Kabuli pilav is special to Kazan Central Asian Kitchen's Yaqoob Kazan. Source: Kazan Central Asian Kitchen
"When I came to Australia, I didn't live in any other city but Ballarat. My wife grew up in Ballarat, so we went straight here from Istanbul and have been living here since 2021. I immediately felt like I belonged."
"Kabuli pilav, a traditional Afghan rice dish, is very special to me," Kazan says. "It's rice with sultanas and carrots served with a big lamb shank.
When his mum taught him how to cook when he was a child, she said that small details mattered. "For example, when you boil rice, the boiling should be equal throughout the pot and not just on one side before you cover it. I remember that and continue to apply that to my cooking today."
The small details are what make Kazan's Kabuli pilav memorable. "Other restaurants will have this dish in their menu, but they'll cook it in plain water so they can serve it with other dishes, particularly vegetarian ones."
Yaqoob Kazan in Afghanistan. Source: Yaqoob Kazan
Instead, he uses the water used to cook the lamb shank to cook his rice. "It makes it a lot more savoury, and the carrots and sultanas add sweetness to it. When you eat the dish with your hands, the rice is pillowy and then sticky because of the shank."
Kazan features a big breakfast, kahvaltı tabağı, on the menu since it's common to socialise over breakfast in Turkey.
"When you invite someone over for dinner in Australia, that's when you serve the bigger meal and spend time with each other."
We've committed to make it in the most authentic way possible.
"In Turkey, spending a lot of time over a meal happens in the morning. When someone invites you to have breakfast, you automatically assume that you'll be spending a couple of hours conversing and eating."
Kahvaltı tabağı is a shareable breakfast plate of boiled egg, feta, tomato, cucumber, jam, olives, honey, Nutella, sigara boregi [fried Turkish spring roll], simit [Turkish bagel], bread, and unlimited tea.
"People come in and order and it's great to see – conversations and cup after cup of tea."
The Kazans. Source: Yaqoob Kazan
While kebabs are nothing new in Australia, Kazan says his are authentic and come with a choice of sauces.
"A couple came to the restaurant and really loved our lamb kebab, and they asked what makes ours different. I said we've committed to make it in the most authentic way possible – not change it to make it more Australian."
Some establishments will offer tomato, barbecue or chilli sauce to go with their kebabs, but he is committed to doing things the way they are done in Turkey.
Kazan Central Asian Kitchen offers authentic cuisine of Yaqoob Kazan's background. Source: Kazan Central Asian Kitchen
"In Turkey, you never get asked for what sauce you want. For example, you can alter your order to not have onions, but the sauce is always the same.
"For us, it will always be kebab served with rice and a nice garlic sauce."
202 Albert St, Sebastopol Ballarat,
Victoria, Australia
