GOOD FOOD AND GOOD BYES

by Katie

A few weeks back, Humaira talked about how she and I are parting ways, at least as far as this blog is concerned.  Having been drawn into my own work on Mom's Kitchen Handbook, along with writing a cookbook, I stepped back from things here some months ago.  It makes beautiful sense to me that Afghan Cooking Unveiled morph into something broader, with Humaira fully at the helm.  I'm excited to watch it all evolve.

It's funny... even though I haven't been writing or developing Afghan recipes for many months, I still find myself craving the food.  My kids know that when the counter is stacked with spice jars and Greek yogurt, they can expect something a little more exotic than the norm. This recipe for Sabzi is always a favorite and I thought it worth sharing as part of this final post.  A braised spinach dish accented with loads of dill and lemon, it's  everything that classic Afghan cooking should be: nourishing, comforting, clever in its simple use of seasonings, inexpensive, and immensely easy to make.

Today as I sat eating leftover Sabzi for lunch with a spoonful of yogurt and warm pita bread, I thought about what I have loved best about collaborating on this blog (besides the fun of working with Humaira).  It's been the deep realization of how food connects us all.  Researching and writing about the cooking of Afghanistan has given me an appreciation for its people, history and culture, that you can't get from watching the news or reading the paper.  When I make a big pot of Aush, I think of all the Afghan moms across the planet doing the same for their children.  When I bring Kadoo to a potluck, I share a taste of a culture that is so different from our own.

Truth? I think food is the best way to bring people together.  Enough talk about drones and diplomacy. We'd probably all be a whole lot better off if we just got together and started cooking.

Afghan Braised Spinach

Qorma e Sabzi

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 ounces green onions, white and green parts, chopped (2 to 3 bunches)

1 teaspoon ground fenugreek (optional)

2 pounds frozen, chopped spinach, not defrosted (ideally organic leaf spinach)

1 tablespoon dried dill

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

In a large deep pan, heat the oil over medium-high and saute the onions until tender, about 7 minutes. 

Add the fenugreek if you are using it, and cook for another minute.   Add the frozen spinach and cook on medium heat, stirring regularly, until it defrosts and the liquid comes to a boil, about 15 minutes.  If the defrosted spinach doesn't produce any liquid, add a few tablespoons of water to pan.  Once the liquid boils, add the remaining ingredients, stir thoroughly, and drop the heat a bit so the liquid bubbles gently. 

Cook for another 10 to 15 more minutes until the liquid is largely absorbed and the spinach very tender.  Keep an eye on the spinach as it cooks, stirring occasionally. If the pan dries up, add little more water and continue cooking.

Note:  If you want this dish to be extra flavorful and super creamy, after you've followed this recipe, add 1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth to the spinach and continue to cook it for another 30 minutes

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EASY BRAISED PUMPKIN - COUSIN MADYA'S KADOO

By Humaira

I was in Kabul for a five day trip at the beginning of October. Since I was traveling on my own and setting my own schedule, I felt a great sense of freedom that I had not felt on previous trips.  I chatted with cab drivers, wandered around Kabul’s women’s garden, andhung out with my cousin’s five wonderful, well-behaved children.

All the kids had responsibilities for house work. With ages ranging from9 months to 15 years old, you can imagine that their mum needs some help. What really struck me was the total lack of complaining on the part of the children. Even the three and a half year old has chores and proudly performs them without being asked. 

I returned home inspired by all of this. Over the weekend I asked my own daughters to clean the dishes after Sunday lunch. I divvied up the work evenly between the two of them. First, there were major protests , “Why do WE have to do this?” then, “ I am doing more than her!” I ended up with a headache. 

Of course the kids in Afghanistan do not have after school activities, sports, music lessons, or play dates. These luxuries are neither available nor part of the culture. One thing they are expected to do is do well in is school. All of my cousin’s children are excellent students and very motivated.

Madya Jan, my cousin’s 15-year old daughter, is an excellent cook and makes most of the meals for the family. She made this delicious pumpkin dish while I was there.  It’s a sort of quicker, modified Kadoo recipe which is very flavorful, so I decided to share it with you. I did modify it a little:  rather than frying the pumpkin in oil, I used vegetable broth. I have to admit, the dish tastes better fried, but most of my friends here in the Western part of the world like to avoid cooking heavily in oil. Either way, it’s tasty and will always remind me of my trip to Afghanistan.     

Cousin Madya’s Kadoo

Braised Pumpkin

One 3 pound sugar pie pumpkin or butternut squash

1 ½ cups vegetable broth

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tomatoes roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup full fat or Greek yogurt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

Cut the pumpkin into quarters, remove the seeds, peel and cut in thin strips as shown in the photo. 

Heat the vegetable broth in a large frying pan on medium-high heat, add the pumpkin.  Keep a close eye on the pumpkin, stirring every few minutes so all pieces are exposed to heat. Add the turmeric, stir well, cover the pot with a lid or aluminum foil and allow the liquid to absorb and thicken. This will take around 10 minutes.

In the meantime, in a sauce pan heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the tomatoes, garlic, and sugar. Stir well, turn the heat to medium-low and let is cook until the flavors infuse the oil and the tomatoes caramelize a bit, 7 to 10 minutes.  Make sure it doesn’t burn.

Pour the tomato mixture evenly over the pumpkin.  Cover the top with a tight lid or aluminum foil and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is fully cooked and a fork can go through it easily.

Mix the yogurt, garlic powder and salt in a bowl and stir for a minute or so until it’s smooth and creamy.   Portion the pumpkin onto serving plates and put a generous dollop of  yogurt to top.  Serve with pita bread or Aghan Nan.

Ingredients ready to go

Pumpkin simmering in chicken broth

Tomatoes still cooking before they are added to the pumpkin

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Shornakhod | Afghan Potato and Garbanzo Salad with Tangy Cilantro Dressing (VEGAN)

By Katie

Picnics and potato salad are as much a part of summer as sunshine and sand. But it’s been a long time since I’ve counted the typical American potato salad a part of my warm weather repasts. Heavy with mayonnaise, a bit of hard-cooked egg, a diced onion, and so forth, it’s not the sort of thing that holds much appeal for me these days. Perhaps I know too much, as the calorie count of that much fat and starch in one bowl. If I’m going to indulge like that, I’d rather it be in the form of chocolate layer cake. 

The Afghans have their own classic potato salad. It’s called shornakhod, (which means salty chickpeas) has all the flavor (and then some) and none of the decadence of the American version. It is much more to my liking and couldn’t be simpler to make. Chickpeas are tossed with cooked potatoes while still warm, and then dressed with a puree of scallions, cilantro and vinegar. It’s tangy, unusual, and a perfect thing to eat alongside summer’s other delectable offerings: barbecued chicken, grilled fish, beef kebabs, corn on the cob.

Feel free to serve shornakhod right away, or let it chill for a few hours to allow all those flavors to come together. It's even good the next day.  If you make a little extra dressing, it is a delicious sauce for kebabs.

Shornakhod

Afghan Potato Salad with Cilantro Dressing 

3/4 pound Russet potatoes, cut in half

3/4 cup roughly chopped scallions, white and light green parts

1 cup roughly chopped cilantro (1 medium bunch)

3/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (adjust to taste)

5-6 mint leaves (optional)

1 1/2 cans chickpeas (15 oz cans)

Boil the potatoes in water until tender all the way through to the center when pierced with a knife. Drain. When cool enough to handle, slip the skins off the potatoes and cut into large, bite-size pieces.

While the potatoes are cooking, combine the scallions, cilantro, vinegar, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Taste and add more salt or pepper to your taste.

Empty the garbanzo beans into a colander, rinse and drain. Put the beans and the potatoes into a bowl, pour on the dressing and mix well. Serve warm or cold.

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.