Aloo Gosht – Pakistani Beef and Potato Stew
Aloo Gosht (literally, potatoes and meat) is one of those comfort-food things that will probably go into regular rotation here, hopefully to the detriment of some of the yummy-but-bad-for-you-glop everyone likes. Beneath the potatoes and beef, there’s a tomato base,…
Afghan Sabzi Chalau with Lamb (stew)
So, the Afghan sabzi chalau is another one of those sort of ‘generic’ names for dishes, in that it literally means “spinach and rice”. This variant is on the stove top, but some are in the oven, with (or without)…
Afghani Dumplings (Aushak)
This is almost a universal recipe based on my pokings (everyone does more or less the same thing), and basically consists of dumplings, a yogurt sauce, and a meat sauce. It can take anywhere from 1-3 hours to do*, but…
Wonton wrappers
Or a nearly universal dumpling wrapper. They’re all pretty much the same anyway. Dumpling wrappers aren’t terribly difficult to make, but they do take quite a bit of time and effort, so I’d recommend buying them if possible unless you’re…
Kofta Kebabs
…well, mostly anyway. To date, I haven’t been able to keep them on the sticks. I think it’s a combination of not kneading the meat mix enough and not waiting long enough before turning. Fortunately this makes for nice finger-food…
Karahi Chicken
Karahi chicken is a highly aromatic stew (curry) that brings together tomatoes, chilies, and a nice cilantro ‘kick’. It gets it’s name because, well, it’s cooked in a karahi (or kadai), which is a thick-walled stew pot common throughout the…
Beef Shish Kebabs
Yay! Meat on a stick! Except I don’t serve it on a stick. Served here with a home-made lavash and a cucumber-mint dip. It’s one of the ultimate finger-foods after pizza: tear off a bit of bread, grab some meat…
Beef Shawarma (grilled)
This isn’t a real shawarma, because I don’t have one of those nifty vertical rotisseries. This is a fairly common affliction among cooks, so we try and make do with what we have. This version is straight-up grilled, though I…
Lavash (flatbread)
So, there are two basic types of lavash: Armenian, and the more Middle-Eastern type. So far as I can tell, the main difference is that the former uses baking powder, and the latter yeast, for leavening. This recipe is for…
Shawarma Seasoning
Shawarma is kinda like gyros (and later, Mexican al pastor), from the same origin dating back to the 17th/18th century Ottoman empire, though with different flavors. Like it’s parent, the doner kebab, it traditionally it would be lamb on a…