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.

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and go watch our previous episode of "Big Batches"

at the world's largest community kitchen in India.