ROSEWATER, CARDAMOM FUDGE - SHEER PAYRA

By Humaira

I don’t have a sweet tooth. My go to snacks are dates, mulberries, almonds and walnuts.  However, there are a few things I can’t resist; pistachio ice cream, our Afghan butter cookies and Sheer payra, Afghanistan’s fudge.

Recently a friend asked about Sheerpayra, so I cast a wide net for possible recipes. My friend Helen Saberi kindly referred me to her recipe in Afghan Food & Cookery*. My sister Nabila shared her wisdom and lessons learned from previous attempts to make this mouth-watering delight.

It turns out making Sheerpayra requires a great deal of precision and patience, the two qualities I lack. So, I created my own fast and easy recipe which, turns out a killer tasting Sheer payra. Since milk and sugar are at a premium in Afghanistan, this sweet is served at Eid holidays, weddings, baby births and of course for very special guests.

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Perhaps this valentine, you can skip the chocolate and give your sweetheart a box of our "Afghan Rosewater, Cardamom Fudge".

SheerPerainPan

Sheer Payra

Afghan Rosewater, Cardamom Fudge

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water

1¼ cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups powdered milk

1 teaspoon rosewater

1 teaspoon cardamom

2 tablespoons walnuts, finely chopped

2 tablespoons almonds, finely chopped

2 tablespoons pistachios, finely chopped

Lightly butter a glass or metal pan, approximately 7x11 inches and 1-2 inches deep.

Time is of essence in this recipe. For best resutls, have all your ingredients measured and accessible in your work area before you go to the next step.

Add the water in a heavy bottomed sauce-pan, cook the sugar and salt over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar melts, around 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat up to high, bring to a boil, stir constantly for 2 minutes, a white foam will form on the syrup and it will thicken. 

Remove pot from heat and move to your work area. Drizzle the powdered milk in the pot, as you stir, a creamy smooth mixture will form. Add rosewater, cardamom, almonds and walnuts. Mix well, making sure the nuts are distributed evenly in the batter.

Pour the mixture into the pan, scraping all the extras from the sides of the pan. It should spread out but if it doesn’t, use the back of a spatula to flatten it evenly. Sprinkle with pistachios and set to cool, approximately 1-2 hours.

Cut with a sharp knife in 2x2 inch squares, serve with a cup of black tea or coffee. Store the extra in in an air tight container or ziploc bag. Do not refrigerate, keep at room temperature.

Nuts,Cardamom&Saffron

 * Afghan Food and Cookery by Helen Saberi

BOOK, TEA AND BAKLAVA - A BOOK CLUBBERS' PARADISE

By Humaira

Little Brown and Company will feature three of our sweets recipes in the U.K. publication of THE LITTLE COFFEE SHOP OF KABUL, by Deborah Rodrigues.  

In 2012 our Rhot, Baklava, Afghan Butter Cookie, and Cardamom Tea recipes were  included in the Australian edition of this book.

Deborah Rodriguez, author of The New York Times bestselling memoir Kabul Beauty School, makes her compelling fiction debut in this novel of a remarkable coffee shop in the heart of Afghanistan and the women who meet there - each with a story and a secret that will lead them to forge an extraordinary friendship.

The publishers have a "How to host the perfect tea party" section where our recipes are cleverly placed to encourage a tea time gathering. If you have read this book and used our recipes, let us know how it turned out.

Thinking back to the past few years, I am happy to report our recipes have been featured in many publications and blogs including Food52, San Francisco Chronicle, Foreign Policy, veggiebelly.com, ingredientmatcher.com and the soon to be published YOGURT CULTURE cookbook.

Your comments are encouraged !

ALMOND CARDAMOM MERINGUE - KULCHA-E-BADAM

By Katie

I made these Almond and Cardamom Meringue Cookies and could barely get them onto the baking sheet because of all the finger licking that was going on.  If I come down with a ferocious case of salmonella, you’ll know why.  All that sweet meringue, spiced with cardamom, and accented with the texture and flavor of ground almonds made a delicious batter, and an even better finished cookie. But then, I’m a sucker for anything meringue.

These cookies couldn’t be easier to make. Essentially, you whip egg whites with powdered sugar and then fold in ground almonds. You can buy almond meal, which is finely ground, blanched almonds, or make your own, which is what I did when I discovered I didn’t have any on hand. Just be sure not to grind it so much that you end up with almond butter.

The recipe comes from a new cookbook called “Afghan Desserts Made Simple” (Dog Ear Publishing, 2010). It’s the only Afghan dessert cookbook we know of, probably for good reason. There frankly aren’t a whole lot of Afghan desserts to write about.   Afghans most often turn to dried and fresh fruits to satisfy their sweet tooth.  Prepared desserts are reserved for special occasions. Truth be told, this recipe isn't authentically Afghan. It's inspired by an Afghan almond cookie. But, using this many egg whites and this many ground almonds would be prohibitively decadent in Afghanistan.  

The book is written by Sina Abed, a woman who, like so many in Afghanistan, fled her home in Kabul and came to the United States with her family.  Like our blog, her book is a way to keep a record of the precious recipes that are preserved in the memories of the women who left  Afghanistan over the past several decades.  This particular cookie is well worth preserving in your own repertoire of recipes. 

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Almond and Cardamom Meringue Cookies

Kuche Badami

2 ½ cups almond meal *

¾ cup all-purpose white flour

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

4 egg whites

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

2 cups powdered sugar

Whole or slivered almonds for garnish

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together the almond meal, flour, and cardamom. Stir well.

In a large, immaculately clean mixing bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric beater until foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold the almond meal into the egg whites, mixing until you have a smooth, even consistency.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop large spoonfuls (about 2 tablespoons or so) of the batter onto mounds on the baking sheet. Top each mound with one whole almond or two slivered almonds.

Bake until the cookies just begin to brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Less cooking time will result in a chewier cookie.

Adapted from “Afghan Desserts Made Simple,” Sina Abed, (Dog Ear Publishing, 2010)

*You can make your own almond meal by grinding blanched almonds in a blender. Grind the almonds enough so they form a fine meal, but not so much that it begins to stick together and resemble almond butter.

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