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Cauldron kebab with Uzbek lamb potatoes

Uzbek Kazan-Kebab: Lamb and Potatoes in a Cauldron

A traditional, crowd-pleasing dish for treasured guests. It's served on a big lyagan platter set in the center of the dastarkhan (the spread). Lyagans usually come out for a festive table, but you'll also see them at everyday gatherings when a big family sits down together. And you don't need an open fire to make it.

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Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Lamb (bone-in saddle steak)

Potatoes

Onion (large)

Carrots

Garlic

Vegetable oil

250

Water

100

Salt

Ground pepper blend

Dry spices (for meat, plus coriander)

Cumin (a couple of pinches)

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 24 % 7 g

Fats 45 % 13 g

Carbohydrates 31 % 9 g

177 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather your ingredients. Kazan-kebab is best made with meat from a young animal—it has much less of that strong lamb smell. You can use other meats, but Central Asian cooks favor lamb. The loin and saddle work best, as the meatiest, most tender premium cuts.
Step 2:

Rinse and pat the meat dry, and if needed cut it into fairly large pieces, about 1 to 1 1/4 inches (2.5–3 cm) thick. That keeps the meat juicy and cuts down on cooking time.
Step 3:

Prep the rest. Peel the potatoes and leave them whole—ideally pick evenly shaped tubers of about the same medium size. Slice the onion into half-moons and cut the carrot into batons, not too fine. The garlic can stay in whole cloves or be chopped.
Step 4:

Heat the cauldron, pour in about 1 cup of refined oil, and get it good and hot. Pat the potatoes dry, then fry them 1–2 at a time (so the oil doesn't lose heat) until golden.
Step 5:

Lift out the fried potatoes with a slotted spoon and sprinkle them with salt right away, while hot. Fry all the potatoes this way.
Step 6:

Fry all the pieces of meat the same way, in batches. Because lamb is relatively lean, it dries out fast over high heat, so it's never browned hard—just seared enough to seal the surface.
Step 7:

Salt the hot pieces and sprinkle them with black pepper and cumin crushed between your fingers. The meat and potatoes are still raw inside, of course, but the seared crust will lock all the juices in during the rest of the cooking.
Step 8:

Frying used a lot of oil, but you won't need that much for the rest, so pour some off. Leave just enough to cover the bottom of the cauldron by about 1/2 inch (1–1.5 cm).
Step 9:

Now return everything to the cauldron in layers—potatoes first.
Step 10:

Lay the pieces of meat on top of the potatoes.
Step 11:

Scatter the vegetables over the meat layer: onion, carrot, garlic cloves, and dry spices. You won't actually eat these vegetables—they're there to release their juices and aromas into the layers below. And of course, to bake everything through, you need steam: carefully pour a little water down the sides of the cauldron.
Step 12:

Now cover everything with a ceramic plate to hold in more heat and cut down on evaporation, then close the lid tightly. Keep the heat a little below medium and let it braise for about an hour or a bit longer. Don't lift the lid without reason—check once for liquid and top up with a little water if needed. Test for doneness by piercing a potato with a skewer.
Step 13:

Serve hot on a big lyagan platter: mound the meat in the center, arrange the potatoes, tomatoes, and sliced cucumbers around it, and add a generous, varied heap of fresh herbs. Serve Uzbek flatbread on the side.

Lamb may be the best meat there is for playing with seasonings—there's hardly a fragrant herb that doesn't suit it. And given its distinctive smell, most cooks say to be generous with the spices: they don't just cover up any off notes, they draw out the best in the meat. Kazan-kebab is traditionally cooked over an open fire, but if that's not an option, it comes out just as delicious on the stove.