AFGHAN RICH MILK AND ALMOND PUDDING-KAJKOOL-E-FUQARA

                                                         

By Humaira

Today's recipe is an edited excerpt from Helen Saberi's cookbook, Afghan Food and Cookery. When I first started blogging, Helen's book was the guiding light to balanced spicing and naming of dishes. Two years ago, I was very honored when Helen reached out with a generous compliment about my work. Since then, she has kindly contributed several recipes to this blog - Qaymaq Chai, Tea and Hospitably in Afghanistan, Quince and Yogurt Trifle, and Afghan Fish Stew. Today's recipe is a sweet dessert pudding, kajkool-e-fuqara, a perfect addition to your Nowroz celebration.

Excerpt from Afghan Food and Cookery:

The name of this rich milk and almond pudding, which is flavored with rosewater, ironically means "beggar’s bowl". There are many variations of the same dessert found in Iran and the Middle East, usually known as keshkul-e-fuqara.  The recipe below is an Afghan version.

Kajkool, is the word for an oval bowl made either of wood, metal or a coconut.  These bowls were carried suspended by a chain from the shoulder by fuqara or beggars.

Fuqara, who call themselves “the paupers of God”, are like dervishes who devote their lives to seeking God and are not interested in ownership of property or worldly goods. They travel from house to house begging for food. Donations of food (and sometimes money) are placed in the kajkool that is eventually filled with different kinds of food. 

A faqir or beggar is considered to be a holy man with special healing powers and in exchange for the food he prays for the people, often sprinkling them with rosewater from a gul-ab-pash, a type of glass or metal bottle with a sprinkler.

The name of this rich milk dessert is derived from it being sprinkled and decorated with a variety of nuts and coconut, symbolizing the kajkool being filled with a variety of food.

Kajkool-e-Fuqara

Rich Milk and Almond Pudding  

1 cup plus 1 ounce blanched almonds (135 grams)

1 ounce  blanched pistachio (25 grams)

1/2 fresh coconut or 1/2 cup dry chopped coconut

3 heaped tablespoons cornflour/cornstarch

3 1/2 cups milk (1 liter)

1 1/4 cups sugar (275 grams)

1/4 cup rosewater (55 milliliter)

1/2 teaspoon cardamom 

Pour 8-ounces of boiling water over the one cup of blanched almonds in a bowl and leave to soak for about 15 minutes. Blend the mixture in a blender and puree.  Strain the almond milk through a double layer of cheesecloth or muslin into a bowl, squeezing the cloth to extract as much milk as possible. Set aside.

Meanwhile flake or roughly chop the other almonds and the pistachio and simmer them in a little water for a few minutes to soften. If using coconut, remove the flesh and grate.  Set the almonds, pistachios and coconut aside.

Mix the cornstarch with a little of the cold milk into a smooth paste. Bring the remaining milk to boil with the sugar, adding the paste gradually. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon to avoid sticking. Bring to boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently until the mixture thickens. It is very important not to have the heat too high and to stir constantly as this mixture easily sticks and burns.  If it does stick, do not scrape the bottom of the pan—this would impart a burnt taste to the dish.

Add the rosewater, milk of almonds and cardamom­–simmer gently for two minutes. Leave to cool a little and then pour on to a large flat serving dish and decorate with the blanched and shredded almonds and pistachios and the grated coconut, if used.

SPICY, CRUNCY CHICKPEAS: NAKHOD-E-SHOR

By Katie

A bowl of almonds and walnuts in the shell along with a nut cracker next to it was a permanent fixture on our living room coffee table when I was growing up.  I had forgotten about this until recently when I went to Humaira's house and she set out a bowl of shelled walnuts.  She told me her mother, Jeja had cracked them herself.  The image of Jeja, sitting at home, working her way through a bag full of nuts for her children and grandchildren was heartwarming, to say the least.  A labor of love, no doubt, by a woman who doesn't necessarily always know how to express her affection.  The walnuts were in a different category altogether from what I might find in the bins at my local market:  unblemished, with a sheen to the walnut skins, sweet, completely lacking any need for adornment.

This got me to thinking about one of my favorite Afghan rituals:  hot tea with nibbles.  In Afghanistan, green or black tea, gently scented with cardamom, is served practically around the clock.  Little dishes of snacky things are set out to enjoy with the tea:  freshly cracked nuts, dried apricots, fat golden raisins, candied almonds called noql, spicy chickpeas, and so on.  The spicy chickpeas are particularly addictive and a snack that works, to my decidedly American palate, just as well with a cold drink as a cup of tea.  You can make them start to finish in a matter of minutes; the key is having your ingredients ready before you begin. 

Spicy Afghan Chickpeas

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. ground paprika

1 tbsp. ground chili powder

2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 lb. skinless, unsalted, dry-roasted chickpeas

Heat a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add oil, paprika, chili powder and salt and quickly stir to make a paste.  Immediately add chickpeas and stir-fry for 1 minute, turning the chickpeas in the pan to coat with the spices.  Pour into a colander.  Shake the colander for 1 minute to eliminate extra spices.  Let cool and store in a jar with a tight lid. 

*You can find dry roasted chickpeas in Middle Eastern and Indian Markets

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

AFGHANISTAN'S ADMIRED FIRST LADY - RULA GHANI

By Humaira

By Humaira

Do you know Afghanistan’s new first lady?

Rula Ghani (nickname Bibi Gul) was born in Lebanon. She met Ashraf Ghani, the new President of Afghanistan, while getting her masters degree in journalism from University of Beirut in the ‘70s–she has a second masters from Columbia University. Rula Ghani speaks Dari, English, French and Arabic fluently. Despite her impressive academic achievements, Rula Ghani chose raising her two children, Tarek and Mariam, over a career. 

In a television interview, when asked if it was difficult to marry into an Afghan family, she waved away the question, claiming there wasn’t much difference between the two cultures—we value family, we respect elders, we socialize similarly and we eat similar foods.  

During the ten years of President Hamid Karzai's rule as head of state, the world barely glimpsed his wife, Doctor Zeenat Quraishi. You would imagine that Rula Ghani's visible role would cause a riot in Afghanistan–instead, her being a Christian has motivated her husband's opponents to indoctrinate Afghan people with fears of a second Crusade by the first lady. The Western media has fanned the flames of controversy by noting her religion in the first paragraph of every English speaking article I’ve read about her.

When asked about her religion, her answer is simple, logical and believable.

“My husband stands on his own two feet; my religion is not a factor.”

— Rula Ghani

Despite criticism from conservatives and opponents of her husband, Rula Ghani has won over many of us with her gracious presence and candid talk about issues plaguing Afghan society ranging from–internal displacement of returning Afghan refugee to women's issues. She’s especially liked and admired by Afghan women. She's the first person I've heard cite the importance of Afghan women who stay home and raise their children as contributing and deserving members of Afghanistan's civil society. Of course, she encourages Afghan female leaders to be vocal and go after what they want. Here is a an excerpt from Rula Ghani’s speech at the Oslo Symposium in November of 2014 -

“I am so glad to note the use of the term “empowerment” [of women] in the theme of this symposium. Indeed, unconsciously perhaps, international aid in the past 13 years has created a culture of dependency [in Afghanistan]. And we need to figure out how to turn around aid recipients into active entrepreneurs, skilled workers, daring and creative innovators.”

— Rula Ghani

She offers herself as a sounding board and advocate for Afghan women, not a savior. She feels Afghan women have the strength and know how to chart their own path, if given the opportunity.

“We need to give Afghan women the tools to succeed. And by we, I mean both the Afghan government and the international community working in concert.

We need to provide them with a higher quality of education;
We need to ensure their access to health services;
We need to give them access to the legal system by multiplying the legal aid clinics so that they can exercise their rights to owning property and to a life free of harassment and violence;
We need to provide small loans to women who would like to start their own business;e need to encourage investors to concentrate on setting factories that rely on woman labor; and the list goes on.

But above all we need to let Afghan women know that they are and should be productive members of their society. ”

— Rula Ghani, Oslo Symposium

I’m excited about Afghanistan’s future. I believe President Ashraf Ghani has the extensive experience needed to develop Afghanistan's economy and with the support of his allies, will be able to move the country toward peace and stability.

I’m also thrilled that Afghan women have a loud voice with the first lady's support and get a chance to be part of Afghanistan’s civil future.

I hope that we take lessons from mistakes of the past, and chart a different trajectory for Afghanistan in the next century with the new leadership and better understanding of what is needed for a stable future in Afghanistan.

In honor of Afghanistan’s first lady, Rula Ghani, I would like to share a special Lebanese recipe from Taste of Beirut, a blog written by food writer Joumana Accad. 

In this episode of my #cooking show, I show you how to make the #popular #Shawarma,a juicy and flavorful beef sandwich. If you like what you see, Check out my book and other recipes at www.TasteofBeirut.com Shawarma | Taste of Beirut Shot on location in the Chouf Mountains of Lebanon.