COOL AS A CUCUMBER - YOGURT AND MINT DIP

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. One Afghani 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 cucumbers 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 fine addition to a veggie platter and a healthy part of a sack lunch. 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.I serve this one with pita chips. It also makes a nice side dish.

Yogurt, Cucumber and Mint Dip

1 cup plain yogurt

2 Persian cucumbers, roughly chopped

½ tsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. dried mind or 2 tsp. fresh mint

Pinch of dried, ground garlic

Mix all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir thoroughly. Serve with pita chips, sambosas or bolani.

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

NOT SO AFGHAN BIRTHDAY BASH - CREAM CHEESE APPETIZER

By Humaira

A couple of weeks ago my sister Nabila had a birthday party for my brother Waheed, which signified an important and unmentionable age.  So, my various siblings, nieces and nephews flocked to West Hollywood for this memorable occasion.  I offered to pitch in with drinks and appetizers, but after hearing the rather elaborate menu Nabila had planned, I realized my help would be insignificant.

Nabila is one of the most talented people I know. You could say she is the Martha Stewart of our family:  an excellent cook, accomplished artist, designer and seamstress.  She is not into traditional Afghan cooking.  She always puts her own spin on everything, which usually has fabulous results, but sometimes drives my mom, Jeja (a traditionalist) a little crazy.  With our expanding, global world, and the fact that so many Afghans have lived in multiple places, like our family has, there is bound to be some intermingling of tastes, spices and creative ideas.

This birthday party was truly a global one with guests’ representing all nationalities:  Swiss, Iranian, German/French, and Afghans.  Nabila put out quite an amazing spread with Kitchree Quroot,  Borani Banjan, Qorma e Murgh with Challaw, and a delicious mixed green salad with fruit. 

Interestingly, the hit of the party was a cream cheese appetizer made with pineapple, green onions, cumin and cilantro.  It’s not particularly Afghan, more multicultural, like so many of Nabila’s winning creations.  So, it is in the spirit of globalization that I share this non-Afghan appetizer made by an Afghan for you to make for your next party.

030

Nabila's Afghan Cream Cheese Spread

8 oounces cream cheese

1/3 cup mashed unsweetened pineapple

 ¼ cup finely chopped green onions (around 4 onions)

¼ cup finely chopped cilantro

¼ teaspoon cumin

Dash of salt and pepper to taste

Take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator to bring to room temperature. This should take an hour.

In a large bowl mix the cream cheese with all of the other ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Roll the mixture into a large ball, place on a pretty serving plate, cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.  Serve with crackers or unsalted pretzel chips.

Additional options you may want to try:

~1/3 cup of chopped roasted walnuts or pecans

~1/3 cup of finely chopped apples instead of pineapple

~¼ cup of raisins

~Or mix 1 tablespoon of each:  dried cilantro, dill and mint in a plate.  Cover the cheese ball with the dried herb mixture until all sides, top and bottom are covered then refrigerate.  The dried herbs add an additional dimension of great flavor.

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

ROASTED EGGPLANT DIP - LAGHTAQ

By Katie

In my early teens I babysat for a family in my neighborhood whose fridge was stocked with all manner of exotic foods; at least exotic to my 13-year old self. In particular I remember a jar of what appeared to be preserved baby vegetables with a foreign sounding name. It was called “horse de oovers.”I couldn’t imagine what country it was from but I figured it was perhaps a Swedish delicacy.

It wasn’t until I took up French a year or two later that I learned the label actually read “hors d’oeurves”, just a fancy name for appetizers. I never did venture into that little jar of pickled vegetables. Likely I was far too busy making a dent in the family’s supply of Haagen Daz. Or perhaps I have just never been a fan of appetizers. 

Afghans aren't particularly big on hors d’oeurves either. There is no such thing as the cocktail hour. Never mind that there are no cocktails; this is a teetotaling country after all. But Afghans are very fond of eggplant. They pickle it, make stews out of it, fry it, roast it and braise it. This Banjan recipe features sliced eggplant smothered in paprika, turmeric and coriander-spiced tomato sauce. The whole lot is then baked until very tender and pureed. It is served with a generous helping of garlicky Greek yogurt.

Banjan makes a superb side dish, is wonderful on sandwiches, and yes, is a delicious hors d’oevre along with toasted pita chips. It’s the perfect sort of thing to set out for a summer buffet. Banjan also makes a killer leftover, so be sure to squirrel some away before your guests gobble it all down. Label the Tupperware “horse de oovers”. That way anyone poking around in your fridge will think you are very exotic, and perhaps very Swedish.

Roasted Eggplant Spread with Garlicky Yogurt

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, peeled, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

¼ cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp. ground paprika

1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

¾ tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 large eggplant, peeled, cut into 1/3- inch slices

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, thinly sliced

Yogurt sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and turmeric, turn the heat to low and sauté for a few minutes. Don’t let the garlic burn. Add the tomato sauce, coriander, paprika, salt, pepper and broth. Stir, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Layer the eggplant and pepper slices in a 9x13 inch roasting pan. Pour the sauce over the vegetables, moving the eggplant and peppers around a bit so they are lightly coated with the sauce. Set in the oven to bake.

After 25 minutes, stir the vegetables around in the pan to coat them with the juices. Continue to bake another 30 minutes or until the eggplant is very tender. Transfer the contents of the roasting pan to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Serve warm or cold with Yogurt Sauce spooned over the top and pita bread cut into wedges, brushed with olive oil, dusted with salt and toasted.

Yogurt sauce

¾ cup Greek-style yogurt

1 tsp. dried garlic

3/4 tsp. Kosher salt

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients.

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