A for AMAZING AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN; for a country that has been in the limelight in recent years for majorly the wrong reasons, it is a sad fact that its cuisine also has not garnered as much prominence as that of many of its neighboring countries.

As mentioned in my earlier post, I embarked on an A-Z Global Cuisine Project and chose AFGHANISTAN for A. During my research, I happily discovered that Afghani cuisine is a powerhouse of flavours and best described as hearty comfort food. The cuisine of this landlocked country has been deeply influenced from that of its neighbours namely Pakistan, Iran, China, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

5 FACTS ON AFGHANI CUISINE

• Afghani cuisine can neither be described as hot nor spicy and rather flavourful.
• Chief crops of the country are rice, pomegranate, nuts, dry fruits which obviously makes way into their cuisine.
• Typical dishes in an Afghani menu would consist of:
• Rice dishes such as the Palow
• Freshly baked Breads such as Naan
• Kebabs generally made from Lamb
• Stews such as Qorma
• Dumplings stuffed with meat- Mantu or with chives drizzled with yoghurt and meat sauce- Ashak
• Desserts made from milk, nuts and rosewater
• Black and Green Tea spiced with cardamom or served with milk/cream
• An Afghan traditional banquet is generally served on the floor with the dishes spread over a Dasterkhawan (Tablecloth).
• Afghani hospitality is regarded to be one of the best in the world. Guests are considered like kings and hosts prepare elaborate meals using special ingredients even perhaps by using up their savings or inspite of the fact that they have not had meat themselves for months together.

To kick off my project (which I have talked about here), I prepared the “KABELI or QABILI PULAO” which is the National dish of Afghanistan. 

I read different versions on the origins of the name of this dish, first being that KABELI originating from KABUL, the

MY A-Z GLOBAL CUISINE PROJECT - LIFE FROM SCRATCH

A few months back, I happened to read this book-Life from Scratch by a food blogger, Sasha Martin.

The book revolved around the mammoth project undertaken by Sasha which involved her cooking from every country of the world i.e. precisely 197 countries. Tackling one country per week, it took her almost 4 years to complete this assignment. She initially commenced this major task with the prime objectives of coaxing her picky husband to experiment with food and exposing her six-month daughter to various global cuisines.

But as she delved deeper into herself, Sasha realized this project was her way of meditation and making peace with her extremely difficult childhood. Sasha was raised by a single mother and they faced serious financial difficulties. However, her mother was a very savvy cook and let no crumb go to waste be it moldy breads or spoilt apples. What she didn't have in resources, she made up for in creativity such as by introducing cranberry juice with cereal just because she could not afford milk.

Cooking and food was Sasha's strongest connection to her mother which kept her going when she lived in a string of foster homes.

Sasha in her book, particularly talks about certain recipes such as the German Tree Cake recipe which consisted of 21 layers made from almond paste that had to be further broiled, layered and frosted. This was a recipe that her mom had saved up for months and took them jointly two days to make. It was her mother's way of teaching Sasha that life is all about resilience and perseverance.

Perhaps cooking her way through 197 countries was the adult version of the German Tree cake recipe through which Sasha managed to make peace with her past, forgive and move on to find happiness in her current life.

Since having read this book, I have been very inspired with this project and have decided to embark one on my own albeit on a smaller scale. I would