Afghan cuisine

Some of the popular Afghan dishes, from left to right: 1. Lamb grilled kebab (seekh kabab); 2. kabuli Palau and salad; 3. Tandoori chicken; and 4. Mantu (dumplings).

Afghan cuisine is largely based upon the nation's chief crops, such as wheat, maize, barley and rice. Accompanying these staples are native fruits and vegetables as well as dairy products such as milk, yogurt and whey. Kabuli Palaw is the national dish of Afghanistan.[1] The nation's culinary specialties reflect its ethnic and geographic diversity.[2] Afghanistan is known for its high quality pomegranates, grapes and sweet, football-shaped melons.[3]

Major foods

Naan (bread) from a local baker, which is the most widely consumed bread in Afghanistan
Afghan men eating lunch in Kunar Province
Rice with kofta (meatballs) and corn

Rice dishes

Rice dishes are culturally the most important parts of a meal, and therefore much time and effort is spent creating them. Wealthier families will eat one rice dish per day, and royalty spent much time on rice preparation and invention, as evidenced in the number of rice dishes in their cookbooks. Weddings and family gatherings usually feature several rice dishes, and reputations can be made in the realm of rice preparation.

Types of rice dishes

Challow

A type of white rice. The rice is first parboiled, then drained and finally baked in an brick or clay oven with oil, butter and salt added. This method creates a fluffy rice with each grain separated.

Challow is served mainly with qormas (korma; stews or casseroles).

Palaw

Cooked the same as challow, but meat and stock, qorma, herbs, or a combination are blended in before the baking process. This creates elaborate colors, flavors, and aromas from which some rices are named. Caramelized sugar is also sometimes used to give the rice a rich brown color. Examples include:

Bata

This rice dish is cooked with water and acquires a sticky consistency.[2] It is usually eaten with a qorma, such as Sabzi (spinach) or Shalgham (turnips). With the addition of stock, meat, herbs, and grains, more elaborate dishes are created. Notable dishes include Mastawa, Kecheri Qoroot, and Shola. A sweet rice dish called Shir Birenj (literally milk rice) is often served as dessert.

Qormah

Qormah/Korma is a stew or casserole, usually served with chalau rice.[2] Most are onion-based; onions are fried, then meat added, including a variety of fruits, spices, and vegetables, depending on the recipe. The onion is caramelized and creates a richly colored stew. There are over 100 Qormahs. Below are some examples:

Mantu

Mantu in a steamer before cooking

Known as khameerbob and often eaten in the form of dumplings. These native dishes are popular, but due to the time-consuming process of creating the dough for the dumplings, they are rarely served at large gatherings such as weddings, but for more special occasions at home:

Each family or village will have its own version of mantu and ashak, which creates a wide variety of dumplings.

In the form of noodles, pasta is also commonly found in aush, a soup served with several regional variations.

Kebab

Kofta Kebab with naan

Afghan kebab is most often found in restaurants and outdoor vendor stalls. The most widely used meat is lamb. Recipes differ with every restaurant. Afghan kebab is served with naan, rarely rice, and customers have the option to sprinkle sumac or ghora, dried ground sour grapes, on their kebab. The quality of kebab is solely dependent on the quality of the meat. Pieces of fat from the sheep's tail (jijeq) are usually added with the lamb skewers to add extra flavor.

Chopan Kebab being prepared

Other popular kebabs include the lamb chop, ribs, kofta (ground beef) and chicken, all of which are found in better restaurants.

Chapli kebab, a specialty of Eastern Afghanistan, is a patty made from beef mince. It is a popular barbecue meal in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The word Chapli comes from the Pashto word Chaprikh, which means flat. It is prepared flat and round, and served with naan. The original recipe of chapli kebab dictates a half meat (or less), half flour mixture, which renders it lighter in taste and less expensive.

Quroot

Quroot (or Qoroot) is a reconstituted dairy product. It was traditionally a by-product of butter made from sheep or goat milk. The residual buttermilk remaining after churning of the butter is soured further by keeping it at room temperature for a few days, treated with salt, and then boiled. The precipitated casein is filtered through cheesecloth, pressed to remove liquid, and shaped into balls. The product is thus a very sour cottage cheese. Quroot is hard and can be eaten raw. It is typically served with cooked Afghan dishes such as Ashak, Mantu, and Qeshla Qoroot, among others.

Other Afghan food items

A table setting of Afghan food in Kabul
Badenjan (eggplant), usually served for lunch as a light meal or as a side dish. It tastes best with thin bread along with plain yogurt or cold mint added. Shomleh/Shlombeh (a cold drink made of yogurt that is sprinkled with fresh or dried mint).

Drinks

Doogh (also known by some Afghans as Shomleh/Shlombeh) is a cold drink made by mixing water with yogurt and then adding fresh or dried mint. Some variations of doogh include the addition of crushed or diced cucumber chunks. It is the most widely consumed drink in Afghanistan, especially during lunch time in the summer season. Doogh can be found at most afghan grocery stores and is served at several restaurants.

Eating out

Afghans do not usually eat out at restaurants, but some restaurants have booths or a separate dining area for families.

Special occasions

Serving tea and white sugared almonds is a familiar custom during Afghan festivals.[2] Eid-e-Qorban is celebrated at the end of the Haj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, when families and friends come visiting each other to drink a cup of tea together and share some nuts, sweets, and sugared almonds called noql.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ali, Tanveer (31 July 2012). "Everything You Need To Know About Afghan Food". foodrepublic. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Brittin, Helen (2011). The Food and Culture Around the World Handbook. Boston: Prentice Hall. pp. 20–21.
  3. ↑ melon, Afghan Honeydew | Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co

Further reading

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