An Uzbek 'kebab' with no skewer at all: chunks of lamb and whole potatoes slow-fried in their own fat in a covered cast-iron kazan until the meat confits and the potatoes crisp. It shows how broadly Central Asia applies the word kabob to roasted meat.
Also known as: kazan kebab, qozon kabob, kazan-kabob, Uzbek kazan kabob, qazan kabob, kazan kabob, kazan-kebab, Uzbek pot kebab
Ingredients
- 800 g fatty bone-in lamb (ribs or shoulder), in large chunks
- 150 g lamb tail fat, diced (or 60 ml oil as a fallback)
- 600 g small potatoes, peeled and left whole
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 onions, in raw rings, to serve
- small bunch of dill, to serve
How to make it
- 1
Render the tail fat in a kazan or heavy Dutch oven until crisp cracklings float; lift the cracklings out.
- 2
Fry the whole potatoes in that fat, rolling them until they wear a golden shell, and set aside.
- 3
Brown the lamb chunks hard in the same fat.
- 4
Return the potatoes, season with salt and cumin, clamp on a tight lid and cook on the lowest flame 60-75 min without adding a drop of water.
- 5
Pile onto a platter with raw onion rings, dill and the reserved cracklings.
Pro tip: Fried first, then steamed under the lid in fat alone: one splash of added water and the potatoes' crust dissolves, turning fried kabob into boiled stew.
