A kazan or qazan[1] is a type of large cooking pot used throughout Central Asia, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey,[2] and the Balkan Peninsula, roughly equivalent to a cauldron, boiler, or Dutch oven. They come in a variety of sizes (small modern cooking pots are sometimes referred to as kazans), and are often measured by their capacity, such as "a 50-litre kazan". Usually their diameter is half a meter.[1] Kazans are made of cast iron or in modern times aluminum[1] and are used to cook a wide variety of foods, including plov (pilaf), sumalak, shorpa, kesme, and bawyrsaq, and as such are an important element in celebrations when food must be prepared for large numbers of guests.
Kazans may be suspended over a fire in a variety of ways. Sometimes metal frames (a tripod called sajayaq)[1] are made, or alternatively (especially for large kazan), a hole may be dug in the ground which will hold the kazan and provide enough space underneath to keep a fire under it—in this case, an access hole is built in the side to allow the fire to be tended, and to let in air. Smaller kazans may be used on [usually gas] stoves with the help of a specially designed piece of metal that lets the heat [of the flame] transfer to the kazan while at the same time holding it upright and steady.
Etymology
The origin of the word kazan can be ultimately traced back to Old Turkic verb kaz-, meaning "gouge, carve, hollow out" and present participle suffix of +(g)An. The word evolved to Middle Turkic as kazğan, meaning "big copper vessel". Oldest written record of the word in any Turkic language is dated back to Mahmud al-Kashgari's 1073 work Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk. It is also mentioned in Codex Cumanicus.[3]
History
Kazans seem to have been invented by the Turkic nomads and were used as their basic cooking utensil.[1] They resemble in shape the Chinese wok or the Indian karahi but differ from them in shape and also lack a handle.[1] The Scythians and other Iranian peoples inhabitants of the western steppes before the Turkic migrations, used different cooking utensils.[1] They used round bottomed clay and bronze pots having a more big-bellied shape than the hemispherical profile of the kazan.[1] Some peoples neighboring the Turkic peoples adopted the kazan for its usefulness.[1] Especially in making pilaf (rice) for occasions like weddings.[1]
In the Ottoman Empire, the kazan was the common symbol of the janissary regiments and they would overturn it to indicate a quarrel with their superiors. This has led to the Turkish expression of "Kazan devirmek" "to overturn the kazan" as a synonym for mutiny.[1] The kazans of Turkey have adopted the typical flat-bottomed shape of the middle east.[1]
Toy-kazan - translates to "wedding kazan", a kazan big enough to prepare food for wedding guests
Name of the cities
Gazandjyk or Kazandzhik currently Bereket - is a city in Balkan Province in western Turkmenistan. The name is composed of Kazan and -jyk, a diminutive suffix (denoting small in size), so the name can be translated into English as cauldron-ette or pot-kin. Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia.
A wok is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan of Chinese origin. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in that country, and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as being popular in other parts of the world.
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator, and worktops and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a microwave oven, a dishwasher, and other electric appliances. The main functions of a kitchen are to store, prepare and cook food. The room or area may also be used for dining, entertaining and laundry. The design and construction of kitchens is a huge market all over the world.
Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware and bakeware.
A Dutch oven or casserole dish (international) is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron; however, some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminum, or ceramic. Some metal varieties are enameled rather than being seasoned, and these are sometimes called French ovens. The international name casserole dish is from the French casserole which means "cooking pot". They are similar to both the Japanese tetsunabe and the sač, a traditional Balkan cast-iron oven, and are related to the South African potjie, the Australian Bedourie oven and Spanish cazuela.
Pilaf or pilau is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some technique for achieving cooked grains that do not adhere to each other.
Korma or qorma is a dish originating in the Indian subcontinent, consisting of meat or vegetables braised with yogurt (dahi), water or stock, and spices to produce a thick sauce or gravy.
A tava(h) / tawa(h) (mainly on the Indian subcontinent), saj (in Arabic), sac (in Turkish), and other variations and combinations thereof, is a metal-made cooking utensil. The tawa is round and can be flat, but more commonly has a curved profile, and while the concave side can be used as a wok or frying pan, the convex side is used for cooking flatbreads and pancakes.
Tatar cuisine is primarily the cuisine of the Volga Tatars, who live in Tatarstan, Russia, and surrounding areas.
Uzbek cuisine shares the culinary traditions of peoples across Central Asia. There is a great deal of grain farming in Uzbekistan, so breads and noodles are of importance, and Uzbek cuisine has been characterized as "noodle-rich". Mutton is a popular variety of meat due to the abundance of sheep in the country and it is a part of various Uzbek dishes.
Sač is a large metal or ceramic lid like a shallow bell with which bread dough or various dishes to be baked are covered, and over which ashes and live coals are placed. Dishes prepared in a sač are evenly cooked, retain their juiciness, and are praised for their rich flavour.
Azerbaijani cuisine refers to the cooking styles and dishes of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The cuisine is influenced by the country's diversity of agriculture, from abundant grasslands which historically allowed for a culture of pastoralism to develop, as well as to the unique geographical location of Azerbaijan, which is situated on the crossroads of Europe and Asia with an access to the Caspian Sea. The location has enabled the people to develop a varied diet rich in produce, milk products, and meat, including beef, mutton, fish and game. The location, which was contended over by many historical kingdoms, khanates, and empires, also meant that Azerbaijani cuisine was influenced by the culinary traditions of multiple different cultures, such as Turkic, Iranian, and Eastern European.
Tajik cuisine is a traditional cuisine of Tajikistan, and has much in common with Russian, Afghan, Iranian and Uzbek cuisines. Plov (pilaf), also called osh, is the national dish in Tajikistan, as in other countries in the region. Green tea is the national drink.
A kamado is a traditional Japanese wood- or charcoal-fueled cook stove.
A kitchen utensil is a small hand-held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils are made for each task. A general purpose utensil such as a chef's knife may be used for a variety of foods; other kitchen utensils are highly specialized and may be used only in connection with preparation of a particular type of food, such as an egg separator or an apple corer. Some specialized utensils are used when an operation is to be repeated many times, or when the cook has limited dexterity or mobility. The number of utensils in a household kitchen varies with time and the style of cooking.
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically 20 to 30 cm in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab handle opposite the main handle. A pan of similar dimensions, but with less flared, more vertical sides and often with a lid, is called a sauté pan. While a sauté pan can be used as a frying pan, it is designed for lower heat cooking.
Kavurma is a broad type of fried or sautéed meat dish found in Turkish cuisine. The name also refers to canned or preserved versions of a similar dish, prepared by dry frying the meat to render down the fat. Similar dishes are known in Central Asia as kuurdak. It's present in cultures and cuisines of Turkey, neighbouring countries, including the Balkans, most notably in Serbia.
Gamasot (Korean: 가마솥), or simply sot (솥), is a big, heavy pot or cauldron used for Korean cooking.
An agungi is a firebox found in traditional Korean kitchens which is used to burn firewood or other fuel for cooking. It is also a part of the traditional floor heating system, or ondol. The flat cooktop counter or hearth installed over the agungi is called a buttumak (부뚜막).
Qovurma is a cooked dish that is part of the cuisine of Azerbaijan. There are several varieties, all of which involve stewing meat with fruit, herbs, or vegetables.
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