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Akazan orqazan[1] is a largecooking pot used throughoutCentral Asia,Kazakhstan,Afghanistan,Armenia,Azerbaijan,Turkey,[2] and theBalkan Peninsula, roughly equivalent to acauldron,boiler, orDutch oven. They come in a variety of sizes (small modern cooking pots are sometimes referred to as kazans), and are often measured by theircapacity, such as "a 50-litre kazan". Usually their diameter is half a meter.[1] Kazans are made ofcast iron or in modern timesaluminum[1] and are used to cook a wide variety of foods, includingplov (pilaf),sumalak,shorpa,kesme, andbawyrsaq, 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 calledsajayaq)[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 tolet 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.
The origin of the wordkazan can be ultimately traced back toOld Turkic verbkaz-, meaning "gouge, carve, hollow out" andpresent participle suffix of+(g)An. The word evolved toMiddle Turkic askazğan, meaning "big copper vessel". Oldest written record of the word in any Turkic language is dated back toMahmud al-Kashgari's 1073 workDīwān Lughāt al-Turk. It is also mentioned inCodex Cumanicus.[3]
Some nominally aluminium kazans in fact may be made from a mixture of smelted metals, including lead. Such kazans represent a serious health hazard if food prepared from them is eaten, particularly for children. High levels of lead have been found inpressure cooker kazans from Afghanistan.[5][4][6]
Kazans seem to have been invented by the Turkic nomads and were used as their basic cooking utensil.[1] They resemble in shape the Chinesewok or the Indiankarahi but differ from them in shape and also lack a handle.[1] TheScythians and otherIranian 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 makingpilaf (rice) for occasions like weddings.[1]
In theOttoman Empire, the kazan was the common symbol of thejanissary 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]
Gazandjyk or Kazandzhik currently Bereket - is a city inBalkan Province in westernTurkmenistan. The name is composed ofKazan and-jyk, a diminutive suffix (denotingsmall in size), so the name can be translated into English ascauldron-ette orpot-kin.Kazan is the capital and largest city of theRepublic of Tatarstan in Russia.