AFGHAN INSPIRED PADRON CHILI AND WALNUT SAUCE - CHUTNEY

By Humaira

Jeja (my mom) has a reputation of being an excellent cook within the Bay Area Afghan community. I wouldn’t dare share any recipe that wouldn’t pass muster with her.  In this blog I share my family's home cooking recipes for your Western kitchen.  The blog is my way to educate the world about Afghan people and the delicious food of Afghanistan. It's also my effort to keep in touch with my cultural heritage as I raise my two daughters in San Francisco, California.  

My research for this blog has not only strengthened my relationship with my mom,  it has also given me great appreciation and understanding of Afghan people.  

What has been most surprising to me is how food brings people across all cultures together.  

Once I was at my daughter's class pot-luck -- I introduced myself to the math teacher. She looked at my name tag and said, "I know you, I cook from your blog -- my mom sometimes adds Indian spices..."  

I am alway thrilled a to meet a reader but, the ones that take my recipes and make it their own is even more exciting to me.

In this blog the recipes have been tested by Afghans and non Afghans.  I always retain the delicious flavors of Afghan food but simplify the cooking so it's accessible to experienced and novice cooks.

Padron chilis are small and relatively mild. I used them in this recipe to create my version of an Afghan chili sauce, a condiment commonly served with kebabs or as an accompaniment to other side dishes.  I don’t particularly like super spicy foods, but I love a little zing of pepper alongside milder dishes.  This sauce is designed to brighten the flavors of rice, meat or Qorma dishes without overpowering the food.  Use sparingly.

Afghan Inspired Spicy Chili Sauce

Chutney

2 pints padron chilis (around 22 peppers), ends off and seeds removed

3 cloves peeled garlic

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons roughly chopped walnuts

½ cup white vinegar

Put the peppers, garlic, salt, black pepper, walnuts, and vinegar in the food processor and use the pulse button to grind the peppers and mix the ingredients.   Pulse a couple of times, wipe the sides, check the consistency and pulse more.  The sauce looks best and ends up with a pleasing crunch if you don’t over blend it.  If you prefer things really spicy, use a hotter chili like jalapeños. 

Serve in a small bowl and use a small amount to eat with whatever you are making for dinner.

Serves 8

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

IMMIGRANT SUCCESS STORY - AN INSTRUCTION'S MANUAL

By Humaira

The hardest part of being an immigrant is adapting to one’s newly adopted home. My family struggled with decoding the basics of living in the United States. I wish my parents had access to the Immigrant Success Planning: A Family Resource Guide, by my friend, Afghan American author, Atta Arghandiwal.  

This book has detailed “how to” guide for immigrants in the U.S. and Canada ranging from basic to complex issues: how to shop, how to find a rental, how to manage finances, how to find a job, how to become a citizen and more.

My family’s life changed dramatically after the Russian invasion of 1979.  There was an exodus of middle class Afghans from Afghanistan. Mine was one of the hundred of families who settled in the Bay Area. Luckily, we found a community of other Afghan immigrant families who were also struggling just like us.  Our parents gathered over large platters of Mantoo, a coveted Afghan dumpling dish or the hearty meat and potato Qorma and advised each other on food stamp collection, San Jose flea market bargains, and the complexity of getting medical care in America.

For me, food is what has kept my Afghan family comforted through years of turbulence, uncertainty and loss. Back home we had a cook who made all the meals under mom’s supervision and instruction. My mom, Jeja, saw cooking as a chore, which she hoped her daughters would never have to do. But, it’s her generation that holds the secret to the art of authentic Afghan cuisine. Our families were who had access best ingredients for making gourmet Afghan cuisine. 

Initially, the newly immigrated Afghan women such as my mother, scoured grocery stores and Indian markets in Northern California for ingredients. The delicious aroma of coriander, cumin, and cardamom slowly healed the wounds of their loss and soothed their fears of their new life. Now, there is an Afghan market or restaurant in every corner of Fremont and surrounding cities.

Immigrant children, such as myself, adapt quickly to their new home and are happy to embrace their new lives. Adults on the other hand struggle to re-build the foundation of the life they lost. They hold on to their culture -- assimilation is considered a betrayal of their mother country.

Looking back at my turbulent childhood of moving from Afghanistan to India, back to Afghanistan -- then to Pakistan, followed by Germany and finally the United States. There is one common thread of familiarity --my mother’s Afghan food that always kept me grounded and connected to my roots.

I think Atta has done a great service to many who arrive at this the land of milk and honey by providing them an instruction’s manual. I feel the practical advice, summary notes highlighting specific points and pull out boxes with positive and supportive life lesson from Atta’s own immigrant experience is what makes this book so useful and usable.

Atta is the award winning author of a memoir Lost Decency: The Untold Afghan Story and Immigrant Success Planning. Visit his extensive website, AttaMoves where he shares a wealth of information for new immigrants.

ArghandiwalAtta

 Atta Arghandiwal

Humaira Ghilzai of Afghan Culture Unveiled Interviews Atta Arghandiwal

Humaira: How did you transition from writing a memoir to a "How to" book?

Atta: I started writing three different books simultaneously -- Memoir, Immigrant Success Planning, as well as a Leadership Guide for immigrants.  

But writing the “Immigrant Success Planning” was always on my mind from early days of arrival to my years in the Financial Services industry. In the end, I was encouraged by several authors to publish the memoir first -- to build a platform.

Humaira: Most immigrants don't speak English when they need a resource book like yours. Is your book available in other languages?

Atta: Unfortunately, not at this point. I am looking into translation possibilities Farsi, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic   I do feel that immigrant families usually have at least a couple members of family who speak English.  My hope is that most people will benefit from this handy resource.

Humaira: Did your family have problems finding ingredients to make authentic Afghan food?

Atta: Yes, resources were indeed scarce in early years – I remember going to Indian stores in Berkeley almost every week. My family loves to cook.  There experts within our family in the Bay Area who pass their knowledge and heritage to the younger generation.

Humaira: What are your favorite Afghan dishes?

Atta: Qabili Palau and Aushak

Humaira: Do you cook Afghan food?

Atta: My brothers and I have been completely spoiled from day one -- our mother and seven sisters are all amazing cooks.  My wife Halima, is an amazing cook who prepares delicious Afghan food. I like to do prep and the clean up.

WAS THE AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION A FAILURE?

by Humaira

I say the verdict is still out. Living in San Francisco, like many Afghans in the diaspora, I play the role of cheerleader rather than a player.

As all cheerleaders do, they watch the game and cheer at the right time but I feel like something has been missing in this game and the reporting of it. In talking to my friend Mark Mullen over coffee, the light bulb finally went on.

Just to qualify things, Mark is one of the foremost experts on elections in developing countries. Mark is the chair of Transparency International in the country of Georgia. He headed the Georgia office of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a Washington based NGO that promotes democracy worldwide, from 1997 until Shevardnadze left office. So, I thought he would be a good person to talk to.

According to Mark, there are three and only three requirements for a successful election:

1. Peaceful voting.

2. Losing candidate accepts results.

3. The person elected is whom most people voted for.

How many election rules are broken doesn't matter -- it's the will of the people and their ownership of the results that counts. We've dumped the Kool Aid on the coach before the game has ended.

Don't get me wrong. I am very proud of how the elections were executed and proud of the Afghans who voted -- let's do things right and not lose site of the crucial next steps.

As we wait for the votes to be counted and possibly a run off election, I want to pass on a few words of wisdom my friend Mark bestowed upon me.

If there is a run off, the country will be divided and how that division is handled will make or break the election's success. 

Once a candidate is declared a winner, the losing candidate should not contest the election results. In return, the winner must be civil to his opponents and have a delicately crafted inauguration speech declaring himself as the President for all the Afghan people, whether they voted for him or not.  How the winner handles the win determines how the country will the people will support and trust their new leader.

Afghan-presidential-candidates

So, Mr. Ghani, Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Rassoul. I hope you take on Mark's years of experience and good advice to heart and move Afghanistan to the next phase of its fledgling democracy with a united front.