A Royal Afghan Affair - A Historic Journey into Afghan Cuisine and Culture

Shahnaz Zikria

Description

A Royal Afghan Affair encapsulates the soulfulness of Afghan culture through food, hospitality, history, landscape and its people. The recipes bring to life the richness of the cuisines, the photographs display the grandeur of the country and the stories depict the depth of its past. It gives the readers a new perspective of a country most commonly synonymous to war, devastation and tragedy. A unique portrait of Afghanistan, this book brings an Afghan meal to your home, whilst sharing insights and beautiful pictures from the country.


A Royal Afghan Affair symbolizes the power of connectivity between a mother and a daughter that brought the book to life; between culture and cuisine; as well as between the past and the future...

Sujets

• Cuisine
• Cuisine du monde
• Cuisine d'Asie
• La cuisine et son histoire
• Condiments
• Cuisine d'Europe
• Cuisine d'Europe
• Culinary
• Afghanistan
• Culture
• HIStory
• Chutney
• Naan
• DAL
• America
• War
• Australia
• Winter
• Taliban
• Cooking
• Food
• Tea
• Chickpea
• Lentil
• Hospitality
• Main Course
• People
• Afghan cuisine
• Delicacy
• Afganistán
• landscape
• Middle Eastern
• bread
• Regional cooking
• Ethnic Cooking

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 09 septembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 6
• EAN13: 9788194643340
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 60 Mo

Extrait

A Royal Afghan Affair
SHAHNAZ ZIKRIA
A Historic Journey into Afghan Cuisine & Culture

Shrine of Hazrat Ali, or the Blue
Mosque, in the historic Mazar-e-Sharif,
city north of Afghanistan, is a tranquil
symbol of love and peace that attracts
thousands of pilgrims each year.

CONTENTS
Facing page: Formally known as ‘deghe sakhi’, literally meaning cooking pot of the noble,
honourable and generous, located in Mazar-e-Sharif.
1.
Author’s Note
9
2.
Preface: A Book for the Legacy
11
3.
The Way We Feast:
Mehmaanawazi
15
4.
Geographical Location
35
RECIPES
1.
Starters
47
2.
Soups
75
3.
Pulaws
89
4.
Afghan-Style Risottos
117
5.
Kormas
129
6.
Kebabs
149
7.
Condiments
177
Suggested Menus
186
The People who Made this Book Happen
188
Index
190

AUTHOR’S NOTE
A
lthough writing fiction gives the author creative liberties,
writing non-fiction empowers the author to liberate society’s
mindset. The instigator of this book is my daughter; ironically,
she helped and supported me in bringing to life the culture, food and
traditions I taught her. There were several moments in which we
would struggle regarding ingredients that I described in Farsi and she
had to translate into English, but struggle is what makes us closer and
the language of love is understood without any further requirement
for expression.
We thought that presenting the framework of
mehmaanawazi
would
resonate better if written from her lens of experience. It confirms
that time is always moving; generations move on but legacy can shift
with the changing tides, and heritage, although embedded, can also
be redefined.
This is our first book, so we will not pretend to be expert writers, but
what we do hope this book presents is an easy-to-follow set of recipes,
an insight into the origins and heritage of Afghan cuisine and a fresh
perspective on one of the oldest civilizations on Earth. It is our humble
attempt to show another face of Afghanistan – the one that welcomes
its guests, values its daughters, cherishes knowledge and history, and
above, all enjoys good food!
This book documents the recipes that my parents passed on to me;
through this book they will, in some respect, live on for many years
to come. We hope that you enjoy this journey of Afghanistan and its
cuisine, the way we were taught and the way we see it.
Facing page: A little crazy or very courageous? People in Kabul travelling in big numbers.

PREFACE
A BOOK FOR THE LEGACY
Written by my daughter, Freshta
T
his book was written for my grandfather, Sardar Muhammad
Hashim Khan Zikria of the Muhammadzai clan, and my
grandmother, Bibi Momlakat Zikria – two of the greatest
influences on my life. My grandfather’s family tree can be linked to the
founder of modern-day Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani, and the
monarchy that existed in the country until the 1970’s.
My grandparents taught me that wealth is not about how much you
earn, but how much you share of what you’ve earned. In Afghanistan,
my grandfather was known for his warmth and hospitality, and the
taste of the food that came out of his kitchen. He passed away while I
was still in school, and my grandmother passed away in 2012. There is
not a day in my life that I don’t pray for their souls to rest in peace. As
their daughter’s daughter, I would walk into their home and be treated
like a princess. I am blessed to have been brought up with a family that
only knew how to love, nurture and give. For my brother and I, it was
always a thrill walking into my grandmother’s kitchen because food
just tasted better in her home. This book is an attempt to capture the
Afghan kitchen of my childhood, and bring it into everyone’s home.
A Royal Afghan Affair
is my way of giving back; my way of letting the
Afghan legacy of warmth, good food and hospitality continue to live,
with the hope that this book will give the world a new insight into
Afghanistan and its people.
Facing page: The Farsi alphabet uses a writing system based on the Arabic script, but the
language itself differs from Arabic.

The mountainous ranges in the backdrop
of terraced homes, built out of clay
mud and positioned on the hills, look
like a setting in a film or a book.

MEHMAANAWAZI
THE WAY WE FEAST

ﻣﻬﻤﺎﻧﻮ
Written by my daughter, Freshta
‘M
ehmaanawazi’
comes from two words – ‘
mehmaan
’,
meaning guest in Farsi, Dari and Urdu, and ‘
nawazi
’,
meaning the instance of pampering, indulging and
spoiling someone. The words combined convey the meaning of
entertaining and welcoming a friend or a stranger into your home
without the expectation of reward or anything in return. Like many
other cultures, in Afghan culture, this hospitality is expressed in a
significant way through food.
For an Afghan, the guest is the king or queen. The title of this
book,
A Royal Afghan Affair
, symbolizes not just the origins of the
food, but also the implicit definition of being a guest in an Afghan
home, where the meal is an authentic Afghan spread. The meal will be
a gala affair and underpinning the event is the affection and reverence
the guest is shown.
Hospitality is seen not only as a cultural obligation but also a
religious obligation. It is viewed as being part of the cycle of love, life
giving and nurturing. Sharing a meal together indicates a relationship
through ‘namak’, translated as ‘salt’. This brings to focus the fact that
when an Afghan invites a guest for a meal, this creates ‘the right of
salt’ between those two parties. This bond is as strong as the bond of
family – it is honoured, respected and trusted.
There was a point when as a teenager, I found the ritual quite
embarrassing. I would plead with my parents not to take anyone visiting
that seriously, to which my mother would reply: ‘This is the culture in
this home. In my house [the home she was raised in], we would cook for
at least fifty people every day as we never knew whom your grandfather
would bring home with him. This is a ritual you should continue.’
Facing page: Preparation of mantu or Afghan-style dumplings.
16
If a friend visited my home, they learnt never to come with a full
stomach. There were always at least three different kinds of food
prepared; regardless of whether you had planned to come over for
a quick catch-up or a long dinner, it was guaranteed that you would
be fed. On many occasions, if my friends had reached their maximum
capacity, then someone in my house would pack more food, sweets,
pickles,
torshi
or other condiments so that they could eat another meal
at home and there would be a lasting memory of the visit.
Today, I am very proud of these rituals. My friends and family in
various cities all around the world know that the doors of our household
are always open to loved ones. The legacy I may have fought at one point,
I live with proudly today. It is not food, drink and sweets that bring people
together, it is opening the doors of your home without motive or agenda.
It is the unconditional love and warmth that make the meal so special.
The origins of
mehmaanawazi
and Afghan cuisine can be said to be
a direct result of the country’s geographical location. Archaeologists
have found evidence of civilization from as far back as the Middle
Palaeolithic age. Urban civilization may have begun in the area as early
as 3000 to 2000
BC
. More recently, it has been considered a strategic
hub in Central Asia, given that it is the link between the Middle East,
the Indian subcontinent and China.
Officially titled the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, it is a
country slightly smaller than Texas. It is bordered by Pakistan, Iran,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan (i.e., the former Soviet Union)
and China. The Silk Route identifies a series of routes that connected
the Indian subcontinent, Persia, Arabia and Europe, both in terms
of trade and cultural enlightenment. Generosity and hospitality are
legacies that began when Afghanistan was a central point on the Silk
Route and have continued throughout time and turbulence.
Throughout this book, you will notice a common group of spices
used in dishes, such as cardamom, ginger, pepper, cloves, saffron and
turmeric. These spices (and more) have their origins in the spice trade
along the Silk Route. Other produce traded on the Silk Route included
dates, figs, pomegranates, watermelons, melons and nuts, as well as
vegetables like onions and carrots. There is a direct lineage between
items that were traded on the Silk Route and agricultural products
that are grown in and distributed from Afghanistan, so the cycle of
history, heritage and identity is one that is circular on many levels.
Common Afghan cuisines have been developed through the people
and trade that existed along the Silk Route, and the different empires
that have spread on the land. It is noteworthy that Kabul is thought
17
to have been established in 2000
BC
with the existence of the Aryan
tribe. The Persian Zoroaster passed away near the Balkh province
after the creation of the religion (around 1500
BC
) that is now followed
by Parsis or Zoroastrians.
Our most famous Persian poet, Jalaluddin Muhammad Rumi,
most commonly known as Rumi, was born in the Balkh province,
Afghanistan (1207
AD
), and died in Turkey (1273
AD
). Rumi has been
given the title of ‘
mawlaana
’, meaning ‘master’, and is considered
to be one of the most popularly read poets in the US (as well as in
Asia and the Middle East). Rumi was not only a poet but also an
Islamic scholar, jurist, Sufi mystic, and above all, a spiritual guide.
His poetry had no titles and the spirit of his verses can be considered
to be at the core of every religion. His message was about life and
living, waking up to see our inner beauty and finding love in the
depth of our souls. His message of humanity, originally in Farsi, has
been translated into m