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Mastava: The "Liquid Plov" You Eat with a Spoon

Take plov — meat, rice, carrot, onion, cumin — and leave in more broth. You get mastava, which in Uzbekistan is called exactly that, "liquid plov." It's the everyday home soup: simpler than plov, more filling than an ordinary soup, and instantly familiar to anyone who's already tried plov.

A Kvazar guide · Updated 2026 · ~6 min read

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If plov is a celebration and shurpa is rich warmth, then mastava is the everyday food of the Uzbek home: a rice soup cooked when you need to feed the family well and without fuss. A tourist knows mastava less than plov or lagman, and wrongly: it's one of the country's coziest dishes and a good way to understand how Uzbek cuisine works "for one's own." Let's work out what it is and how mastava differs from plov and shurpa.

In short: mastava is an Uzbek rice soup of meat (lamb or beef), rice, carrot, onion, tomatoes and spices, which — because of its plov-like set of ingredients — is often called "liquid plov" or "shavlya soup." Unlike plov, mastava has lots of broth and is eaten with a spoon. From shurpa, mastava differs mainly by the presence of rice. It's a filling everyday home dish.
In this guide What mastava is How mastava differs from plov and shurpa How mastava is made FAQ

What is mastava?

Mastava is a thick rice soup of Uzbek cuisine with meat and vegetables. The set of ingredients is almost like plov's: meat, rice, carrot, onion, tomatoes, cumin and other spices — but it's all boiled in broth rather than steamed dry as in plov. The result is a hearty, aromatic first course, served hot, often dressed with katyk (sour milk) or sour cream and sprinkled with herbs.

Mastava is loved for being simple and "homely": it's made without the complex technique of plov, but with the same recognizable flavor. It's an everyday-table dish, equally at home at a family lunch and in a chaikhana. Among the dozens of Uzbek soups, mastava is one of the most common, alongside shurpa and mashkhurda (a soup with mung beans).

People spend years learning to cook plov. Mastava is made when you want plov but have no time — and get almost the same happiness, just with a spoon.

How does mastava differ from plov and shurpa?

From plov, mastava differs in consistency: plov is cooked so the rice absorbs the liquid and turns crumbly, while mastava stays a soup with plenty of broth. From shurpa, mastava differs by the rice: shurpa is a soup of meat and coarsely cut vegetables without grain, whereas mastava must have rice, which makes it thicker and more filling. Simply put: mastava = soup + rice + the "plov" set of ingredients.

There's a related dish too — shavlya: this is no longer a soup but a thick rice porridge with meat, something between plov and mastava in density. That's why mastava is sometimes called "shavlya soup." All these dishes — plov, shavlya, mastava — are built on one base (meat, rice, carrot, onion, cumin) but differ in the amount of liquid and the cooking method.

One base, three dishes: plov (crumbly, liquid evaporated) → shavlya (thick porridge) → mastava (soup with broth). The difference is in the amount of liquid.

How is mastava made?

Exact proportions vary — here's the logic. Mastava is closer to a soup, so everything is cooked together in broth.

Basic logic · mastava

Mastava: the order of steps

  1. Fry the base. In a cauldron, fry the meat with onion, add carrot and tomatoes — this gives an aromatic base (like plov's zirvak, but milder).
  2. Pour in broth. Add water or broth in quantity — this is the future soup.
  3. Add the rice. Add washed rice and cook until it softens and the soup thickens.
  4. Season. Cumin, salt, pepper, garlic; optionally potato or other vegetables.
  5. Serve. Hot, dressed with katyk or sour cream and sprinkled with fresh herbs (cilantro, dill).

Frequently asked questions about mastava

Why is mastava called "liquid plov"?

Because the set of ingredients is almost like plov's — meat, rice, carrot, onion, cumin — but mastava is cooked as a soup, with plenty of broth. The rice isn't steamed dry to crumbliness but softens into a thick soup, eaten with a spoon.

How does mastava differ from shurpa?

The main difference is the rice. Shurpa is a soup of meat and coarsely cut vegetables without grain, while mastava must have rice, which makes it thicker and more filling. By ingredients, mastava is closer to plov, and shurpa to a pure meat soup.

How does mastava differ from shavlya?

In consistency. Shavlya is a thick rice porridge with meat, with almost no free broth. Mastava is thinner — it's a soup. Both dishes are related to plov but differ in the amount of liquid.

What is mastava served with?

Hot, often dressed with katyk (sour milk) or sour cream and sprinkled with fresh herbs. Like other dishes, it comes with flatbread. It's a filling first course that often replaces a full lunch.

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