KABULI (Qabili) PALAU| AFGHANISTAN'S NATIONAL DISH

By Humaira

People always ask me, “What is Afghan food like?  Is it like Indian food?”  The answer is a resounding “No”. 

As you can imagine, local ingredients, culture, and religion all play a part in the development of a country’s cuisine. Afghan food has influences from many places including India, other Central Asian countries, Turkey and Italy. Afghan food is neither spicy nor bland. It is a blend of perfectly balanced ingredients, lightly seasoned to highlight the best flavors.  

Qabili Palau, also known as Kabuli Palau, is the quintessential Afghan dish served at parties, weddings and celebrations. Qabili  is a gorgeous blend of rice, chicken, carrots, raisins and nuts for a crunch. Since it takes time to make Qabili, and it requires expensive ingredients such as meat and nuts, you will not find this dish on a Wednesday night family dinner menu. Every cook has her own way of cooking this dish. Jeja (my mom) doesn’t like to add nuts, while my sister Zohra adds almonds and pistachios. Our recipe here calls for slivered almonds; which adds a slight crunch without too much fuss. The countries of the middle world are home to many versions of this pilaf rice dish, but I must say that the Afghan Qabili Palau is the star of the bunch.

In our Afghan community, Jeja is well known for making the best rice dishes. So, she is very particular about the kind of rice she uses. Her requirements are that the rice must be strong enough to hold up to all the cooking, it must expand when soaked (a step we have skipped) and it should never stick or break. She is with rice like Kim Kardashian is with Hermes bags, only the latest and the best. We have taken Jeja’s recipe and simplified it so you can also enjoy this amazing dish without spending hours in the kitchen. Qabili Palau is also made with lamb and beef. We have featured chicken in this recipe.

Afghanistan’s National Dish

Qabili Palau

3 cups basmati rice

5 skinless chicken legs

5 skinless chicken thighs

2 large yellow onions, peeled and quartered

½ c plus 2 tbsp.  olive oil or vegetable oil, divided

5 tsp. salt

1 cup chicken broth

3 large carrots, peeled

1 cup black raisins

½ cup slivered almonds

3 tbsp. sugar

¾ cup water

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 ½ tsp. ground cardamom

½ tsp. ground black pepper

12 cups water

2 tsp. browning sauce such at Kitchen Bouquet (optional)*

Instructions:  

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Immerse rice in a bowl of water and drain in a colander. Repeat this step 3 times. 

Wash and dry the chicken. Set aside.

Chop the onions in a food processor using the pulse button. Don't puree the onions. You can do this by hand if you prefer. 

Choose a sauté pan that is at least a couple inches deep and large enough to fit all the chicken. Pour ½ cup of the oil in the pan and sauté the onions over high heat, stirring quickly, until brown (5-10 minutes). Don't burn them. Add the chicken to the pan and sprinkle with 3 tsp. of the salt. Cook the chicken over medium-high heat for 6 minutes, turning from time to time so all sides turn golden brown. The onion will start to caramelize and turn into a thick sauce. Add 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, and continue stirring to keep the chicken from burning. Once the liquid has been absorbed, add another 1/4 cup of, bring it to a boil, cover with a lid or aluminum foil, and simmer for 10 minutes. The sauce should turn a dark brown. If your sauce does not take on a dark color you can add the Kitchen Bouquet to give it color.

While the chicken is cooking, cut the carrots into long matchsticks, about 4 inches long and 1/8-inch thick. Make sure that they are not too thin. In a large frying pan add ¾ cups of water and bring to a boil, add the carrots and cook until tender and a deep orange hue, 5 to 7 minutes. Keep a close eye on this to make sure you do not overcook them. Once the carrots are done, drain any leftover liquid out of the pan. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil, raisins, almonds and sugar to the carrots. Stir quickly over medium-high heat and keep stirring for about 3 minutes. The raisins will look plump; the carrots will take on a nice sweet flavor. Remove from heat and package the carrots into a sealed aluminum foil pouch about the size of a small paperback novel. 

Remove the chicken pieces from the broth and set aside. Stir the cumin, cardamom and black pepper into the broth. Continue to cook on low for 5 minutes to allow it to thicken.  

Meanwhile, measure 12 cups of water and the remaining 2 tsp. of salt into a large Dutch oven or pot (see our Palau post for photos) with a fitted lid. Bring it to a boil. Add the rice to the water and boil until it is al dente (nearly cooked, though still slightly crunchy). This will take just a few minutes depending on the rice you use. You will have to taste it to check for doneness. Do not overcook it. 

Immediately strain the rice through a colander. Put the rice back into its cooking pot and add the broth. Mix well. Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the rice. Set the aluminum package of carrots on top of the rice. This will keep the carrots warm and deepen the flavors without mixing with the rice yet.

Bake the rice for 15 minutes in 500 degrees then drop the temperature down to 250 degrees.  Cook for another 20 minutes. 

Arrange the chicken pieces on a large platter, cover with the rice. Sprinkle the carrots, raisins, and almonds on the rice. Serve with a simple salad.

Serves 6-8

Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.

AFGHAN FLAVORS AT YOUR THANKSGIVING TABLE

By Katie

Pick up any food magazine or newspaper in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and you will be confronted with a barrage of recipes and ideas for putting on a stellar Thanksgiving spread. Yet so much of it is more of the same: cornbread stuffing, creamy mash, candied yams. I figured we should put our own little stamp of Afghan flavors on Thanksgivingwith a dish that fits in just right amongst the traditional favorites.  

Apparently the pilgrims and their native guests had some pretty interesting foods at that first Thanksgiving feast, many of which have not stood the test of time. Quahog anyone?  However, pumpkin has survived as a Thanksgiving staple, although it was unlikely served in the form of pie the first time around given the fact that the pilgrims had no ovens, and not much in the way of sugar.

 This recipe for Afghan pumpkin is one we’ve posted before. But since it seems to be America’s favorite Afghan dish, and being America’s favorite holiday, I thought it fitting to share for Thanksgiving. The recipe below is for conventional cooking, you can also find our slow cooker version on the blog as well.

Called Kadoo, it’s pumpkin (or butternut squash) that is braised with ginger, a little hot pepper and finished with a spoonful of garlic-seasoned yogurt. It’s got an addictive balance of sweet, savory, hot and tart, so good, you may never look twice at a candied yam again.

Sweet and Savory Pumpkin with Yogurt

Borani Kadoo

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped 

1 3 to 4 lb. sugar pumpkin, or 2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3-inch chunks

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 small jalapeno pepper, halved, seeded and diced

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. ground turmeric

1 tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and diced

¼ cup sugar

1 ½ to 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Yogurt sauce (recipe below)

Heat the oil in a 14-inch sauté pan or large casserole over medium heat.  Add the onion and sauté until tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Once the onion is tender, add the garlic, jalapeno, tomato paste, turmeric, ginger, sugar and 1 ½ cups of broth.  Stir and bring to a boil.  As soon as the mixture boils pour the sauce in a bowl. 

Arrange the squash pieces in the saute pan, tucking them snugly in the pan. It’s fine if the pieces overlap somewhat. Pour the sauce over the squash, cover with a lid or foil and simmer over low heat. Every few minutes, gently move the squash around so all the pieces cook evenly and the bottom of the squash doesn’t burn. Add more broth if the pan gets dry. Cook until the squash is fork-tender but doesn’t lose its shape (30 to 40 minutes).

To serve, arrange the pumpkin in a large shallow bowl. Spoon the yogurt sauce over the pumpkin and pour any remaining yogurt around the outside edges of the pumpkin. Serve with nan or pita bread.

Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt

1 ½ tsp. dried garlic

1 tsp. salt

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients. 

Serves 4 - 6

Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.

CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING AFGHAN LAMB - SABZI-E-GOSPAND

By Katie

Puttering around my home kitchen today with a pot of this lamb and spinach qorma bubbling away on the stove, it struck me how fortunate I am to prepare such a dish for my family. Consider the typical woman in my same position in Afghanistan: a mother just like me, no less determined to nurture her children with wholesome food. But the probability that she’d have the means to serve lamb for a casual weekday meal? Not likely.

The average family in Afghanistan subsists on rice and nan; beans, legumes and vegetables round out the rest of the diet. Cooking is often done over a primitive, wood-burning set-up of some kind. Most everyday dishes are vegetarian. This lamb qorma here is as Afghan as it gets, it’s just that meat in any substantial quantity is usually reserved for special occasions.

We published the vegetarian version of this dish, qorma e sabzi, a good while back. It’s one of my favorites. When a reader recently requested the variation made with lamb, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to share the recipe. The meat adds richness and a layer of flavor and texture that is truly delicious. When I serve it for dinner tonight, along with a bowlful of Greek yogurt and warm nan for scooping, I will think of my Afghan counterpart on the other side of the globe feeding her family just as I feed mine.

Lamb and Spinach Stew

Sabzi e Goshte

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 large yellow onions, finely chopped

1 ½ lbs. boneless lamb stew, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tsp. Kosher salt, divided

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. tomato paste

½ cup water

1 tsp. ground turmeric

2 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

2 lbs. frozen, chopped spinach (not defrosted)

1 tsp. ground fenugreek (optional)

1 tbsp. dried dill

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 ½ cups plain Greek-style yogurt

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and add the onions. Saute until golden brown, stirring occasionally (10 to 15 minutes). While the onions are cooking, season the lamb with1 tsp. of the salt and the black pepper. Once the onions are browned, add the lamb to the pan and continue to cook until the onions and meat melt together and the meat just begins to color on the outside, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, water, turmeric, coriander, and cumin to the pan. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil, turn down the heat until the liquid simmers and cook for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time. If the sauce begins to dry up, add another ¼ cup of water.

Add the frozen spinach to the lamb and continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring regularly, until it defrosts and the liquid comes to a boil. If the pan looks dry after the spinach has defrosted, add a few tablespoons of water. Once the spinach boils, add the fenugreek, dill, cilantro and lemon juice. Stir thoroughly, cover and cook for another 30 minutes or so until the lamb is tender. Keep an eye on the pan so it doesn't dry out.If it does, just add little water.

Serve with plain yogurt and warm nan or pita bread.

Serves 4 - 6

Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.