AmaZing Afghani Cuisine Anyone...?

 

I've been having a love affair with Afghani food 💗🇦🇫... 

You know when you get a whiff or taste of something completely intoxicating and the only way to feed the obsession (literally) is to seek it and gorge on it... I love working with the women at Newcomer Kitchen, cooking all kinds of traditional and cultural dishes to sell to the public. Their dishes always so wonderfully flavourful and appetite whetting 🤤. At the same time, these kitchen experiences are lessons, not so much cooking as they already know how but teaching about costing, budgeting and buying the right amount of groceries so they can generate a profit after operating expenses. We plan a few pieces more and a little extra for a taste test. But that's what I mean... it's just a tasting 🙄. 

So what do you do when that aroma and deliciousness sears into your brain and taste buds after that nibble... you get it out of your system by seeking it out or Making. It. The beauty of having the ladies recipes right at my finger tips... Lucky, lucky me 🍀 

This brings me to making Afghani bolani... Homemade flatbreads stuffed with potatoes, green onion, cilantro, and green chilies then shallow fried to crispy, golden brown gorgeousness!  I've had these in Afghani restaurants but never tried making it. I had the pleasure of seeing it prepared by my student Sonita in the last term. See her recipe:

My family loved theeese!!! 

Selling yummy bolani on a rainy day at Leslieville Farmer's Market in May.

Vegetable Bolani (بولانی)
A famous fried or oven-baked folded dough wrap filled with mixed vegetables/meat and spices.

Makes about 10 bolani

Prep Time: 30 minutes 

Cook Time: 5 minutes each

1 kg all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

2 cups water 

1 tsp. Oil

Filling:

1 kg potato, large grated raw or cooked, mashed

1 large onion, chopped

1 large bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped

1 tsp. ground red chili pepper

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper powder

For the batter: In a medium size bowl, add the flour, salt, water and oil. Mix well and knead until the dough comes together. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Mix vegetables together in a bowl. Add ground chili, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Divide dough into balls about palm-size. Roll out about 8” wide and ½” thick. Spread the vegetables on half of the flattened dough. Fold the bolani in half and crimp the seam to seal. Repeat. 

In a medium fry pan, add 1 tsp. Oil and pan-fry two bolani at a time. On low-medium heat, cook both sides until crispy and golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Bolani is traditionally served with hot sauce or yogurt and mint dip on the side. I served mine with a cilantro chutney made by finely chopping cilantro, garlic and mixing with vinegar and a bit of water, salt and pepper for a tangy garlicky zip!

This week, two Afghani ladies from my daytime program at Newcomer Kitchen whipped up warm spinach and red beans dip, juicy steamed beef dumplings (mantu) dressed with split peas, garlic yogurt and cilantro and Afghani chicken cofta as part of a mixed cultural menu for a catering gig- an engineering firm held at CSI Annex. A group that champions social networking by supporting grassroot organizations and program innovations like us. We all have a role in co-creating community 🤗!

Afghani warm spinach and red beans dip

Afghani Mantu Beef

My student with her delicious baked juicy chicken cofta.

Oh and Afghani traditional pulao- warm spiced rice with fried carrots, raisins, pistachios and almonds is crazy yum (as part of our Prepared Meals takeout menu the module before)! 

It began with grocery shopping at Iqbal's (a giant reputable South Asian and Middle Eastern grocers ❤) in Thorncliffe Park, I picked up the family kabab combo w/rice and naan from Madina Naan & Kabab- a gem of an Afghani lunch take-out nestled in a butcher shop (written up by foodie extraordinaire Suresh Doss). Omg, their fresh naaan.... 💗

Takeout Menu from Madina Naan & Kabab

And lastly, labour-intensive wholesome sweet paste (samanak) made from germinated young wheatgrass which you grow for a week then cook for 15 hours with flour, which is prepared for new year- a healthy gift from my student! Like I said... lucky, lucky me 🤗!

Afghani Samanak

Sharing one more post... What a successful event we had with our Newcomer Kitchen evening program students' catering finger foods at a Meet and Greet event for the city's immigration settlement and community outreach workers alongside our graduates!

Some of our past alumni students have gone on to own a food business. Notably, Lola (beside me right in group photo) @flawlesscuisine.ca (www.shopfreshprep.ca) cooks up Authentic African Flavours in sauces and dishes, Just like mama makes it. Other ladies, prepare their cultural foods for food events and have ideas in the pipelines. Another venture in our horizon is to expand to further support their dreams into fruition! 🌷

Newcomer Kitchen is a Not-For-Profit social enterprise established in 2016. Our mission is to provide social and economic opportunity for newcomer women interested in starting their own food businesses. Women are offered authentic work experiences and are the recipients of the revenues earned from the events.

And with that my ladies graduates including the evening group. Congrats ladies on all the great work 💐!!!

A new term begins again next week! My group has 6 Indian women and I know it will be a blast 💥!