Worldly Wednesday - Afghanistan

Welcome to my first installment of my new on-going feature, Worldly Wednesdays.  In this inaugural post, we are looking at the country of Afghanistan.  

Afghan foods and cooking have been influenced by Islam; various ethnic groups in the country and neighboring countries in Central Asia as well as in the Far East.  The preferred meat is lamb, however, goat, beef, water buffalo, camel, poultry, and game are also eaten, but not pork. As far as seafood, only freshwater fish, such as trout, carp, and catfish, are consumed.  When it comes to fruits and vegetables, Afghans are partial to pumpkin, squash, loofah gourd, giant radish, eggplant, cauliflower, cucumber, chickpea, kidney bean, peas, apricot, cherry, grape, mulberry (also dried), quince, plum, melon, watermelon, pomegranate, almond, pistachio and pine nut.  Typical seasonings found in Afghan cooking are fresh cilantro, mint, dill, saffron, turmeric, anise, asafetida, four-spice mix (char masala) — cassia (a milder form of cinnamon), cloves, cumin, and black cardamom.

Typical dishes in Afghanistan include rice dishes such as pilau and chalau. Yellow rice with lamb, carrots, and raisins (qabili pilau) is regarded as the national dish. Kebabs of skewered lamb, mutton or beef cubes (or ground meat rolls), as well as, noodles and filled pasta are regular staples in the Afghan diet. 

Our first recipe for Worldly Wednesdays and our representative recipe for Afghanistan is Boulanee.  These fried pastries are quite similar to wontons. There are two types: the most popular one is stuffed with local chives called gandana; the other with mashed potato. In the recipe below, meat used in the filling can be left out and the amount of mashed potato increased to a total of three cups. It is best eaten as soon as made, though it is also good cold.

Boulanee (Potato and Meat Packets)

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 tsp salt
• 1⁄2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 4 green onions (green leaves only), chopped
• 1 cup mashed potatoes
• vegetable oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1⁄2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1⁄2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 package square wonton wrappers

Directions

1. Add 1⁄2 tsp salt, cayenne pepper (if using), cilantro, and green onions to mashed potatoes and mix well.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Brown beef with pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and ground coriander.
3. Mix ground beef with mashed potatoes. Let cool.
4. Take a wonton wrapper and place a spoonful of filling in the middle.  Wet edges of the wrapper with a little water. Fold over into a triangle. Cross over points of triangle and press to seal.  Flatten with your hand.
5. Heat 1⁄2 inch oil in a skillet and fry boulanee in batches until brown on both sides, for about 4–5 minutes. Fry only a few at a time. Do not let them touch one another.
6. Serve with hot mint tea.

So there you have our first recipe for Worldly Wednesdays.  I do hope you will try it and that you enjoy it.  Make sure to check back next Wednesday when our feature country will be Albania. Until then:  Cook! Eat! Love! Enjoy!