Your email address will not be published. Sign up for email updates and receive a free copy of my veggie burger e-book! Hi, I'm Alissa! Thank you!! It is considered a kebab in Afghan cuisine, but I am calling Do piazza a stew since it is served with its broth after being slow cooked until the meat is tender. I was thirteen years old and living in suburban southeastern Pennsylvania at the time. Taste test and adjust seasonings as needed. If you want to give this a try when pumpkin isn’t in season, you should be okay subbing butternut squash. Wanting to lose nothing in translation, we fretted over qorma and kebabs Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license. Place the meat, the lentils and the onions in piles next to each other on the lavash bread, pour one cup of the broth over the meat, lentils and bread. All rights reserved. “The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul” ~ A Novel, "Turmeric - The Wonder Spice" ~ A Cookbook", "Yogurt Culture" ~ A Global Look at How to Make, Bake, Sip and Chill the World's Creamiest, Healthiest Food. Thank you! Cut the rest of the lavash bread in pieces to be served on the side of the dish. Your email address will not be published. You may contact me at humairaghilzai@gmail.com. (Asian, African, Mediterranean.) Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license, ← YOGURT THE CROWNING TOUCH OF AFGHAN RECIPES. She shares the wonders of Afghanistan through stories of rich culture, delicious food and her family’s traditions. I have over sixty Afghan food recipes on this blog. It is a lot of fun to use your hands to eat this dish. Required fields are marked *, Copyright © 2013-2020 Tofu Press LLC and Alissa Saenz. I would love to help you with your creative project. I’m really trying hard to like pumpkin this year, and the pictures make this look really yummy, so maybe! Sweet, savory and just a little spicy. I hope you enjoy this interview. I made this for dinner yesterday with added lentils and kale. I had so much fun. I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. (www.philaopenstudios.org). Add the garlic, mix well and cook for another 3 minutes while stirring. Even my daughter Aria liked the dish. You can do this ahead of time, the flavors of the onions will develop better the longer it marinates. In any event, it was always an adventure! Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pumpkin is very tender, adding additional broth (up to 1 cup) if the mixture becomes too thick. Use this search field to find my most popular recipes—bolani, shohla, kebab—or a specific dish you may be looking for. * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Add chili paste, salt, sugar, broth, tomato paste and pumpkin. When the stew is cooked, there should be around 2-3 cups of broth left. Recipe Categories: Pantry & Spices | Starters & Salads | Main | Pastas & Soups | Afghan Kebabs | Sips | Sweets | Menu | Vegetarian | Gluten Free | Bread | Favorite International Recipes. I made this a couple of days ago, it’s so delicious! Keep an eye on the stew so the broth doesn’t dry up. Humaira opens the world to Afghan culture and cuisine through this blog. Filed Under: Entrees Tagged With: afghan, cilantro, pumpkin. I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Can’t wait to try it! Early adulthood would be when I moved to Philadelphia, and this was about when I discovered that other cultures weren’t quite as meat-centric in their eating habits as us Americans. Drains and return to the saucepan. It was amazing. Make sure that the vinegar covers the onions, if not add more vinegar. And you should totally check out Ariana – I used to love that place when I lived in Philly. If the water reduces too much, add water, half a cup at a time. I guess I liked my Afghan pumpkin so much that it put a damper on the whole exploration thing, because I’ve been unable to order any other dishes in that restaurant. Add the meat, one tablespoon of salt, turmeric and black pepper to the pan. Humaira Ghilzai shares authentic Afghan cuisine, stories from Afghanistan and insights about Afghan culture in her extensive blog about Afghan culture and food. This sounds interesting, I live in the suburbs of Philly and was actually interested in which restaurant you are referencing. I’m actually just reading this now! The best way to go about this is to cut it into a few large chunks, scrape out the seeds and pulp, then go at the outside with a peeler or sharp knife. Wash the beef thoroughly and let the water drip or pat dry with paper towel. When I got to the Afghan place, I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but as it turned out, they had tons of delicious sounding vegetarian options. Simple and fast, too. The boyfriend even left out the rice and just devoured the pumpkin. This post first published on Connoisseurus Veg on October 14, 2013. Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet. I recently acquired the recipe from Jeja (my mom) fulfilling a reader’s request for this recipe. In a heavy bottom-stewing pan add olive oil and heat on medium-high. Hope you enjoy if you decide to try it out! The onions will be used as garnish. Cook on medium heat until the lentils are soft, around 20 minutes. Add onion and sauté for about five minutes, or until onion begins to soften. Thanks so much for sharing – it always makes me super happy to hear when people have success with my recipes :). Lentils and kale sound like they’d be awesome in this dish! Juicy chunks of sugar pumpkin are simmered in tomato sauce with spices, then served over basmati rice with cashew cream to make this Afghan-inspired pumpkin stew! Katie (co-founder of this blog) and I had a lot of fun applying recognizable food terms to Afghan dishes: aushak became Afghan dumpling, falooda became Afghan sundae and sabzi became braised spinach. Turn down the heat to low, cover and let it simmer until the meat is tender and easy to cut with a fork. Juicy chunks of pumpkin are simmered in tomato sauce with spices, then served over basmati rice with cashew cream to make this Afghan-inspired pumpkin stew! I later discovered that pumpkin stew is a pretty popular dish in Afghanistan, and have ordered it the few other Afghan restaurants I’ve had the chance to try out. Tim Vetter of the Voyager Podcast asked me about Afghan Culture and Food. Things have changed quite a bit since I went vegetarian back in the early nineties. Thank you so much! I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! Add some Cardamom to Afghanise it even more! You’re welcome and please enjoy!! Depending on the quality and size of your meat, this could take 1 ½ to 2 hours. Learn more about Humaira’s work. Add the water, cover and bring to a boil, around 10 minutes. I’ve never been to Ariana, though I will check it out next time I’m in that part of town. I definitely want to try this! Give this one-bowl dish a try; it will be a hit with the kids. Most people know kebabs as meat on skewers, but in Afghanistan kebabs take many shapes and forms. Mix well by stirring for a couple of minutes. Peel and seed pumpkin. It is considered a kebab in Afghan cuisine, but I am calling Do piazza a stew since it is served with its broth after being slow cooked until the meat is tender. (Eastern Europe didn’t have much for me.) It’s pretty dam tasty! Most of the time I was rewarded with ample plant-based choices. I really like your blog, will be a frequent visitor. Add the garlic, mix well and cook for another 3 minutes while stirring. It became almost a hobby to pop into restaurants offering different global cuisines just to see what they had to offer. The broth brings the key flavors as it adds an extra dimension to the meal when poured over the meat, the lentils and the bread. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Add garlic, ginger, cumin, cinnamon and turmeric, and continue to sauté until fragrant, about one minute. I always love to hear when someone enjoys one of my recipes – thank you so much for sharing!!!