Afghanistan

The crossroads of Persian, Indian and Central Asian cooking. Long-grain rice cooks with carrots, raisins and lamb in Kabuli pulao, the national dish; bolani (stuffed flatbreads), aushak (leek dumplings) and qabili palau define daily eating. Cardamom, cumin, coriander and dried lime drive the seasoning; yogurt, mint and fresh chillies finish nearly every plate.

15 recipes

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Recipes

Chapli Kebab

Chapli kebabs are the spiced beef patties sizzling on a wide flat tawa at any roadside grill from Peshawar to Kabul, big enough to wrap a hand around and seasoned with the unusual punch of dried pomegranate seeds and coriander. The mince mixes with grated onion, chopped fresh tomato, ginger, garlic, beaten egg and a little gram flour to bind, plus the signature Afghan spice blend (coriander seed, pomegranate seeds, chilli flakes, cumin and garam masala). A thirty-minute rest lets the gram flour absorb the moisture and the spices marry. Pat thin and wide (the word chapli means "flat" or "slipper-shaped"), then fry hard in oil three or four minutes a side until darkly crusted. Eat hot from the pan, wrapped in fresh naan with sliced raw onion and a green chutney.

1 hour 10 minutes Serves4

Kabuli Pulao

Kabuli pulao is Afghanistan's national dish, the centrepiece of every wedding, Eid and important Friday lunch: a layered pilaf of long-grain rice, slow-braised lamb, sweet carrot strands and butter-plumped raisins, all steam-finished together in one pot. You brown lamb shoulder hard, then braise it in spiced stock until the meat slips off the bone (that stock becomes the rice's cooking liquid). Carrots cut into matchsticks fry slowly in butter and sugar until they are golden and glassy. Raisins plump in butter. The rice parboils, then layers in the pot: lamb at the bottom, rice piled on top in a dome, drizzles of stock through the dome, lid clamped on tight. Twenty-five minutes of steam-cook and the rice emerges grain-separate and fragrant, ready to mound onto a platter with the carrots and raisins scattered across the top.

2 hours 30 minutes Serves6

Lamb Karahi (Afghan Style)

This is the Afghan take on a karahi, slow-cooked rather than the fast Pakistani version: lamb shoulder browned hard, then braised low for an hour and a half until the meat is tender enough to cut with a spoon. Onions cook deep brown alongside the lamb. Ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander and turmeric toast briefly in the rendered fat; tomato cooks down to a jammy base; the lamb returns with stock and disappears under a lid for ninety minutes. At the end the lid comes off, julienned green chillies and fresh ginger drop in, the gravy reduces and the cooking fat rises to the surface in a thin amber slick (that slick is the visual sign the meat is ready). Eat with naan or chalow rice, and a bowl of sliced raw onion and lemon on the side.

2 hours 5 minutes Serves4

Mantu

Mantu are the steamed lamb dumplings that Afghanistan shares with the rest of Central Asia, plated under garlic yogurt and topped with a thick split-pea-and-tomato sauce. The filling is straightforward: lamb mince fried with onion and spices, then cooled completely before it goes into the wrappers (warm filling makes the dough soggy). A plain flour-and-water dough rolls thin, gets cut into 8 cm squares, and each square gets a teaspoon of filling pinched closed at all four corners. Steam for twenty minutes. While they are steaming you whisk the chaka (yogurt with garlic and salt) and cook a quick qorma of yellow split peas with tomato and dried mint. Plate stacked: yogurt under, mantu in the middle, qorma over the top, dried mint and a sprinkle of chilli powder to finish. A whole platter goes to the centre of the table to share.

2 hours Serves4