Besh Qozon: Giant Plov Kitchen in Uzbekistan
Plov is a staple rice dish of Central Asia, and in my opinion, Uzbekistan does it best. I had the pleasure of visiting possibly the largest plov center in the whole region named Besh Qozon in Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital.
Where is Besh Qozon?
Besh Qozon has 3 locations in Tashkent, but the main one is located by the Tashkent TV Tower, and is the one I went to. Getting there is easy with Yandex Taxi, the Uber equivalent of this part of the world.
Besh Qozon Plov Kitchen
Once you arrive at the restaurant, you’ll notice a big kitchen on the right side. It’s open to the public and you can simply waltz in to observe how plov is prepared and nobody will question you. I’m taken aback by the high trust system they have to just let anyone be in the kitchen, and you don’t even need to be a customer.
It’s quite a sight to see different giant cauldrons for different plov ingredients. The main separate cauldrons are for the vegetables, rice, and meat all drenched in oil. After some time, they’d all be mixed into another cauldron.
Then, there’s the main guy who’s responsible for mixing the rice inside the cauldron. It’s quite entertaining to see.
Eventually the rice needs to be simmered after being mixed right enough.
There’s a station where the chefs would cut meat into smaller pieces conveniently next to cauldron full of rice ready to be plated.
Look at how glistening the rice looks after being coated with oil! Mouthwatering!
Eating Plov at Besh Qozon
Best of all, the plov is pretty affordable! I paid less than $5 including a 1.5L bottle of Pepsi that I accidentally ordered. The plov dish I had included quail eggs. But, you can add horse sausage toppings called kazy if you’d like.
Punches of salty, sweet, & spice flavors all at once. It’s very delicious and quite filling. Plov is definitely a must-try Central Asian cuisine, but make sure you visit Uzbekistan to get the best version! It was also awesome to get a close-up observation on how this dish is prepared at a grand scale.
