#1 Afghanistan
We made three dishes for Afghanistan night:
Kabuli Pulao, a rice casserole with vegetables and raisins and nuts. Apparently this recipe would usually contain meat also, but we used a vegetarian Kabuli Pulao recipe with chickpeas and cauliflower.
Lubya, a kidney bean curry. This recipe was made especially delicious by using your coconut oil as a base.
Bolani, a pan-fried flatbread stuffed with potato, peppers, green onions, and cilantro. The recipe seemed flexible on type of pepper, so we used a poblano, which was delicious.
Grating carrots for the Kabuli Pulao
Rolling out the dough for the Bolani.
Bolani
Lubya
Kabuli Pulao
The complete plate for Afghanistan night!
Bonus non-food cultural content:
We listened to Afghan folk music while we cooked, and then also discovered Burka Band, an all-female indie rock group that performs anonymously in full burqas to escape punishment for their music and lyrics, which are critical of the Taliban and their treatment of women. The song “Burka Blue” has cutting lyrics and is really catchy.
We decided that one place we’d like to visit in Afghanistan is the Hazrat Ali Mazar Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif. Look at the beautiful blue domes and tile work.
