Afghan Lentils--on the Exotic Side

One of the past weekends, my beautiful Afghan friend invited me for dinner. Our kids have a lot of fun playing together and I liked her cooking very much. My friend has lived outside her country since early childhood but she still favors her national cuisine over any other she tried. Her daily dinners are always Afghan and are always served with rice. She is open to new recipes, but most often ends up preparing something Afghan. Jokingly, she calls it "boring", but she finds it very comforting. The traditional food she cooks is in a contrast to her very modern look and style, which underscores her oriental beauty.

I do not think Afghan food is boring at all. As a matter of fact, I find it more exotic than for example Indian food, which I am more familiar with and also like a lot. Although spicy and sometimes heavy in oil, it is not as hot and rich as Indian food.

That day, a perfectly sunny morning turned into a rainy afternoon. Our plans had to change and instead of a grill on the deck we had our dinner indoors. My friend also had to change the menu at the last minute, which was OK by me. I was happy she decided to prepare Afghan food instead of ordinary hamburgers and hot dogs that she meant to prepare to please the kids.

The new menu--chicken, lentil, rice, bread, and cucumber salad made everybody happy. I was very excited especially about lentil, which is rich in protein and is an excellent substitute for meat, which my younger son refuses to eat.

We left late at night, after a very relaxing evening, not only very full, but also taking home delicious leftovers and a new recipe for lentil Afghan style.

Afghan Lentils

Ingredients:
1 cup yellow mung lentil,
1 onion,
2 cloves garlic,
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup tomato sauce,
1 large fresh tomato,
1 and 1/2 - 2 cups of water,
2 tsp ground coriander,
1/2 tsp turmeric,
1/4 tsp cumin (optional, Indian influence, but brings the taste out and helps to digest),
olive oil to fry in,
salt and pepper to taste.

For garnish:
a piece of ginger, about 1 inch long,
a few chili peppers,
fresh chopped coriander,
3 gloves of garlic and 1 tbsp of oil.

Preparation:
1. Wash lentil and dry it on the colander.
2. Heat an oil in a pot, add chopped garlic,ginger and onion.Fry until onion is gold.
3. Add to the pan tomato sauce and tomatoe, and cook for couple of minute until all the ingredients are combine.
4. Put in spices--coriander, turmeric, chili pepper, and cumin (not used in the purely Afghan version).
5. Throw lentils into a tomato mixture, stir and add 2 and 1/2 cups of water (add another half a cup if lentils are still hard and there is not enough water for them to cook properly).
6. Cook for about 30 minutes, until lentils become soft.
7. Serve garnished with fried garlic, fresh coriander, ginger, and fried garlic.

Garnish:
1. Crush 3 cloves of garlic and fry them in oil until gold. Put them on top of the lentils.
2. Cut ginger in slices, chop coriander roughly. Add chili peppers and serve on a separate dish for anyone to spice up according to taste.

Useful tips:
Serve with rice or Afghan bread, any Middle Eastern, or Indian Naan.
Accompany with yogurt cucumbers salad.

Yogurt and Mint Cucumber Salad

A cucumber salad called "mizeria" is one of the oldest and most popular summer salads in Poland. It is served with a sour cream dressing and often also with dill. It is just another version of a Greek "tzatziki" salad which is made with cucumbers, yogurt, and garlic. Recently, a simple Afghan yogurt, mint, and cucumbers salad became very popular in my home. It is a wonderful accompaniment to many Afghan dishes. A refreshing taste of dried mint makes it even more desirable during a hot DC summer. But after all, this is yet another version of a cucumber salad, so popular in many cuisines.



Yogurt and Mint Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:
1 English cucumber or 3 Japanese cucumbers,
1 clove garlic,
1 tsp dried mint,
1 cup of European, Greek, or Turkish yogurt,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Cut cucumbers into thin slices,
2. Mix yogurt with mint, spices and garlic.
3. Pour the yogurt dressing over cucumbers, mix, and serve.

Arugula Salad and Roasted Potatoes--Simple Beginnings

It may seem odd to propagate such an ordinary food as potatoes and salad on a culinary blog that aspires to be sophisticated. But those who just start their culinary adventure may need to be made aware of such simple dishes. If done properly, they can enhance any dinner. They are perfect for a vegetarian palate but will also bring out the taste of any meat dishes

To start with, just a green salad. Arugula is my favorite: rich in iron and a with a characteristic peppery, strong flavor.

This salad can be eaten just with bread and prosciutto or served with dinner: at the beginning--the German way, as an accompaniment--the way we do it in Poland, or afterward--as it is done in France.

I have read and tried many methods of preparing arugula. In my view, any dressing with mustard kills the subtlety of its taste. And although the Italians serve arugula with balsamic vinegar, I prefer to use lemon juice instead. Walnut oil is the other important ingredient I use to bring out all its valor.

I also tried replacing walnut oil with hazelnut oil. Since it is less aromatic I topped it up with split roasted hazelnuts.

Please try it, both versions. I hope you like at least one and if anyone knows better way of serving it, please share it here.



Arugula Salad

Ingredients:
1 pack (about 4 oz) of arugula, preferably wild,
1/2 lemon,
3-5 tbsp of walnut oil; the best is from roasted nuts,
2 tbsp or shredded Parmesan cheese,
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste,
2 tbsp of roasted almonds or pine nuts.

Preparation:
1. Place arugula in a salad bowl.
2. Squeeze lemon juice into a small bowl, add salt and pepper and walnut oil.
3. Blend them together with a fork or a small whisker.
4. Pour dressing over arugula, mix gently.
5. Using a vegetable peeler shred a little bit of Parmesan cheese on the salad and top with roasted almonds or pine nuts.
6. Serve immediately or salad will darken as the leaves will absorb the oil.

Roasted Potatoes

There is nothing simpler than baking potatoes, but to make them really soft and still looking appetizing may be a challenge. I heard about a method of soaking potatoes in water before baking, but doing this for longer than 15 minutes washes out important minerals, like potassium, from them.

Not to talk for too long about such a simple subject, here is method that always works. I try to use baby or finger potatoes, which look nicest. For more bland dishes I bake them with garlic cloves and rosemary, for more spicy ones just in oil and salt. I believe that the pictures of what comes out from my oven can speak for themselves.



Ingredients:
1 lb baby potatoes,
8-12 garlic cloves, depending on taste,
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
1 tsp of sea salt,
1 branch of rosemary or 1 tsp dried.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Wash and dry the potatoes, cut them in halves.
3. Place potatoes in the oven-proof dish, sprinkle with oil, salt, and rosemary.
4. Using hands toss the potatoes to make sure that they are evenly covered with oil.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes (until gold and soft); turn them over at least once to prevent burning.