ROSEWATER CARDAMOM FLAVORED CARROT PUDDING - HALWA-E-ZARDAK

Photo by Aria Morris

By Humaira

Of all the American holidays Thanksgiving is the one I feel most connected to. My father played a big role in making this quintessential American celebration a special family gathering. You see he arrived in United States as a political refugee on Thanksgiving Day in 1979 after the Russians invaded Afghanistan. An unemployed diplomat, he embraced his new home and worked hard in various blue-collar jobs to make a new life for his family.

My father cooked up all the traditional fixings:turkey, stuffing, canned cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. He did his best to create what he thought was a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but somehow an Afghan dish would always sneak onto the menu. To me, this is what makes living in the United States so amazing:the ability to create your own traditions.

This year my friend Kate invited me and my family over for an early Thanksgiving dinner and asked if I could bring two Afghan side-dishes:Kadoo (braised pumpkin) and Sabzi (slow-cooked spinach). Kate is from Texas, what I consider to be the quintessential American state. I figure if my Afghan dishes are good enough for her Thanksgiving meal then perhaps others might consider making Kadoo or the Sabzi as well. You can find the recipes for both listed under Vegetables in the Categories section of the blog.

It is only fitting to throw in an Afghan dessert option for you to try out as well. Below is a recipe for a sweet and flavorful carrot pudding called Halwa e Zardak. Last year despite the fact that my Thanksgiving table was overflowing with traditional desserts, carrot pudding was a major hit. The carrots are slow cooked in milk, cream, sugar, cardamom and rosewater with a final addition of pistachios and almonds. It can be served hot or cold.

Rosewater and Cardamom Flavored Carrot Pudding

Halwa e Zardak

Halwa e Zardak

2 lbs. carrots, peeled and grated 

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

2 cups whole milk

½ cup whipping cream

¾ cup sugar

1/4 cup chopped pistachios, roasted

1/4 cup chopped almonds, roasted

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. rosewater (adjust to your taste)

In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter. Add the carrots and cook over medium high heat for  5-8 minutes until the carrots are tender and no liquid remains. Stir regularly to make sure the carrots don’t burn.

Add the milk, cream and sugar, stir and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring from time to time, until all the liquid is absorbed. This could take 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Once it's done, add the rosewater and cardamom and stir well.

If the nuts are not roasted, distribute them on a cookie sheet and broil for 2-3 minutes. They should be lightly brown and crunchy. Roughly chop them after roasting.  

Serve the pudding warm or room temperature with the nuts sprinkled over the top. 

Serves 6-8

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KATIE'S AFGHAN BAKLAVA - EID MUBARAK

By Humaira

I still get confused when people send me "Happy Ramazan" notes. Isn't  this the month of fasting when muslims starve themselves? To my surprise, everyone in the Muslim world looks forward to the start of Ramazan (better knows as Ramadan in the West).  How could this be? Shouldn’t they dread a whole month of not eating, drinking or doing anything pleasurable from dawn to dusk? The answer is a resounding, "No."  Muslims around the world see Ramazan as a month of blessing, filled with introspection, charity, fasting and kinship with their fellow brothers and sisters. It’s also one of the five pillars of Islam so any healthy and able Muslim over the age of 12 fasts.

Ramazan falls in the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Since the lunar calendar is 12 days shorter than the solar calendar, Muslim holidays move each year. Yesterday was the official end of Ramazan.

Muslims fast from sunrise to sundown to remind them of the suffering of the poor and the duties of a Muslim to help others less fortunate than them. The fasting also helps Muslims practice physical and mental control. Families get up early for suhoor, a meal eaten before sunrise. Most Afghans choose filling food such as eggs, cheese, bread, halwa and of course lots of tea to sustain them through the day. After the sun sets, iftar or breaking of the fast is done with dates and a cup of tea for a quick burst of energy.

I find it hard to fast in my fast-paced American life and to recreate the magical Eid experience of my childhood for my children. However, in our family Jeja (my mom) is a diligent observer of Ramazan. She is 77 but she looks forward to the month of fasting and observes it with pride, enthusiasm and diligence.  Ramazan ends with a three day holiday and celebration of Eid.  Eid Mubarak!!

During Eid, Muslims around the world don new clothes, have parties, visit friends and family.  They settle disputes and put differences behind.  In Afghanistan children wear new clothes and receive gifts of cash called Eidi.  As a I child I looked forward to Eid as it was one of the few times in the year when we purchased new clothes and were allowed to eat as much candy as we desired. We always went to my maternal grandfather's house for Eid where all my cousins, aunts and uncles gathered. We played and ate all day. Today after taking my kids to soccer camp we will go to Jeja's house to celebrate Eid together over a festive meal. 

Fitting my global lifestyle, I am proud to say that this post is about a Muslim holiday with a recipe for a dessert that many Muslims serve at their Eid celebration by my co-blogger and dear friend Katie Morford who is Catholic. 

Afghan Baklava with Rosewater

and Cardamom

2 1/3 cups sugar, divided

1 tsp. ground cardamom

¾ cup butter, melted

1 lb. filo dough (20 sheets)

1 cup water

The zest of 1 lemon

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 pinch saffron threads

1 tbsp. rosewater (optional)

½ cup finely chopped pistachios

2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl mix together the walnuts, 1/3 cup of the sugar and the cardamom.

Use a pastry brush to coat the bottom and sides of a 16 x 12” jelly roll pan with melted butter (a cookie sheet with sides). Lay one sheet of filo on the pan and brush lightly with butter. Continue layering the filo and brushing with butter until you’ve laid down 5 sheets of filo. Sprinkle 1/3 of the walnut mixture over the filo. Repeat the 5 sheets of filo/butter process followed by walnuts two more times, finishing up the baklava with the last 5 sheets of filo/butter. Coat the top of the baklava with butter. In total, you will have 4 filo layers sandwiching 3 walnut layers. I’m bad at math so I like to be very specific here.

Cut baklava through all the layers lengthwise into strips spaced about 2 inches apart. Next, cut diagonally across the filo to create diamond-shaped pieces. Use a sharp knife and cut with care so the baklava layers stay together.

Set the baklava in the oven for about 30 minutes until lightly golden brown. While the baklava is baking, make the syrup. Combine the remaining 2 cups of sugar, the water, lemon zest, lemon juice, saffron and rosewater in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it boil gently for about 10 minutes until the syrup reduces a bit and thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Keep warm.

When the baklava is done, remove from the oven. Drizzle the syrup evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Allow it to cool a bit before serving.

Stinson beach easter baklava 132

Stinson beach easter baklava 138

Stinson beach easter baklava 145

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

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH COOKIES - AWB-E-DANDAN

By Katie

The direct translation from Dari into English of awb e dundawn, the name of these delectable Afghan cookies, is “water from the teeth”. I'm guessing that's the Afghan way of saying, “melt in your mouth". And these cookies will melt in your mouth. They should: Each one packs a hefty tablespoon of butter and oil.

Cooking fats are considered quite precious in Afghanistan. One of the ways Afghans, who are famous for their hospitality, honor their guests is to serve them the fattiest cut of meat, the dish brimming with the most oil. Butter is particularly dear on Afghan soil and not likely used for baked goods. Indeed the original recipe for this cookie, which I adapted from Helen Saberi’s book Afghan Food & Cookery, calls for vegetable oil. The use of butter in the recipe below is my own greedy addition.

I have to admit that I nearly stopped in my tracks when I first read the recipe for awb e dundawn. The instructions recommend kneading the dough for at least a half hour, ideally an hour. An hour of kneading anything is a baking deal breaker. Then it struck me that my kitchen, and hopefully yours, is outfitted with something even the most well-to-do Afghan woman lacks: a stand-up mixer. Whether my version of the cookies would measure up to Helen’s standards, I can’t be sure, but they disappeared from my own cookie tin in short order.

“Melt in your Mouth” Afghan Cookies

Awb e Dundawn

3 cups all-purpose white flour

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. ground cardamom

½ tsp. salt

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp. rosewater

1 tbsp. ground pistachios*

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom and salt into the bowl of a stand-up mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. With the mixer turned to low add the butter and oil to the flour mixture in a slow and steady stream. Then, add the rosewater. Mix the dough on medium speed for 10 minutes.

Form the dough into smooth, round balls, about the size of a whole walnut, and distribute onto two baking sheets. Use your thumb to make a distinct imprint in the top of each cookie.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The bottoms of the cookies will be lightly browned, the tops should remain pale. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the ground pistachios over the tops of the cookies. Allow them to cool and store in a tin with a tight lid.

*Grind the pistachios in a mini food processor or with some vigorous chopping using a chef’s knife.

Note: If you don’t have a stand-up mixer, you can do this by hand with a bit of elbow grease by first mixing the liquid and dry ingredients together in a bowl, and then kneading it by hand for a good long while.

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