As some of you know, I'm definitely a fusion of several cooking styles. What you may not know is that I grew up close to an Afghani family and learned a great deal about their customs, culture and cuisine. What I absolutely loved most about their style of cooking and eating is similar to my own.
This family was from Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. So the names of the dishes and ingredients I use are referred to in their language, Pashto. Naturally their cooking encompasses their local vegetation, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, cauliflower and eggplant. There's so much more.
Cooking was an opportunity for the women in the family to come together and socialize. They are very clean and sanitary in their techniques and only used the freshest ingredients. Like Latin-Caribbean cuisine, their food is very flavorful and aromatic, but not spicy-hot.
The particular level of heat that an individual prefers is left up to preference. In Kandahar, one of the sides or condiments, is always Murchak. A small and very hot green pepper, which I believe is also used in Mexican cuisine. Murchak was also their nickname for my daughter because even at 2 years old, she caught your attention like a hot pepper when she wanted to be heard.
Most meals are also accompanied by a deliciously thick, homemade, yogurt called Mastieh, which is used as a condiment as well. This is usually made the night before, by boiling whole milk, letting it sit in a pot and lastly letting it chill.
Another impressive aspect of Afghani culture was the way in which food was served, and eaten. Once prepared, the food was served on a Starjan (star.han), which is basically a table cloth that was spread on the floor. The family gathers around the starjan on which the main dishes are served. We used to then serve ourselves in individual plates and eat from there. Although, my understanding is that traditionally everyone ate out of one large serving plate. I've seen Islamic African cultures do this the same way.
And here is the best part... You get to eat the deliciousness with your hands! Your right hand to be precise (there is symbolism behind why it is the right hand). If you're not used to it, it may sound strange. The truth is that it's a wonderful experience once you get the hang of it. Part of what makes it easier is that you use flat bread, Dudi, to pick up the food and soak in any sauces. Something about eating with my hands made the experience more like a ritual, than just having an ordinary meal. And, I found it fun too!
After dinner, the family sits together to have Chai, a delicious tea. During the afternoon and evening it's usually green tea leaves with [ground] cardamom and sugar. Some shortbread cookies go magnificently with this tea.
In the morning you typically have Chai Shiddieh (shiddieh is Pashto for milk), which is a black tea, also infused with [ground] cardamom and steamed milk. It's so delicious with breakfast, or with Dudi! Still to this day, all of the teas I make are from the actual leaves and spices. I find it soothing to grind my own cardamom, for instance.
Among my favorite dishes, which I still make and is always a hit with my dinner guests, is Banjan. It's delicious, it's bursting with flavor, and so healthy too. It's also my favorite meal to cook for when my vegetarian friends come over. Banjan is an eggplant cooked with sauteed onions, in a tomato-based sauce. It really is so simple to make!
Banjan
The long thin eggplants are preferred for this dish, because they are sweeter, but you can use any.
Cut the top and the bottom off each eggplant. With a vegetable peeler, alternate cutting lines along the long side of each eggplant. You should end up with stripes, one purple, and one white.
Looks pretty, right? Or, as you say in Pashto, Shaistah, which means beautiful or lovely.
Now cut the eggplant in medallions.
I love to slant the cut to give it that julienned angle. Looks even prettier.
I like to sprinkle the eggplant with a little bit of lemon juice.
The acid from the lemon slows that oxidation process and stops the eggplant from turning a brownish color. I do the same with apples, potatoes and bananas, for example.
Drizzle the eggplant itself generously with olive oil, then add salt and pepper to taste.
The salt is important because it naturally releases the moisture from fruits and vegetables and will enhance your sauce.
Heat a skillet to a medium flame, drizzle with olive oil.
Add in a purple onion, chopped or sliced to your preference. This is where you can also add garlic.
I love garlic. Passionately. And although my friends did not add garlic to their Banjan, I don't miss the opportunity. If I have sofrito, sometimes I even add that if I want to give the dish a PR flair. If you're in a rush, you can also get away with generously sprinkling garlic powder. Heck, this is your dish, I'm just giving you ideas, Reader. Sprinkle away with any spices that make your mouth happy!
Sometimes if I feel a little Italian that day, I even add mushrooms to that mix!
Once the onions and other veggies become translucent, I add in the eggplant. Let that simmer and get some color on both sides.
Add in your pureed tomato sauce and let that simmer together on low heat.
I like to add some wine to the mixture to add flavor to the sauce. Islamic cooking does not use wine, so you can use water and salt accordingly to your taste. The sauce should not be watery, but not to thick either.
Throw some flat bread in the oven.
I love to make flatbread home made! In Afghanistan it's called Dudi, in India Naan and in the West Indies Roti. I just love it! You can also make the store-bought kind, throw a couple of drops of moisture on it and throw in the oven till it's lightly golden.
Once your Banjan is ready, you can scoop it and the delicious sauce with your Dudi!
Happy Eid!
Until next time, Da Khudai, pah ahman....
Is this the dish made in Lake George?
ReplyDeleteYes! Good eye! Except that when we made it in LG, we didn't have the delicious flat bread to scoop it up. We need a do-over ;-)
ReplyDelete