AFGHAN BEEF AND BEAN SOUP - SHORWA-E-GOSHT

By Humaira

One cannot claim to be an Afghan cook without a pressure cooker amongst your kitchenware. Jeja (my mom) is a big fan of hers. It’s understandable since so many Afghan recipes require slow cooking to bring out the best flavors. The pressure cooker is a great way to speed up the process.

I have to admit a deep-seated fear of pressure cookers that goes back to my childhood during which I would overhear Jeja and her sisters sharing stories of pressure cookers exploding when people tried to open them too soon. This was a regular topic of conversation amongst the cooks in my family. In Kabul, our kitchen would be cleared of all children and pets when the pressure cooker was in use.

Pressure cookers have come a long way since then, but Jeja still handles hers with caution. I overcame my pressure cooker phobia by investing in a good one six years ago. I confess that it sat in my pantry collecting dust for the first two years, but once I read the instructions and learned how to use it, I became a big fan as well.

Shorwa, which means “soup” in Dari, is one of my favorite Afghan dishes and is the perfect sort of thing to prepare in a pressure cooker. When I lived in Kabul, we used to eat shorwa on laundry day, a day when nothing else got done except for loads of laundry washed by hand in large tubs of water in our yard. Shorwa was meant to be a simple dish served at an uneventful meal and never to guests.

The people of Ghazni, a province located 70 kilometers southwest of Kabul where my dad is from, are known for making the best shorwa. It’s a rich and hearty soup made with meat, potatoes and in Jeja’s recipe, legumes. In Ghazni they generally serve the shorwa in a large communal bowl. Everyone rips their nan (Afghan bread) into small pieces, throws it into the shorwa and enjoys the soup using their hand. I have only witnessed this once, when I was a little girl visiting Ghazni. My relatives knew I was from Kabul and not used to eating shorwa this way. I was given my own bowl and a tattered metal utensil vaguely resembling a spoon.

Whether you choose to serve shorwa communally or in individual bowls, we hope you will give this recipe a try. I served it to my family for a simple Saturday meal using fresh ingredients and probably better grade meat than one would find in a shorwa in Afghanistan. It was a hit with my family, big and small.

Afghan Beef and Bean Soup

Shorwa e Gosht

One large red onion, roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 lbs beef stew or steak tips, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. ground coriander

½ tbsp. ground turmeric

1 tbsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. black pepper

8 cups water

1 medium russet potato, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 15 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed

1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed

1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Add oil to a large pressure cooker and set over medium-high heat. Add the onion, brown for 5 minutes until soft, add the garlic and the meat. Mix well and cook for about 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through and a thick sauce forms. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, coriander, turmeric, salt, pepper and the water, mix well. Set the lid on the pressure cooker and lock in place. All pressures cookers are different so make sure you read the directions for your pressure cooker so you know how to use it.

Over high heat, bring the soup to high pressure (where you hear the sound of pressure releasing), this takes around 10-15 minutes depending on your pressure cooker size. Lower the heat to medium/high while maintaining the high pressure (fizzling sound continues) for 10 minutes. Turn off the soup and set it aside for natural pressure release. This will let the pressure come down on its own while cooking the meat and concentrating the flavors.

Once the pressure has released, open the lid. Add the potatoes, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, and cilantro to the soup. Bring the soup to a gentle boil with these ingredients and cook until the meat and potatoes are tender (10 to 20 minutes).Serve hot with nan, pita or flour tortillas.

Serves 6-8

Loading up on energy right before a soccer game

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

AFGHAN DUMPLING WITH SPICED LAMB - AUSHAK

By Katie

My knowledge of Asian dumplings never expanded much beyond the doughy wontons I’ve been fishing out of brothy Chinese soup since I was a kid. I was enlightened recently by my friend, cookbook author and food blogger Andrea Nguyen (VietWorldKitchen and AsianDumplingTips) who shared the wisdom she gathered researching her latest book, Asian Dumplings. As I sat there listening to Andrea wax poetic about why she loves dumplings, “they just make people happy,” it hit me: Afghans have Asian dumplings of their very own.

And of course it makes sense that this Central Asian country located smack in the middle of the famed spice route would count dumplings amongst its culinary delights. I’m familiar with just two varieties of Afghan dumplings: aushak and mantoo, although there may be other regional varieties in Afghanistan.

My favorite of the dumplings is aushak. It’s made with a delicate dough and is traditionally filled with gandana, a member of the onion family with a mild flavor and an appearance similar to leeks. Although you can find gandana in some specialty markets, I substitute garden variety green onions. The dumplings are gently boiled and then topped with garlicky yogurt followed by paprika- and coriander-spiced meat sauce. Dried mint finishes the dish.

A lot of people are intimidated by the notion of making homemade dumplings, particularly when frozen ones are just a Trader Joe’s freezer section away. But making aushak by hand is both satisfying and fairly easy to do. And to be honest, as busy working mothers, both Humaira and I take a major short-cut: we use store-bought wonton wrappers in place of hand-made dumpling dough. In Afghanistan these dumplings are typically served on a big platter as a main course. Arranged four to a plate on your best china, aushak also makes  an elegant first course.

Seems to me, dumplings are the sort of thing that should be made in community. Growing up in Afghanistan Humaira remembers large groups of extended family gathering for the sole purpose of making aushak. The festivities would conclude with everyone sitting down together over heaping platters of dumplings. I made them for dinner recently with the assistance of my very capable six-year old. We had enough left over for the kids’ lunches. I suspect mine were the only children at the lunch table dining on Afghan dumplings smothered in garlic yogurt sauce.

Afghan Dumplings

Aushak

4 tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground lamb (you can substitute beef or turkey)

1 cup tomato sauce

1 ½ tsp. paprika

1 ½ tsp. ground coriander

3 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 lb. green onions, washed, stems removed

½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 package won ton wrappers

1 tsp. vinegar

1 cup plain yogurt

½ teaspoon ground dried garlic

1 tbsp. dried mint

Saute the onion over medium heat in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté another minute. Add the lamb and sauté until cooked through, breaking it up like finely minced taco meat. Add the tomato sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, the paprika, coriander and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring regularly for 20 minutes.

While the meat is cooking, finely chop the green onions (use the entire onion). A Cuisinart is useful for this step. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and add the green onions, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the crushed red pepper. Turn heat to low and sauté until tender, 10 minutes.

To assemble the dumplings, fill a small bowl with water and put it at your work station. Set a won ton wrapper on your work surface and dip the tip of your finger in the water. Moisten the edges along two connecting sides of the wrapper. The water will serve as glue for the dumpling. Put about a teaspoon of green onions in the center of the wrapper. Fold the dough in half over the green onion in the shape of a triangle. Use the tip of your finger to firmly press the edges of the dough together to form a tight seal. Next, lift the two longest points of the triangle and press them together, creating a little circle over the dumpling. It will look like a fancy napkin fold (see photos below for clarity).

While you are assembling the dumplings, bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Add the vinegar. Once all of the dumplings are done, immerse them in the water and boil according to directions on the won ton package (about 4 minutes). While the dumplings are boiling, quickly stir together the yogurt with the garlic and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt.

Gingerly scoop the cooked dumplings out of the water with a slotted spoon, a few at a time, and arrange on a large platter.Spoon the yogurt over the dumplings and the ground meat on top of that. Sprinkle with dried mint and serve immediately.

Makes 25 dumplings.

here I'm pressing the edges of the dumpling firmly together to form a tight seal

here I'm bringing the two longest points of the triangle together and pinching them at the top like a fancy napkin fold

here you can see the water gently boiling after i've just added the first few dumplings

042 (2)

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

SOUP THAT LAUNCHED A FOOD BLOG - AUSH

By Katie

My first taste of homemade Afghan food was this soup. It was at a school potluck; I inhaled two generous bowlfuls, leaving the rest of the buffet untouched. It’s also the first Afghan dish I ever cooked myself. The soup is called aush (pronounced “osh” as in Oshkosh). It’s easy to make and a wonderful recipe to get acquainted with Afghan cooking.

Aush has three components: chicken broth with noodles, chick peas and kidney beans; gobsmackingly tasty ground beef seasoned with coriander and paprika; and plain yogurt. The three elements remain separate until just before serving. It’s done “a la minute” as my brother, the chef , might say, whereby each person does up their own bowl how they like it. The first few times I made it I threw everything together in one big pot and set it on the table. I have since learned the proper Afghan way. Humaira keeps me in check.

I will confess to adding my own, very unauthentic addition to the recipe. I stir a bunch of roughly chopped chard or kale into the broth around the same time I add the chick peas and kidney beans. It makes it pretty and extra nourishing.

Winter is the perfect season for making aush. In my house it’s become a staple for ski weekends when hot, hearty soups are just the call. I imagine we are among few families up in Tahoe eating Afghan food after a day on the slopes.

The soup is unusual, delicious and kind of addictive. Look what it’s done to me. I started out with aush four years ago, and now I’m writing a blog devoted entirely to Afghan food. Beware.

Aush

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground beef (ground lamb or turkey can be substituted)

1 ½ tsp. ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

2 tbsp. tomato paste mixed with 2 tbsp. hot water

8 oz uncooked spaghetti

10 cups chicken broth

1 15 oz. can kidney beans

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans

1 bunch swiss chard or kale, stems removed, roughly chopped

1 pint plain yogurt

Dried mint (optional)

Instructions:

Saute the onion in olive oil in a non-stick frying pan on low heat until tender and golden. Add the garlic and sauté another 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and use a spoon to break it up as it cooks so it is small, loose and separated (like taco meat). Once the beef is browned add the coriander, paprika, salt, pepper and tomato paste/water. Mix everything well and continue to cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until it is a deep reddish brown and infused with flavor.

While the meat is cooking, pour the chicken broth into a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the spaghetti and boil for 5 minutes. Empty the beans into a colander and rinse with water. Add the beans and chard/kale to the broth and continue to cook until the pasta is done.

To assemble, put to ladles of noodles and broth and 2 spoonfuls of meet into a soup bowl. Finish with 1 or 2 spoonfuls of yogurt on top and sprinkle with dried mint. Give a stir and eat.

Aush christmas new year 2009 151

Aush christmas new year 2009 148

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