Chai-e-Zanjafeel
Chai-e-zanjafeel, the Afghan after-dinner ginger tea: green tea boiled with brown sugar, ground ginger and finely ground walnuts. Ready in ten minutes.
Silk Road Table
Recipes from Afghanistan and the mountainous northwest frontiers of Pakistan. Meat-forward cooking centred on the tandoor – lamb slow-cooked in tallow, dried fruit in savoury dishes, flatbread as the primary carbohydrate.
Haft Mewa
Haft mewa, the Afghan Nowruz seven-fruit soak: apricots, raisins, cherries and blanched nuts left in water for two days until it turns to a sweet syrup.
Qehwa
Qehwa, the green tea of Afghan homes and Peshawar’s tea houses: green tea brewed with cardamom, saffron and cinnamon, lightly sweetened.
Doogh
Doogh, the Afghan summer yoghurt drink: yoghurt and cold water with salt, chopped cucumber and dried mint. Salty, sharp and served very cold.
Qymaq Chai
Qymaq chai, the Afghan pink tea for special occasions: green tea aerated until red, turned pink with milk, finished with cardamom and clotted cream.
Kulcha-e-Birinji
Kulcha-e-birinji, Afghan rice-flour biscuits with cardamom and pistachio, made green-crossed for Nowruz and served with qymaq chai. Naturally gluten-free.
Samanak
Samanak, the Afghan Nowruz pudding: sprouted wheat ground, cooked with flour and stirred for hours until dark and naturally sweet, with no sugar added.
Roht
Roht, the Afghan sweet flat bread: butter, milk and sugar in a chapati-flour dough, glazed and seeded, eaten with tea and baked for a baby’s fortieth day.
Kulcha-e-Khatayee
Kulcha-e-khatayee, the crumbly Afghan Eid biscuits: flour, milk powder, icing sugar and warm oil, baked pale with a dimple of ground pistachio.