52 Meals, 52 Countries, 52 Weeks - Afghanistan

I recently decided that our family should eat our way around our world. What better way to have the kids learn a bit about geography, dinner routines/habits of fellow humans and learn some more about cooking? We are starting off by calling this 52 Meals, 52 Countries, 52 Weeks, but may extend that to as long as it takes to try something from every country (as per Tiernan's request) if we continue to enjoy it as much as we are now. Because we are vegetarians, we tend to dabble into a lot of different ethnic dishes on a regular basis, but they are typically from the same countries. This gives me an excuse to search high and low (and believe me - my city is certainly not well versed in the ethnic food choices at grocery stores so this is a real challenge!) for certain ingredients, and to branch out into different styles of cooking. Of course, our recipes will not always be 100% authentic since we will have to vegetarianize some dishes, but we will do our best.

The kids seemed pretty excited about this adventure when they got up today, but I may have been a teensy bit more excited than they were. ;) Our country of choice for this week was Afghanistan! I had a blast looking up different Afghani recipes and eating etiquette, and found a perfect vegetarian meal. It's a dish called Kabuli Pulao and it has many different spellings. Most of the time this rice dish is made with meat, especially mutton, but I read that it can be made with vegetables instead. I couldn't find any specific vegetarian recipes, so I decided to throw my own together based on the cooking methods of the other meat recipes I had read. It turned out fabulously and was a big hit with most of us and a decent hit with the youngest. We also baked up some Afghan Nan which is different from Indian Naan. It's traditionally baked in a tandoor, but we had to make do with our oven. It still tasted wonderfully, and reminded me of a pizza crust rather than the light, airy taste of the Indian Naan.

When it was time to sit and eat, we set a cloth out on the living room floor and sat down around it. According to some things I've read online, Afghans often eat out of communal bowls, but we all had our own plates. As per their traditions, we ate with our hands - no cutlery - and we tried not to use our left hands at all (this is more difficult that you'd think!). Avery and Tiernan stuck their hands in their shirts so they wouldn't forget. Hey, whatever works! Another rule from their culture is that you should try to sit cross legged, or at the very least, with your legs under you. It is considered very rude to stretch your legs out, or face your feet towards anyone else. My legs were asleep by the time dinner was over! Ha. The one rule we did not follow was having the men eat before women and children. In this case, we will always eat as a family.

All in all, this was a complete success! Even Tibby had a great time "cleaning up" afterwards. :)

Each week the kids will take turns finding and then colouring in the country of which our meal is dedicated to on these maps we have printed. First I tested to see if anyone knew where Afghanistan was (Avery was close, Tiernan was not too far off, and Rhianna guessed correctly). Then we pulled out our globe to find it. What a fun way to learn! I can't wait to see the progress on these maps over the following weeks.

Kabuli Pulao

2 1/2 cups basmati rice

vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp saffron

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

5 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 green cabbage, shredded

1 cup craisins

1 pomegranate, prepared

1/2 cup almonds, roasted

1/2 cup cashews, raw

vegetable broth, a few splashes

Wash the basmati rice well, and cook in a rice cooker, as per directions.

Preheat oven to 350.

Grind the saffron, cumin, garam masala and freshly ground black pepper in a mortar and pestle until evenly crushed.

Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok, and fry onion until browned. Remove the onions and put them in a large bowl. Add the beans to the wok, along with the spices, and fry for 2 minutes until heated through. Add them to the bowl with the onions.

Add another tbsp of oil to the wok and add the carrots and brown sugar. Cook for about 2 minutes until the carrots have softened. Add the carrots to the bowl.

Add one more tablespoon of vegetable oil to the wok and fry the cabbage for a few minutes until softened. Add to the bowl.

Add the craisins to the wok and fry them for a minute or so until they have puffed up a bit. Add them to the bowl.

Add the cashews and almonds and stir constantly for about 1 minute until they begin to toast. Add the nuts to the bowl.

Add the pomegranate seeds to the bowl. Add the cooked rice to the bowl. Add a few splashes of vegetable broth and toss well. Pour the mixture onto a large oven safe plate.

Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove, and serve.

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Afghan Nan

1 cup warm water

1 tsp dry yeast

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix the yeast and water in a large bowl. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well, and knead for 10 minutes. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm area to rise for about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease a baking sheet with some oil, and with wet hands, flatten the dough out across the sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until starting to brown underneath. Eat fresh from the oven.