5
You'd be surprised to find out that Afghans share common dishes with people from India to Ethiopia to Albania to Turkey to Greece to Israel to Macedonia. The perks of being at a crossroads are pretty awesome.
A few of the main dishes:
Chicken kebab:
Chicken kebab with naan and rice is the best and most classical Afghan dish. We share this dish with Persians, Turks, and Greeks (I think).
Shami Kebab/Koobideh
Koobideh is an Iranian and Afghan meat kabab made from ground lamb or beef, and less commonly chicken, often mixed with parsley and chopped onions.
Mantu:
Mantu are dumplings popular in most Turkic cuisines, as well as in the South Caucasian, Central Asian (Afghan), and Chinese Islamic. Nowadays, manti are also consumed throughout Russia and other post-Soviet countries, where the dish spread from the Central Asian republics. The dumplings typically consist of a spiced meat mixture, usually lamb or ground beef in a dough wrapper, and either boiled or steamed.
Qabuli Palao:
Another signature dish that originated in Afghanistan. It consists of rice with cooked shredded carrots and raisins. It's usually served with chicken and kafte (beef) kebab, along with naan of course. I've found that Jews also make this dish on Rosh Hashana a apparently.
Ashak:
This is another really good dish. Ashak is an Afghan dish made of pasta dumplings filled with scallion, with a tomato sauce, topped with yogurt and dried mint.
Parakee (probably spelled that wrong)
This is a dish that is kinda like a qeusadilla, but it's not. Instead of cheese and chicken, it has either Spinach or Potatoes. You dip it in chutni (a spicy spinach dip from india), or mastae (plain yogurt). My mom jokingly calls it "Afghan Pizza." This dish is shared with Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan.
Aush:
A great recipe to learn. It is a really nice dish, especially to feed to those who are feeling sick. It is a traditional afghan soup.
Here is the recipe
Spoiler!
Snacks:
When I was in high school, I used to come home and eat Paneer Cheese with raisins and drink tea while doing my homework on some days. It's very healthy compared to other cheese, and it's delicious. Persians and Afghans dig this stuff, but I think it comes from India . Indians know how to make it realllyyyyy well too.
Desserts:
I'll start out with Jelabi:
Jelabi is like a funnel cake in the shape of a pretzel. The difference is that it's soaked in some kind of syrup and rosewater instead of having powdered sugar dashed all over it. It's really delicious, but your hands get really sticky and messy when you eat it lol. Outside of Afghanistan, you will find this dish in India, Bangladesh, various Middle Eastern countries, Ethiopia, and North Africa.
Baklava:
Baklava is one of my favorite desserts. Afghan Tajiks and Afghan Pashtuns love Baklava. It's a pastry with syrup & homey that has chopped nuts inside. I think this dish originates with the Turks. Lots of Middle Easterners, South Asians, and some South Europeans also seem to enjoy this dessert because I believe you can find it in a lot of markets in all of the aforementioned areas.
Then there are the famous signature afghan cream filled pastry treats
Firnee:
Firnee is a sweet, cardamom-scented Afghan pudding that is usually reserved for holidays and special events. Firnee is paraded out at the end of each of occasion with each hostess putting her own personal “stamp” on the dish -- rose water in one, nuts in another – giving each firnee its own unique flavor.
Gosh-e-fil
Gosh-e-fil is an Afghan and Iranian doughnut made by shaping dough into the shape of an ear (gosh), and deep-fried in oil. Each shape is then topped with chopped pistachios and powdered sugar. The Afghans usually make gosh-e fil for Eid ul-Fitr
Sheer Parya (Afghan Milk Fudge)
Made with rosewater and cardamom.
Kadu Bouranee
Kadu bouranee is an Afghan and Turkish pumpkin dish made by frying pumpkin with different spices. It is topped with chaka/sour cream and dried mint. Kadu bouranee is eaten with bread or rice.
Bookmarks