polo

PoloPolo (the cooking material of which is mainly mutton, carrot, oil and rice) is one of the local flavors of the Uyghur, Uzbeks, etc. with which to entertain their guests. On festive occasions or at the wedding breakfast, polo is indispensable for treating the guests. The traditional custom of dining is that the guests are asked to sit round the kang, in the centre of which a clean tablecloth is laid. The host or hostess, with a basin in one hand and a kettle in the other, asks the guests to drip-wash their hands one by one, and hands them a towel to clean their hands. After the guests have sat down, the host will carry several trays of polo and invite them to eat it directly from the tray by hand.Cooking method and its legendIts cooking material is mainly mutton, carrot, oil and rice. First cut mutton into small square and cook it with edible oil. After a while, add some onion, carrots, water and refined salt. Twenty minute later put rice in. Wait for another forty minutes, polo is done.The legend goes like this. It is said that more that one thousands years ago, a doctor named Abuduaili was in poor health in his old age. No medicine can help him. Later, he cooked a meal for himself and ate it two times a day. Half a month later, he recovered. His neighbors was amazed by the fact and asked him about it. He told the secret to them and the recipe was passed around. That’s is polo today.