and adds depth of flavor. It was undoubtedly the most filling dish we were served.
According to restaurant employee Djamshed Mamatkulov, Uzbek plov originated in the Timurid Empire, when its ruler, Amir Timur, instructed his chefs to prepare a satiating dish for his troops. Its defining feature: preparation could be interrupted at any time and resumed without affecting the final flavor. This characteristic made plov the perfect food during wartime, contributing (according to Mamatkulov) to the empire’s success.
Whatever its origins, plov’s age, simplicity and distribution across large regions of Eastern Europe and Russia mean that many cities have their own take on it. Samarkandstyle plov is made with zigir oil and cooked by layering the ingredients instead of stirring them together. This version is most popular in Uzbekistan due to Samarkand’s historical and cultural significance in the region as a commercial hub along the Silk Road and as the former capital of the Timurid Empire. However, many Uzbeks continue to enjoy other regional variations, such as Bukharaians, who prepare plov with chicken.
Mamatkulov explained that plov is appropriate in Uzbekistan for all kinds of celebrations, and there are even sweet versions prepared with dried apricots and raisins. Mamatkulov also noted that cooking plov is traditionally considered a man’s job, and claimed that every cook, including himself, has a secret recipe or ingredient that must never be revealed.
The Samarkand restaurant in Minnesota opened its doors in November 2019. The restaurant was opened and initially run exclusively by family members, all immigrants from Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
In its infancy, the Samarkand restaurant demanded huge amounts of dedication. Family members said that they often worked shifts of up to 18 hours, preparing the space, practicing recipes and getting ready for guests. This effort culminated on opening day, when a huge cooking pot full of plov intended to feed people for a day was eaten by guests almost immediately.
But only a few months after Samarkand’s opening, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the restaurant industry around Minnesota. As a small family-run business, Samarkand relied on the resilience of its founders to survive its first year, with several of them picking up second jobs to keep their own families and the business afloat.
Over time, Samarkand has become more than just a restaurant. After the previous owners of a market next door moved away, Samarkand bought the space, which now offers imported goods from Central Asia.
In many ways, the Samarkand restaurant and the Samarkand market represent key “third spaces” for Uzbek, Central Asian and post-Soviet immigrant communities across Minnesota. Mamatkulov recalled a gathering hosted by Samarkand towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic when a large community of Uzbek families came together to share plov. Like on the restaurant’s opening day, a huge pot of plov intended to last the day vanished within the first hour. Four years later, Samarkand continues to be a community hub.
Last month, Samarkand restaurant hosted a celebration for Nowruz (Persian New Year). According to Mamatkulov, over 200 families were in attendance.
For many immigrant communities, the United States, alongside providing a chance at the ever-elusive “American Dream,” often spells death for native languages among second and third generations. The “third spaces” provided by Samarkand represent a location where post-Soviet languages, like Uzbek and Russian, can thrive despite the pressures of linguistic assimilation.
Beth Parker-Youngdahl ’28, David Eduardo Juvera Noriega ’29, Milo Clarkson ’26, Maxwell Mortensen ’29, and Aubrey Jensen ’29 contributed to the writing for this story.
