Snacks

4 recipes

Aushak

Aushak are the Afghan leek-and-mint dumplings that share their plating shape with mantu: a smear of garlic yogurt under, dumplings boiled and fanned over, a thick lamb meat sauce ladled across the top, dried mint and chilli to finish. The filling is just leeks (or scallions), salted briefly to draw the water out, squeezed dry, then mixed with fresh mint, ground coriander and pepper. Wonton wrappers (or homemade dough) seal around a teaspoon of filling pinched into half-moons or triangles. While the dumplings boil, you make the topping: ground beef or lamb fried with onion, garlic, tomato paste and dried mint, simmered into a thick savoury sauce. The yogurt sauce is just chaka with garlic. Plate together while everything is still warm.

1 hour 15 minutes Serves4

Bolani

Bolani are the stuffed Afghan flatbreads sold at every roadside stall and bus station, fried golden in a thin film of oil and served folded around a coriander chutney for dipping. A plain flour-and-water dough rests for half an hour, then divides into balls and rolls thin. The classic filling is boiled mashed potato with sautéed leek, onion, garlic, fresh coriander and chillies, though pumpkin and spinach versions are common too. Spread the filling over half of each round, fold the other half over and seal the edges (a fork-press works, or pinch by hand). Each bolani fries in a shallow pan in a film of oil until both sides are freckled gold. Cut into wedges, eat warm with a green chutney.

1 hour 35 minutes Serves8

Kachalou Pakora

Kachalou pakora are Afghan-style battered potato slices, fried crisp and dusted with chaat masala while they are still hot from the oil. The batter is chickpea flour (besan) with a touch of rice flour for crispness, water, salt, turmeric, ground coriander, chilli powder, ajwain seeds, crushed garlic and a pinch of baking soda. Ten minutes to rest so the chickpea flour hydrates and the batter clings properly. Potatoes slice into 3 mm rounds and salt briefly to draw out a little moisture. Each slice dips in the batter, lifts with chopsticks, drops into oil at 175°C, fries three minutes a side until amber. Drained, dusted with chaat masala, served with a quick mint-and-coriander chutney. Eat hot. Cold pakora are a different food entirely, and not in a good way.

45 minutes Serves4

Mantu

This is the small-plate version of mantu, folded into a four-pointed flower with the meat visible at the top, plated for a starter or a shared snack rather than the full main-course platter. The filling is ground lamb with grated onion (squeezed dry first, otherwise the parcel goes soggy), garlic, ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. The fold is the interesting bit. Take a wonton wrapper, drop a teaspoon of filling in the centre, pull all four corners up over the centre, and pinch them together in pairs to make an X-shape with four small triangles of meat showing at the top, like an opened flower. Steam in a bamboo basket eighteen to twenty minutes over boiling water. Two sauces alongside: a chana-dal-tomato-and-mint sauce stewed thick, and chaka yogurt with garlic. Plate as you would aushak: yogurt base, dumplings on top, lentil-tomato sauce ladled across, dried mint scattered last.

1 hour 15 minutes Serves4