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 💥!

Farmer's Market Success With Newcomer Kitchen...

 

👋 Summer winds down and I'm back on social... AND a pop up return at Evergreen Brick Works this past Saturday with a new cohort of ladies s&nnn's - from Indian, Afghanistan and India with Newcomer Kitchen🌷. 

We nearly Sold Out their delicious sweets served from cookie jars and mixed in a tasting box 🍪! 

So aromatic and delicious offered with their countries' teas that were on brew 🍵! 

This beautiful capture is of our evening program's group of ladies from Syria, Mexico and India who Sold Out their trio of yummy dips the previous weekend at the market. Congrats To All 💐!

Setting up. Market opens. Customers start coming by. I felt the ladies nerves. But once we had a few interactions and sales, the ladies relaxed and got into a confident groove. How extraordinary it is to witness 🥰. 

As Cara, our fierce and lovely Executive Director says "Watching such special women burst into smiles 

Also knowing how scared they are inside 

To do their best, that "positive stress"

And their transformative experiences no matter how small they seem at the time

Are why we do what we do ..." 

Yes, Beautiful and Powerful... ❤ 

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.

A look back on a few behind the cookie production scenes 🤗

Final touches of crushed toasted pistachios on crackle cookies.

Look at the rows ands rows of delicious sweet and savoury toasted cumin shortbread cookies 😋!

Freshly baked Afghan cookies that are big and eats like a bread.

Follow me on Instagram @susanssavourit

Newcomer Kitchen Spring Term Ends On A Strong Note...

Already missing these lovely ladies 🌸! But it's never too late to extend the great. Congratulations Global Pan in completing our Spring 12 week Food Entrepreneurship Program at Newcomer Kitchen and a very successful last experiential catering event 👏! Here's a fond look back on the term...

Started as strangers, they are now almost sisters 👭. Coming together strong as a team, like professionals they produced several multicultural menus, prepared multiple meals in the kitchen, demoed at the farmer's markets, interacted with the public and served at a party. I couldn't be more proud and honoured 💓... Way to go!

For our last event on catering, we prepared finger foods for 25 guests invited from our city's immigration settlement agencies to enjoy food and conversations with our ladies at CSI on Spadina Avenue. Meanwhile, we had professional photographers snapping shots for social media marketing. It was bustling pre-party, adding the finishing food touches while taking instructions for photo poses. The team did Ahh-MaZing 👊💥!

Assembling Chinese app favourite- braised beef slices rolled with onion and cucumber slivers in hoisin sauce basted panfried green onion pancakes. Then sliced to serve as yummy skewered mini rolls.

What a pretty spread! We got Afghanistan stuffed chicken sambosas, fried Bahamian plantain poppers, cold shrimps and snappy asparagus served with a homemade Syrian roasted pepper and tomato sauce and to wash it all down, a refreshing pomegranate twist to switcha (a Bahamian limeade with fresh lemons and concentrated lime juice).

These ladies served a vegan Chinese layered cold dessert with creamy almond jelly topped with fresh fruit suspended in agar agar. So deliciously goood 😋!

This Bahama mama knows her Mac and Cheese 🇧🇸. Cut into bite size pieces, her personal touch with green peppers and celery gave it bite and colour to the raving joys of our crowd.

I love the engagement. As part of the exercise, speaking and interacting with the public was just as an important part as delivering great tasting food!

Niiiice work ladies!

At the cooking event prior... Sitting down for a photo op and talk with Len Senator, owner of The Depanneur, who paved the way for the philosophy at Newcomer Kitchen. What an absolute pleasure it was to end a busy two days prepping for his communal picnic with Global Pan 🌏 🍳 to inaugurate the summer events at The Bentway Studio- Canoe Landing.

Newcomer Kitchen started at The Depanneur in 2016 as a grass-roots initiative to create social and economic opportunities for newly-arrived Syrian refugees. After a wildly successful 3-year pilot at The Depanneur, Newcomer Kitchen expanded to become an entrepreneurial training program aimed at helping diverse groups of newcomer women gain experience in the food sector.

The exciting international menu we put together included:

—–

Syrian Muhummara spicy roasted red pepper dip + Cong Yu Bing (Chinese green onion pancakes)

Taiwanese Pickled Daikon

Afghani Chapli Kebab (meat)

–or–

Bahamian Macaroni Pie (veg)

Afghani Borani Banjan- simmered oven-baked eggplant and tomato topped with lashes of thick garlicky yogurt and mint.

Caribbean Citrus Salad with a light avocado and lime dressing.

Chinese Almond Jelly with fresh fruit

The Dep, as most who knew it may be shuttered but Len continues to do great things in the name of food and community, including writing a cookbook with newcomer stories and their recipes. Follow him at The Depanneur and be in the know of upcoming delicious events!

And for Canada 🇨🇦 Day....? Delish food kicked off the long weekend celebrations at The Bentway with The Depanneur and Newcomer Kitchen 🤗!

Gorgeous multi vegetable platters graced tables for a communal dinner with one of our evening program ladies (Mamas Cuisine) warming up naan on a hot saj 🔥. This is part of the catering experiential learning in our W2W food business program where 100% of the generated profits goes to the ladies.

My new summer term with 4 ladies from Egypt, Afghanistan and India is underway. Stay Tuned...