I took this photo at Bagh e Babur in Kabul

Afghan food, cultural heritage and a howler of a Halloween story, all in this post!

October 21, 2021

And happy fall to all of you long-time readers. I hope you will take advantage of the beautiful cooking pumpkins dotting grocery stores to make kadoo, braised Afghan pumpkin with a garlicky yogurt sauce.

It’s heartening to see Afghan cuisine is slowly making its way to the mainstream. I was recently featured in a HuffPost article, The Comfort and Joy of Making Afghan Food, that highlighted Afghan comfort food, family traditions, and how the recent collapse of the Afghan government has affected Afghan-Americans.

As I noted in my video, What Just Happened in Afghanistan, Afghanistan has fallen off the front pages of the news outlets but here on Afghan Culture Unveiled, we have Afghanistan in the forefront of our thoughts, all the time.

That is why I’m sharing some inspiring, thought-provoking, and informative ways you can continue engaging with Afghanistan that will warm your belly and open your mind.

Beef chapli kebab with a side or shornakhod and salata

Chapli Kebab | My Favorite Afghan Street Food for Vegetarians and Meat Eaters

September 16, 2020

Chapli means sandal in Dari, so a chapli kebab is meant to be as thin as the sole of a sandal. This is not exactly an appetizing image but someone must have thought it a good description. I love making chapli kebab for family gatherings since it’s easy to double or triple the recipe, pot-lucks (when they were happening), and family BBQs. In my original recipe of chapli kebab which I posted many years ago, I grilled the kebabs but in today’s recipe, I’m using the traditional method of cooking these kebabs, frying. If you are oil averse, no worries, simply cook the kebabs in a lightly oiled skillet for about 5 minutes per side instead of frying.

TENDER AFGHAN LAMB KEBAB WITH CINNAMON - KEBAB DAYGEE

February 7, 2019

Please accept my apology for the repetitive emails you received from my blog. I know the problem, user error, and it has been fixed. Thank you for not unsubscribing.

Now let’s learn a little about cinnamon, a great addition to Afghan kebab.

Tis the season for healthy, hearty comfort foods. What I love about this kebab dish is that it’s easy to make and full of healthy benefits of cinnamon which is loaded with antioxidants that helps with inflammation, heart disease and high blood sugar levels. This is my sister Nabila’s recipe, who is a talented home cook in her own right. It is distinctly un-kebab-like according to Western definition in the sense that the meat is not a skewer.

Sliced onions and hefty chunks of lamb marinate a good long while in Greek yogurt, fresh garlic and coriander, and then bake in the oven at a high heat until fork tender. The juicy results are sprinkled with cinnamon and served with nan bread and hopefully something crunchy like a crisp salad or sliced cucumbers. It’s a completely no-fuss dish.

Tender Lamb Kebab with Cinnamon

Kebab e Deygee

½ cup Greek yogurt

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. dried ground coriander

½ tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. Kosher salt

2 lbs. lamb stew meat, cut into 2-inch chunks

2 large onions, peeled, sliced thin

Ground cinnamon

In a large bowl mix together the yogurt, oil, garlic, coriander, pepper and salt and stir well. Add the lamb and onions and coat evenly with the yogurt mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour, preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pull the lamb out a half hour before you a ready to cook. Put the lamb into large pot or Dutch oven and cover with a lid. Put it into the oven and cook until the lamb is very tender (about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours). Remove the lid, give it a stir, and continue to cook another 20 to 30 minutes until some of the liquid has reduced and you have a thick, oniony sauce.

Sprinkle the meat lightly with cinnamon and serve with warm nan bread and plain yogurt. You can season the yogurt with a little salt and stir in some grated cucumbers or chopped mint if you like.

Serves 4

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Tender Lamb Kebab with Cinnamon

Kebab e Deygee

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