KUKU: AFGHANISTAN'S ANSWER TO THE FRITATTA

By Humaira

Winter is the time to have lazy Sunday mornings and family gatherings over brunch. Kuku is Afghanistan’s answer to the Spanish tortilla and the Italian frittata. Eggs are beaten, mixed with vegetables and cooked either on the stove top or in the oven, or a combination of the two, until the eggs are just tender. Seasoned Afghan cooks prepare the dish entirely on the stovetop, flipping it part way through. However, this can be tricky. The method my friend and food blogger Katie Morford Sullivan is a bit more forgiving.

The seasonings for kuku are distinctively Afghan. This particularly dish is flavored with an abundance of cilantro and turmeric, along with potato, spinach and scallions. The result is a brightly colored and boldly flavored egg dish suitable for a brunch or lunch or light supper. It can certainly hold its own against even the best from Spain and Italy.

Afghan Frittata

Kuku

1 Russet potato (about 8 ozs.), peeled and quartered

Salt

8 eggs

1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed, finely chopped

1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts, finely chopped

4 ozs. spinach, chopped

1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

1 tsp. ground turmeric

1 ½ tsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

Immerse the potato in a small pot of cold, salty water.Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain and mash with a fork.

Turn your oven on to broil.

Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and beat them with a whisk.Be sure the herbs, scallions and spinach are thoroughly dry (a salad spinner can help with this).Add the mashed potato, cilantro, scallions, spinach, jalapeño, turmeric, salt and pepper to the eggs and whip until combined.

Drizzle the olive oil in a 10-inch, non-stick skillet and set over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until the outside browns lightly and the eggs begins to set in the middle.It will still be quite runny across the top.

Set the skillet under the broiler until the eggs are firm, though still tender.Remove the skillet and allow it to cool for a few minutes.You can cut wedges directly from the pan or run a knife around the edge, put a dinner plate over the top of the skillet and quickly invert the kuku onto the plate.Serve warm or cold.

The kuku cooking in the pan as the eggs are just beginning to set around the edge

Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.

ISTANBULI PALAU—AFGHAN RICE PILAF

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups brown rice, rinsed in cold water

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion or one cup green onions chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound ground turkey or beef

2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste

2 teaspoons coriander

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground clove

1 cup peas, frozen or fresh

2 cups spinach chopped, frozen or fresh

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Add the rice and several cups of water in a deep pot. The water should be two inches above the rice.

On high heat bring to boil, turn down the heat to medium and simmer for around fifteen minutes or until the rice is cooked through.

Place a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add olive oil, onions and garlic. Sauté for two minutes or until the onions are translucent.

Add ground turkey to the sauté pan. Quickly break apart the meat with a spatula as it cooks all the way through, around five minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir until ingredients, especially the spices are mixed well. Cover pan with a lid and cook on medium heat for around 10 minutes.

Drain the rice in a colander and let it sit until all the water drips out of the colander. Add the rice to the sauté pan.

Mix until the rice turns a light green color from the spinach and meat sauce.

Cover the sauté pan with aluminum foil folding the edges to make it airtight. Place the lid on the foiled pot, reduce the heat to low and cook for another fifteen minutes.

Serve with a side of salad or steamed vegetable.

Serves 4-6

By Humaira

Do you want to know the dirty secret of Afghan diaspora?

Our elders are addicted to Afghan television.

Yup! Twenty-four hours of non-stop, addictive, live television programming streamed from Afghanistan into living rooms of millions of Afghans that fled Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion in the 80’s. Our old and immobile waste their days away by watching what the young generation considers junk. Despite living outside Afghanistan for over thirty years, the elders have not found cultural roots in their adopted homes such as Los Angeles, Virginia, Sydney, and Frankfurt. Their community speaks their language and lives in a rectangular box.

Every time I call my mom or aunt, I compete with shrieks of soap opera actresses speaking in high-pitched Dari in the background. Talking to Jeja, my mom, during her favorite show is like talking to my fifteen year old—lots of gaps filled with silence and a “what” or “aha”.

Recently I spent a week with Jeja at her home in Los Angeles.  We bonded by breathing the same air while sitting side by side in-front of her big screen TV watching Afghan talk shows, comedy shows, and even Turkish and Korean soap operas (yes, they're dubbed in Dari). During meals, Jeja discussed the latest news and the clever plotting of the Turkish soap operas.

As Jeja felt pride in her media savvy-ness I on the other hand struggled a little with the formal Dari and at times asked her for clarification. After all these years, when I translated for Jeja at stores, at doctor’s appointments or at banks, the table is finally turned.

Thankfully there was one show I fully got, Pokht-o-Paz, a cooking show.  Aside from improving my formal Dari, I was thrilled to get a recipe out of this experience, even if it was from a show and not from Jeja.

Chef Habib Khashae of Pokht-o-Paz made Istanbuli Palau, a dish I hadn’t eaten before. It turns out that many countries in the Middle World have a version of Istanbuli Palau/Polo. I’m sharing the Afghan version.

This rice pilaf has ground meat, carrots, peas, spinach and flavorful spices. I modified the recipe by using brown rice instead of white and I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. Istanbuli Palau a quick and easy dish you can serve with a side of salad or maybe steamed broccoli on weeknights. The kids loved it and left overs were great the next day.

QORMA E ZARDALOO - AFGHAN LEMONY APRICOT STEW

By Humaira

Growing up in Afghanistan, in the summer we always had fresh apricots, green grapes,  sweet cherries and watermelon as dessert. When my sister Nabila shared this sweet and savory— Qorma e Zardaloo, Apricot Stew—recipe it was the beginning of summer but by the tim I got around to testing the recipe, last Sunday, fresh apricots were nowhere to be found.

Rather than waiting for next summer, I substituted organic dried Turkish apricots instead. Clearly using in season ingredients guarantees best flavors but for this recipe we can make an exception since dried apricots are reliably delicious and accessible at most grocery stores all year around.

This recipe is vegetarian, vegan and gluten free but it it's lemony sweet flavors go well with lamb kebab, steak or chicken dish. On Sunday I served it with Chapli kebab and Afghan challaw rice. I hope you have a chance to try this unusual recipe.

Qorma e Zardaloo

Lemony Apricot Stew

2 cups dried apricot soaked in hot water for 2 hours or three cups fresh apricots, pitted     1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped, 2 cups
2 tablespoons fresh cumin, peeled and finely chopped or one tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh ginger finely chopped
1 cup chopped celery
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 cups water or vegetable broth                                                                                                         1 cup finely chopped cilantro                                                                                                             Jalapeno pepper seeded and cut in quarters                                                                                    2 lemons squeezed, 1/4 cup lemon juice

Heat olive oil in a lidded, heavy pot on medium high heat. Add onions, sauté  until golden brown, around twenty minutes.  Add broth/water, cumin, ginger, garlic, and celery to the pot—simmer with the lid on for fifteen to twenty minutes until the celery is al dente.

Drain apricots in a colander, transfer to the pot along with the cilantro, jalapeno pepper and lemon juice, reduce temperature to medium-low, add quarter cup of additional water or broth if needed, place lid on the pot and simmer until the sauce thickens, around 20-25 minutes.

Garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve with Afghan white rice, challaw and a fresh salad.