Kabul Kabob Cuisine

Authentic Afghanistan Food

Afghanistan's culinary tradition is as rich as its history. Ingredients from different cultures include; spices, mint and yogurt and pasta.

Afghans rely on grain as the staple of their diet, using up to 20 varieties of rice. Other food basics include bread, cheese, eggs, mast (a tart yogurt), nuts such as pistachios and almonds, numerous fruits and vegetables, and tea. Afghans also use local meats, slaughtering livestock according to dietary law (Halal).

The vegetables used most commonly in various combinations include carrots, raisins, spinach, eggplant, potatoes, and tomatoes; these are combined with lamb, chicken, and beef when meat is used. Afghans use fresh herbs, especially mint, to season their dishes, as well as spices like garam masala, saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, cordiander, and ginger. Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and green and red chilies are also used as seasoning.

Pilau, rice served with meat and vegetables, is common throughout the country. An important traditional dish is kabuli pilau, which includes chunks of lamb beneath brown rice topped with carrot strips, raisins, almonds, and pistachios. Pilau and other meals are usually accompanied by mast, a mixture of picked vegetables (torshi), and hot chili sauce.

A common Afghan dish is kabob, small cubes of meat skewered with vegetables like onions and tomatoes and grilled. Kofta Kabab includes minced meat ground with onions, while shami kabab includes minced meat ground with onions, while shami kabab is made of minced meat mixed with mashed potatoes and raw eggs.

Another popular dish, which looks somewhat like Italian ravioli, is aushak, scallion-filled dumplings topped with yogurt, meat sauce, and mint. A similar pastry dish is mantu, a dumpling filled with meat and onion.

Most meals are accompanied by bread and rice. Rice is usually served plain, though for more formal meals, it is cooked into a pilau. The most common bread is naan, a flat, oblong bread made from whatever grain is available. Bread is traditionally baked daily in a clay pot buried in the ground over coals (a tandur) or on a heated stone.

Dessert often includes local fruits such as melons, apples, and apricots. A popular cooked dessert is firni, a milk pudding topped with pistachios. A when Afghans gather for meals, they wash their hands together and then sit on large cushions, share food from large ceramic platters placed on a cloth spread over a carpet. Food is integral to the hospitality shown throughout Afghanistan. Guests are routinely offered tea and are given the best food when a meal is served, even if this means family members must go without.

Genuinely,
John Basir Aziz

www.kabulkabobcuisine.com    .    (916) 444-9044    .    729 J Street    .    Sacramento, CA 95814