MINI LAMB KEBAB WITH CILANTRO MINT CHUTNEY - Kebab-e-Gosfand

By Katie

When Humaira and I throw a dinner party, we opt for dishes we can make ahead of time. The point of having friends over, after all, is to enjoy their company, not be squirreled away in the kitchen fussing over canapés.

These mini lamb kebabs are just perfect for entertaining. They’re prepped and marinated a day ahead, and then grilled before guests even cross the doorstep, freeing you up to enjoy the party without fretting that something’s burning in the kitchen.

Truth be told, these mini kebabs aren’t properly Afghan. Traditionally the lamb would be cut into larger chunks, speared onto long, heavy metal skewers and served in a heap on a large platter for the main course. Teeny little finger food isn’t exactly the Afghan way. However, the meat, the marinade and the cooking are all very true to the cuisine.

The chutney that accompanies kebabs in Afghanistan has no relation to the sweet and savory, fruit-studded preserves with which most of us are familiar. The Afghan version is a thin, herbaceous, acidic sauce.I tinkered with the traditional recipe by adding fresh mint to the mix. It makes a perfect tangy counterpart to the rich lamb.

Serve the skewers on their own or with little wedges of pita or nan bread for a mini kebab sandwiches.

Mini Afghan Lamb Kebabs with Cilantro Mint Chutney

Serves 10 to 12 as an appetizer or 4 to 6 as a main course

4 large cloves garlic, minced

¾ cup plain yogurt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 ½ tsp. ground turmeric

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. black pepper

2 lbs. boneless lamb, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

Small wooden or metal skewers*

Ground sumac (optional)

Cilantro Mint Chutney (recipe below)

In a medium bowl mix together the garlic, yogurt, spices, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the lamb and mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

An hour before you are ready to cook, pull the lamb from the refrigerator. If you are using wooden skewers immerse them in water for 20 minutes.

Spear 3 to 4 pieces of lamb on each skewer and set aside until you are ready to cook. Grill the kebabs over a medium-high flame until cooked through but still pink in the center. If you don’t have a grill, cook the kebabs under a broiler in your oven.

Coat the bottom of your serving platter with a few tablespoons of chutney. Set the kebabs on top of the chutney with a little crock of the remaining chutney in the center. Lightly sprinkle sumac over the top if you like.

*If you can’t find small wooden skewers, cut the larger ones in half using a sharp chef’s knife.

Cilantro Mint Chutney

½ cup roughly chopped green onions, white and green parts

1 cup roughly chopped cilantro

½ cup roughly chopped fresh mint

½ cup white vinegar

½ tsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. black pepper

Whirl all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.

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TOMATO, CUCUMBER, CILANTRO AND TOMATO - SALATA

By Humaira & Katie

In Afghanistan most vegetables are cooked in their own juices or some kind of a broth for a long time. Crunchy vegetables are a rarity. Maybe that’s why Jeja, Humaira’s mom, prefers meals at her own home where she won’t be subjected to al dente green beans and lightly steamed broccoli. However, Afghans do eat salad and for that, they use fresh, seasonal ingredients.

When Humaira was in Afghanistan in 2006, in order to avoid the typical travelers’ illnesses, she had to lay off the raw vegetables. Passing up the beautiful Afghan salata (salad) felt like a hardship. For those in Afghanistan who can afford fresh vegetables, salata is a staple of the Afghan table.

The recipe below is a salad we made for an Afghan dinner (click here for full Menu) several weeks ago. We used the last of the Indian summer tomatoes. If you can’t get your hands on any decent tomatoes, hang onto the recipe until you can. Alternatively, substitute any seasonal vegetables in any combination that are tasty when raw: chopped crisp romaine, fennel, diced carrots, and the like.

Salata is always light and crunchy, making it a perfect counterpoint to Afghan cuisine’s heavier dishes. Some Afghan cooks consider it a point of pride when the diced vegetables are small and uniform in size. The result reminds us a little of a colorful bowl of confetti.

I recently heard from Helen Nichols who writes the Well Being Secrets blog that she added steamed broccoli to this recipe. I love Helen's article about the 42 benefits of broccoli and thought I should share her post with you. 

Tomato, Cucumber and Red Onion Salad

Salata

3 medium-size tomatoes, diced

3 Persian cucumbers, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)*

1 small red onion, diced

1 cup roughly chopped cilantro (1 small bunch)

3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients and toss well.

*you can substitute ordinary cucumbers

Serves 4 to 6

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PERSIAN CUCUMBER

    by Humaira

As a fifth grader in Kabul I had an allowance of one Afghani per day to buy a snack. Contrary to popular misconception, the Afghani doesn’t refer to a person, but to Afghanistan’s currency, and was worth about 10 cents at the time.

All my friends would use their allowance to buy special treats from the school canteen, but I would stop at the vegetable store on the way to school to purchase the largest cucumber I could afford. With school in session from March through November, the crunchy cucumbers with the small seeds had a cooling effect on me through the hot summer months -- I so looked forward to recess. In retrospect I must have been a strange child to pick a cucumber over candy, but I won’t go into self analysis in this posting.

Persian cucumbers remind me of the wonderful cucumber I used to covet as a child. They are thin, small and reliably crunchy. Peeled and cut into slivers they can be a great snack, a fun addition to a veggie platter and a healthy addition to the kids’ lunch bags. My kids love them.

Previously I could only find Persian cucumbers at Afghan or Persian grocery stores, but now Trader Joe’s and some larger grocery stores carry them. Here is a recipe for an Afghan appetizer I created and brought to a friend’s party. There are few appetizers in the Afghan cuisine, so I served this recipe with pita chips.

Yogurt, Cucumber and Mint Dip

1 cup of plain yogurt (any type will work)

2 Persian cucumbers roughly chopped which makes around ½ cup

½ tsp salt

½ tsp dried mind or 2 tsp fresh mint

Pinch of ground, dry ground garlic

Recipe can be doubled.

In a bowl mix all ingredients and stir thoroughly. You may adjust the salt and garlic to your taste. Serve with pita chips, sambosas, Bolani, or kebabs. I also love to serve it as a salad or side dish.

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Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.