My childhood was, culinarily speaking, a limited one. At home we mostly had Mexican food, because that’s what my mother knows how to cook. Occasionally she or my sister would cook an international dish or we would go out for pizza or Chinese food. It really wasn’t until I met my husband that my culinary experience broadened. When we were dating, every weekend he introduced me to a new cuisine or dish. I absolutely loved eating all of those new foods, and also encouraging others to try them too.
Once the cooking bug bit me I wanted to attempt as many dishes from as many countries as possible. When I started blogging I knew I wanted to share those attempts with as many people as possible, just like I used to pre-blog days.
Today with great joy I am introducing a new special series that I’ve been wanting to share with you for a long time: Earth Eats, a culinary tour of our planet. As you might have already guessed, this series will showcase dishes from around the world. My goal is to cook something from as many countries possible. I won’t necessarily be going in alphabetical order, sometimes I will choose the national dish and other times just one that makes me hungry. This is a big undertaking but I’m ready for the challenge! Besides, with you along for the ride it’s going to make it very exciting.
Map courtesy of the CIA Factbook, 2007
To kick off Earth Eats, I choose the country of Afghanistan and their national dish called kabuli pulao or pilaf. The cuisine of Afghanistan is completely new to me. I didn’t know if, due to it’s location, it would be similar to or influenced by Iranian, Pakistani, Indian or even Chinese cuisine. According to Humaira of Afghan Culture Unveiled “Afghan food has influences from many places including India, other Central Asian countries, Turkey and Italy. Afghan food is neither spicy, nor bland. It is a blend of perfectly balanced ingredients, lightly seasoned to highlight the best flavors.” That’s a very enticing description.
Kabuli Pilaf (you’ll also find it spelled Kabuli Palau, Kubali Palaw, Kabuli Pulao, Qabili Pilau, Qabili Palau or Qabili Palao or Kabuli Pilaf) is not only the national dish of Afghanistan but also one reserved for special occasions. It is a rice dish made with meat, aromatic spices, carrots, and nuts. In my intensive research I learned that the recipe for this rice dish varies greatly from one cook to another. The meat can vary from lamb to beef or chicken, and the nuts used can be either pistachios or almonds. As for the spices, the measurements and types also vary greatly. The preparation requires a long cooking time, but trust me it is worth every second of it. The dish is aromatic, savoury, a tad sweet, hearty, and very satisfying.
Below is my interpretation of Kabuli Pilaf based on the general recipe I came across in my research. Though lamb was the meat I most saw on recipes it was not available to me, I used beef but if you’d like feel free to swap it back to lamb.
- 800 gm or 1 and ¾ lbs. boneless beef, cubed*
- 1 medium brown onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1-2 tbs olive or vegetable oil
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch of ground cloves or 3 freshly ground cloves
- fine sea salt to taste, I used around half a tablespoon
- 1.225 litres or 5 cups water
- 400g or 2 cups basmati rice
- 2 medium carrots cut into match sticks --not too thin
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 100g or 3.5 oz of raisins
- 50 gm or 1 and ¾ oz of whole almonds, crushed in mortar and pestle or use slivered if desired
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Heat the oil and once warm, fry the onion until tender and slightly browned. Remove it from the pot and set aside. Add cubed meat to same pot and brown. Next add garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add all the spices and cook for another 2 minutes or until they release their scent. Add onion back to the pot and pour in all of the water. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Drain the soft boiled meat and reserve the broth. Set the meat aside.
- Rinse the rice, then place in a large bowl with water and leave to soak. Cut the carrots into matchsticks and have the raisins and almond nearby to use. In a small pan saute the carrots with a bit of oil and a pinch of salt and black pepper, cook until they are soft. Remove from pan and add the raisins. Cook until they plump up or about 2 minutes. Remove the raisins and add the almonds, toast for a couple of minutes and remove from pan.
- Drain the rice and set aside. In the same pot you've cooked the meat add the drained rice. Next pour in 2.5 cups or 560 ml of the reserved meat broth. Over high heat bring to a boil, then cover, turn heat to medium low and simmer until nearly all of the broth has been absorbed by the rice and it is soft. If needed, add more of the reserved broth until the rice is cooked through. Next preheat the oven to 200c or 392 f and prepare baking dish large enough to fit the cooked rice. Mix the meat into the rice and half of the cooked carrots and raisins. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake in center of oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool, and right before serving decorate serving dish with remaining carrots, raisins and almonds.
In all honesty, I was not looking forward to the raisins being cooked alongside other savoury ingredients. I am not a big fan of raisins so I feared the dish would be too sweet. But the incredible smells coming from my kitchen were almost torture knowing that it was a long wait until I could taste the pilaf. Upon the first taste I realised how perfect the raisins complimented the meat, spices, soft rice and crunchy almonds. This is a dish I would make over and over again. It would be perfect for a dinner party too.
Kabuli Pilaf is a dish everyone must make at least once in their life time! This impressive dish will awaken your kitchen and senses to the exotic scents and flavours of Afghani cuisine.
Have you ever eaten Afghani food?
P.S.
If you’re interested in learning more about the cuisine of Afghanistan these cookbooks all sound great.
What a superb recipe and marvelous photos. I’m really drawn to recipes such as this…printed and on my to-make list!!
Thank you Bonnie, enjoy and let me know how you like it.
What a great series! I love the dish that you chose to kick it off. Quite different and seriously tasty. Looking forward to traveling around the world with you through food!
Thank you MJ, I’m very excited about it.
A mouthwatering pilaf! Really unique and surely very scrumptious.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you Rosa!
Great recipe, nancy! Can’t wait to see where we are going next!
Thank you Abbe!
Gorgeous pics! This is one of my favourite Afghani dishes.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Now following you. So happy to “meet” you. Cheers!
Thank you Coco. I’m glad you’ve tasted this dish. Nice “meeting” you too!:)
I love rice dishes and this just sound and look so good, I love all the spices that you have in it…absolutely awesome.
Thanks for sharing the recipe Nancy, hope you are having a great week :D
Thank you, Juliana. You too, hope your week is going great.
What an informative and delicious series! Your pilaf looks so flavorful and aromatic!
Thank you Laura!
I love the idea of this series! Really inspired. And this first recipe was inspired, too – what a delish looking dish! Really good stuff – thanks.
Thank you John!
Congratulations Nancy ~ I cannot express how much I am looking forwards to your series!!! For new recipes and new ideas and methinks heaps of fun!!!!! Now I happen to be a very typical Gemini ~ that kindof means ‘all over the place’ . . . I love the stimulus of differing ideas, and with your huge amount of knowledge and wonderful photography, yours will probably be one of the first posts to open :) ! You have begun in Afghanistan with a local recipe for which each and every one of us would have all/most of the ingredients!!!!! Let’s go . . . .
Thank you Eha! I think you have noticed that I too love the stimulus of many different ideas. And I’m a Taurus, hehe:) Yes, that is why I loved this recipe: because the ingredients are easy to come by for everyone.
I too love exploring the cuisines from around the world – I’ve never tried Afghan cooking so thank you for introducing me. This is absolutely gorgeous!
That’s great, Jeanette, and I can see that from your blog. Thank you!
Well I think it comes as no surprise if I say I will love following this new series :-) We have an Afghan in my city and I do love it but may not be quite as authentic as your dish. And it looks just absolutely awesome, raisins included.
I might have to consult with you on some dishes, Evelyne. Thank you!
I am going to LOVE this series! And I really admire of you and your effort to explore all the different cuisines. I grew up eating mainly Japanese food and that’s what I’m comfortable cooking, but after living in California, I’m very open to different kinds of foods, but many are still unknown including this kabuli pilaf! It was fun learning and seeing how you made it!
Thank you Nami, I’m looking forward to sharing this new project with everyone.
I know I am going to love this series!!! In college I had an adviser that always made Afghan mushroom pilaf for any potluck we had. I loved it. I am loving all the ingredients in your version. Must give it a try. :)
Now that sounds like a delicious vegetarian versions, I’ll have to try it sometime. Thank you Ramona!
I know I’m going to love this series. Breaking out of my cooking/eating rut is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. My only challenge will be getting the Mr to try these new dishes as well. Looking forward to trying this first dish.
If he won’t then there’s always more for you to enjoy, hehe:) Thank you Sandra!
I actually just made this for dinner tonight. Both my wife and I loved it. The spice is fantastic and not overpowering- perfectly subtle.
It is a bit of an ordeal putting it all together and takes some time, but well worth it.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Steve,
Thank you, and I’m glad to hear you enjoyed all those wonderful flavours in this dish. It does take a bit of time, but like you I also think it’s worth it — specially for special occasions. :)