I’m Yemenite and my husband and his family are Bukharian Jews that hail from Uzbekistan. After we got married, my mother-in-law gave me full tutorials on several traditional Bukharian dishes that are special to her and the family, including this osavo, a slow-cooked brisket and rice dish that reminds me of a rich tomato-based risotto studded with meat.
As I was learning the dishes I would always ask for measurements, and she would say, “Oh, it’s all by eye.” So I would pull out my kitchen scale to portion the ingredients as best I could in order to recreate the dishes in my own home. I love making so many of her recipes, but the dish I come back to over and over for cooler weather is this osavo. Like an Eastern European cholent, the dish cooks all night in a crockpot so you wake up in the morning to a house filled with a delectable savory aroma.
One element of this recipe that might surprise is the addition of grated Granny Smith apple and fresh lemon juice. These flavors are so crucial to the complexity of this dish, and they add sweetness and acidity that balance out the richness of the brisket.
The original recipe from my mother-in-law calls for bone marrow bones and flanken, but I prefer brisket so that there is more meat and no bones to remove. I’ve made it dozens of times both ways, and there’s no major difference in flavor.
Note: I prefer to use a crockpot liner for easy clean-up with this dish. They are plastic, and disposable, and a huge time saver during clean up.
This Bukharian Jewish Meaty Rice Dish Is the Crockpot Meal You Need
This slow-cooked, hearty rice and brisket is a family favorite that will warm you up even on the coldest winter days.
- Total Time: 10-12 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 lb brisket, excess fat trimmed
- 1 24 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1–2 russet potatoes, whole with skin on, rinsed and scrubbed.
- 2 cups round, short-grain rice (often sold in the Asian aisles)
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp sweet paprika
- 3½–4 cups water
- 4 eggs, rinsed
Instructions
- Fill a medium sized pot halfway full with water. Bring to a boil.
- Cut the brisket in 1” size pieces, and place in the boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Line the slow cooker with a plastic, disposable liner (optional).
- Add the partially cooked meat, along with the chopped onion, canned tomatoes, grated Granny Smith apple, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and paprika to the slow cooker.
- Rinse the rice well, until the water runs clear, then add it to the pot.
- Cover the ingredients with the water, then nestle in the whole potatoes. Place the eggs in a slow cooker bag (optional, or just nestle them in-between the potatoes), and add them to the pot.
- Cook on low for 10-12 hours.
- Check in the morning and add more water if it seems dry.
- Add another large squeeze of lemon juice before serving. Serve with prepared tahini, Israeli chopped salad and challah.
Notes
I prefer to use a crockpot liner (optional) for easy clean-up with this dish. They are plastic, and disposable and a huge time saver during clean up.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12 hours
- Category: Stew
- Method: Crockpot
- Cuisine: Bukharian
I don t understand where the eggs fit in? The whole eggs with shells cook in a separate bag in the pot and then what? Thanks for clarifying!
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Hi Caryn, this method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. Once everything is cooked, you peel them and enjoy them along with the rest of the dish. You can cook the eggs in a Crockpot-safe bag, or nestle them on top of the rest of the ingredients along with the potatoes.
This recipe looks fantastic; but wow, no to cooking in a plastic liner! All of those toxic plastic chemicals – carcinogens and endocrine disrupters – leached out by the heat and acid – yikes! A literal toxic stew. Definitely better for our bodies and the environment to dispense with plastic liners. Soaking the pot to clean isn’t a big deal
This is a version of cholent? What do you do with the eggs?
Hi Michele, it is a slow-cooked stew, similar to a cholent or hamin. You can place the eggs in a Crockpot-safe bag or nestle them into the top of the ingredients along with the potatoes. Once everything is cooked, simply peel the eggs and enjoy along with the rest of the dish.
I want to try this. Looks like eggs are an optional side? Think I would rather just boil eggs separately and they would remain white instead of the unappetizing looking brown. Any reason not to do this?
Hi Barbara, this method of slow-cooking eggs (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. You can boil them separately if you prefer, but they won’t have the nutty, deep flavor of slow-cooked eggs.
Are the eggs hard boiled?
Hi Teri, this method of slow-cooking eggs (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. The result is a hard-boiled, deeply flavored egg: delicious!
Can you give more explanation about how to prepare the eggs for this recipe? Are they in the shell? Hard boiled? Thanks!
Hi Stephanie, you can place the eggs in a Crockpot-safe bag or nestle them on top of the ingredients along with the potatoes. Once everything is cooked, simply peel the eggs and enjoy along with the rest of the dish. This method of slow-cooking eggs (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here.
Do you keep the eggs in the shell? Do they go into the meal as a hard cooked egg?
Hi Caryn, this method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. Once everything is cooked, you peel them and enjoy them along with the rest of the dish.
Are the eggs cooked? In shell? Or what?
Hi Barbara, this method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. Once everything is cooked, you peel them and enjoy them along with the rest of the dish.
I don’t understand about the eggs. Whole raw eggs? Or cracked but then what does a rinsed mean?
Hi Robyn, this method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. Once everything is cooked, you peel them and enjoy them along with the rest of the dish.
Can you please explain the eggs?
Hi Ruth, this method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. Once everything is cooked, you peel them and enjoy them along with the rest of the dish.
What do you do with the cooked eggs?
Once everything is cooked, you peel them and enjoy them along with the rest of the dish.
What do you do with the eggs ? And – can u substitute barley for rice ?
Hello, what do you do with the eggs when the dish is complete? Leave them whole? And I have never seen a slow cooker bag but will look!
What are rinsed eggs?
Whole eggs that have been rinsed under the faucet.
“Disposable” isn’t good. Adding more plastic garbage to the planet is evil.
Will the potatoes remain whole, or do they break down while cooking? What do you do with the eggs for serving?
Thank you
Hi Nicole, the potatoes will soften as they cook, but should remain intact. This method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. Once everything is cooked, you peel them and enjoy them along with the rest of the dish.
depends what potato u use
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Please do not use plastic in any form, especially in contact with cooking food, especially with any fat content. Plastic will leach chemicals into your food. This includes not wrapping cheese in plastic, not using plastic water bottles. For quick clean-up if that is the issue, hot water and some baking soda in the pot, bring to a boil, let it sit – done!
I haven’t made this yet, but have some questions. Do you serve the eggs peeled with the portion of the meat mixture? If you cook this at night, do you keep it on warm till dinner time? Take out the eggs though?
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Hi Sunny, yes! That’s exactly what you do with the eggs. If you were planning to serve this at night I would recommend assembling this first thing in the morning; it needs to cook for 10-12 hours.
Looks great, but how are the eggs served???
This method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. Once everything is cooked, you peel them and enjoy them along with the rest of the dish.
Why do you place the eggs in a slow cooker bag? Do they not go in with the rest of the ingredients?
Hi Corinne, you can place the whole eggs (shell on) in a Crockpot-safe bag or nestle them on top of the ingredients along with the potatoes. Once everything is cooked, simply peel the eggs and enjoy along with the rest of the dish. This method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here.
What do the eggs do for the stew? Why put them in a bag?
Hi Jan, you can place the whole eggs (shell on) in a Crockpot-safe bag or nestle them on top of the ingredients along with the potatoes. Once everything is cooked, simply peel the eggs and enjoy along with the rest of the dish. This method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here.
Are the eggs hard boiled when they go in the slow cooker? What is the purpose of putting the eggs in the slow cooker if they are served separately? Are slow cooker bags different from slow cooker liners?
Hi Aviva, you can place the whole eggs (shell on) in a Crockpot-safe bag or nestle them on top of the ingredients along with the potatoes. Once everything is cooked, simply peel the eggs and enjoy along with the rest of the dish. This method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here.
What is a slow cooker bag?
There are no clear instructions for the eggs.
Hi Wendy, you can place the whole eggs (shell on) in a Crockpot-safe bag or nestle them on top of the ingredients along with the potatoes. Once everything is cooked, simply peel the eggs and enjoy along with the rest of the dish. This method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here.
How are the eggs meant to be cooked? Are we boiling them in the bag, are they already boiled & peeled, or are they cracked into the bag?
Hi Harley, you can place the whole eggs (shell on) in a Crockpot-safe bag or nestle them on top of the ingredients along with the potatoes. Once everything is cooked, simply peel the eggs and enjoy along with the rest of the dish. This method of slow-cooking eggs in their shells (aka huevos haminados) in a stew is common in many Jewish communities. You can read more about them here. Once everything is cooked, you peel them and enjoy them along with the rest of the dish.
Question. Can I use stewing meat instead of brisket?
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Hi Dorit, you can sub the brisket for flanked a couple of pieces of bone marrow. Enjoy!
What size crockpot for this recipe? I just made something similar and lined the crockpot with parchment paper. Easy cleanup but soaking without paper works fine too. Noooo plastic liners!
Please clarify: is the brisket boiled for 2 min. once the water returns to a boil OR is it 2 min. from the time the meat is put into the water?
Place the brisket into boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.
Does the type of rice matter a lot? Would Arborio rice work well for this dish? Plain short-grain rice?
Hi Dan, Arborio rice should work! Enjoy.
Made this as an alternative to my traditional cholent. Comments: Good, maybe a 7/10. Too much lemon. I boiled brisket as per suggestion and after 22 hours of cooking in a crock pot the beef was tough and chewy. I think the boiling was a bad suggestion. Might try this combo again, but would brown the meat rather than boil Also, it needed some aromatics to give it better flavor. And, hard to imagine a cholent without garlic.
I liked the rice – never put in a cholent before but it was a nice touch. I diced the potato mostly to save room.
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Made it last night! Fantastic. Iknow people are worried about the eggs but they were. the star! A little custardy probably because of the slow cooking. Potatoes were also moist and delicious.
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Fantastic meal. Whole family loved. Tehina was a surprisingly great addition. Definitely made our rotation. TY!
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