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  • Narrator: Weighing 350 kilograms,

  • this is one of the largest rice pilafs in the world.

  • Locally known as plov,

  • it is the national dish of Uzbekistan.

  • It is enjoyed year-round as a weekday meal

  • and prepared on huge scales for weddings and holidays.

  • Its popularity and ubiquity across Uzbekistan

  • cannot be overstated.

  • It is so beloved that nearly 3,000 people

  • come to Besh Qozon Pilaf Center in Tashkent

  • to have it for lunch every day.

  • Narrator: We visited Besh Qozon to see what it takes

  • to make such big batches.

  • Making plov on this scale begins the night before.

  • Workers start by peeling and cutting

  • 100 kilograms of carrots

  • and placing them into large buckets.

  • In the morning, master chef Mirkomil,

  • who has been making this dish for 20 years,

  • starts cutting 100 kilograms of mutton and beef.

  • Narrator: He then ties the chunks of meat together.

  • Tying the meat helps ensure it stays tender

  • during the cooking process

  • and prevents it from splaying.

  • Just preparing these ingredients takes three hours.

  • While the meat is being prepared,

  • a large cast-iron cauldron called a qozon is preheated

  • and filled with 40 liters of sunflower oil.

  • In Uzbekistan, it's said

  • that the best-tasting pilafs are the oiliest.

  • Once warm, those chunks of beef and mutton

  • are slid into the center of the qozon

  • and cooked until golden brown.

  • When the beef has browned,

  • chefs work together to lift and dump

  • 100 kilograms of cut carrots into the center

  • along with onions.

  • This blend of carrots and onions is known as zirvak

  • and is the general base for all plov.

  • This base is similar to soffritto in Italy

  • and mirepoix in France.

  • Plov recipes used to include spinach, chestnuts,

  • beans, and dried fruits,

  • but most of these ingredients have been substituted.

  • At Besh Qozon, soft raisins, garbanzo beans,

  • dried barberries, and water are added.

  • After about 30 minutes,

  • 100 kilograms of a local long-grain laser rice

  • is added and covered by large metal plates,

  • which help steam the rice.

  • Unlike many Middle Eastern pilafs that fry the rice,

  • the steamed rice in plov is crumbly, soft, and airy.

  • But achieving this texture and making sure the rice

  • doesn't stick together is difficult.

  • Narrator: When the rice is done,

  • the steaming plates are removed

  • and the rice is fluffed into the mix.

  • The entire cooking process takes around six hours

  • and is a labor of love.

  • Narrator: Once mixed, generous portions of plov

  • are loaded onto plates.

  • In Uzbekistan, there are over 120 recipes for plov

  • that use some combination of meat,

  • vegetables, salad, and raisins.

  • Plov in Uzbekistan is typically served

  • with a fresh tomato and crispy onion salad,

  • but there are plenty of other condiments

  • and toppings you can add.

  • Narrator: And everyone has their own part

  • they enjoy the most.

  • Narrator: Each plate costs around $1 to $2.

  • And while plov is now a relatively cheap

  • and ubiquitous meal in Uzbekistan,

  • it wasn't always this way.

  • Up until the 1930s,

  • plov was mostly eaten by wealthy families

  • and reserved for special occasions

  • like holidays and weddings for everyone else.

  • Today, many Uzbeks eat plov three to four times a week

  • and sometimes skip the meat altogether.

  • Narrator: Plov is adopted from the Farsi ward "polo"

  • and akin to the Turkish word "pilaf."

  • The first-known recipe of plov

  • is believed to come from 13th-century Persia,

  • where it was adapted from a barley dish

  • that used similar ingredients.

  • Legend has it that Alexander the Great was fed plov

  • after he conquered modern-day Samarkand.

  • He apparently loved the dish so much

  • that he brought the recipe back to Macedonia.

  • By the 15th century, several styles of pilaf

  • had established themselves in Central Asia,

  • India, Turkey, and the Caribbean,

  • where they remain a staple.

  • While it's now a more common meal,

  • plov is still the preferred dish for Uzbek weddings.

  • During weddings, guests generally

  • help prepare the meal for everyone

  • on a similar scale to Besh Qozon.

  • Qozons on much smaller scales

  • were first introduced by Turkish nomads

  • and are now just as common in central Asia

  • as a frying pan is in the West.

  • While household qozons aren't as large,

  • they can typically feed 12 to 15 people,

  • and many families have at least one larger qozon

  • to feed large groups of guests.

  • Despite countless varieties of plov,

  • Besh Qozon Pilaf Center in Tashkent

  • draws a faithful crowd.

  • Narrator: Whether you call it plov, pilaf, or pilau,

  • the core ingredients of this time-honored dish

  • revolve around rice.

  • And the one served at Besh Qozon

  • is the ultimate sign of the good life in Uzbekistan.

  • Thanks for watching.

  • Please remember to subscribe to Food Insider,

  • and go watch our previous episode of "Big Batches"

  • at the world's largest community kitchen in India.

Narrator: Weighing 350 kilograms,

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