POM, PEAR, PUDDING:AN AFGHAN DESSERT

Thanksgiving is a special holiday for my family, we are one of many political refugees who immigrated to the US from Afghanistan after the Russian invasion of 1979.

My family usually gathers at my sister Nabila's house for several days of family bonding over many delicious meals. I find myself taking advantage of my second to last birth order by letting others do the cooking and planning. However, this year I created a simple and easy pudding recipe to contribute a dish to our Thanksgiving meal.  

To justify sharing this Pom, Pear, Pudding on my Afghan Cooking blog, I created the recipe with ingredients commonly used in Afghan cuisine; chia seeds, olive oil, pomegranate, condensed milk and rosewater.

Since most Afghan desserts call for oil (mostly vegetable) instead of butter, I decided to join the food trend of San Francisco and use olive oil in this dessert dish.

Chia seeds come in black and white color

After tasting the creamy pudding offset by the crunchy, flavorful chia seeds and graham cracker crust, I now understand why the Greeks, Italians and Spaniards use olive oil in their desserts. The pudding does not taste like olive oil but is enhanced by the fruity, nutty, sweet and tropical notes of the oil.

I hope you will add this pudding to your Thanksgiving menu. It can be made a day or two ahead of serving. I’ve also provided links to older posts that include Afghan side dishes and deserts that go well with turkey.

THANKSGIVING SIDE DISHES—AFGHAN STYLE

AFGHAN FLAVORS AT YOUR THANKSGIVING TABLE

ROSEWATER CARDAMOM CARROT PUDDING—HALWA E ZARDAK

POM, PEAR. PUDDING

An Afghan Desert

12 whole graham crackers, broken
1/3 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup delicate, extra-virgin olive oil
15-ounce ricotta cheese
14-ounce sweetened condensed milk
1 ripe Bosc or Bartlett pear, cut in small pieces
1 ½ tablespoons rosewater (adjust to taste)
large pomegranate, seeded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine graham crackers and chia seeds in a food processor. Drizzle the olive oil into the processor as you pulse the ingredients in the processor. Blend until crumbs begin to stick together. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom of a approximately 9x9 baking dish.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, condensed milk, pears and rosewater. Whisk until creamy. Pour the contents into the baking dish, bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle 1/3 cup of pomegranate seeds on top of the pudding. Save the remaining pomegranate seeds. Let the pudding cool to room temperature or if making a day before, refrigerate.

Distribute the remaining pomegranates evenly among serving bowls, add pudding on top.

Serves 8

Olive oil production has returned to Afghanistan with the help of Italians

BOOK RECOMMENDATION:MY THREE LIVES ON EARTH by TAWAB ASSIFI

I wish I had the time to read all the fabulous books recommended to me. However, when I received this glorious recommendation from my friend Ted Eliot, former Ambassador to Afghanistan, one of the most well read people I know, I felt compelled to share his words with you. 

 “My Three Lives on Earth" The Life Story of an Afghan-American by Tawab Assifi.

“Tawab is a friend of ours since we first met him in 1974 in Herat where he was the provincial Governor. Having earned an engineering degree from Cornell University, he returned to Afghanistan to spend many years working on and managing the Helmand basin irrigation and electric power project. After President Daoud [Khan] came to power in 1973, he was appointed first to the Herat post and then as Minister of Mines and Industry. His book illuminates the progress being made in that period in a peaceful Afghanistan.

In April, 1978, during the Communist coup, Tawab was arrested and then incarcerated for 22 months in Pul-e-Charkhi prison. I believe his is the only published account by a witness of the assassination of President Daoud [Khan] and members of his family in the presidential palace. It also may be the only detailed description of the horrors committed in the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in subsequent years.

Tawab describes his harrowing escape from Afghanistan in 1981, his settling with his family in southern California and his efforts in the post-Taliban era to assist the Karzai government in addressing the reconstruction of the Helmand project and managing Afghanistan’s minerals issues.”

— Theodore L. Eliot Jr., Former Ambassador to Afghanistan

This book can be purchased from Amazon. My copy is on it's way. 

AFGHAN NACHOS: CHICKPEAS, CREAMY GREEK YOGURT AND PITA CHIPS

By Humaira

We’ve been deep in a kitchen remodel for the past five months, which is why I have not posted new recipes. My makeshift kitchen consists of a single burner hot plate, a slow cooker, a microwave and a toaster oven. Our meals have been simple.

Diced cilantro

Today’s recipe was inspired by Taste of Beirut’s fatteh recipe, an ancient dish still quite popular in Lebanon. This layered dish with pita chips as the base, topped with aromatic chickpeas and creamy yogurt sauce reminded me of nachos—also a hearty snack, an appetizer or a meal, if paired with a salad.

I served this dish in a communal platter, like nachos. After devouring the whole dish, my kids suggested serving the chickpeas with the yogurt sauce as a dip and the pita chips on the side—a less messy option. However you choose to serve this appetizer, I guarantee it will be a crowd pleaser.

Afghan Nachos

Chickpeas, Creamy Greek Yogurt and Crispy Pita chips

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup diced green onions

One 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

¼ cup finely chopped cilantro

1 cup whole Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 cloves diced garlic

8 ounce bag of pita chips

In a sauté pan over high heat add the olive oil, heat. Add green onions, sauté for two minutes or until translucent. Add chickpeas, cumin, and paprika to the pan. Stir frequently so the onions don’t stick to the pan. Once the aroma of cumin fills the kitchen and the chickpeas are warmed through, around five minutes, take the pan off the burner. In a small bowl mix yogurt, salt and garlic.

Arrange the pita chips in beautiful serving platter or bowl—top with the chickpeas and the creamy yogurt sauce.

Serves 6

Greek yogurt with roasted garlic