Sheer Pira
Sheer pira, the Afghan milk sweet: milk powder stirred into hot syrup with cardamom, rosewater and walnuts, set and cut into diamonds. Ready in half an hour.
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.
Abrashum Kebab
Abrashum kebab, the Afghan wedding sweet: egg flicked into silken threads over hot oil, rolled, soaked in cardamom syrup and dusted with pistachio.
Gosh-e-Fil
Goash-e-feel, the Afghan elephant’s ear pastry: paper-thin dough pleated into an ear, fried crisp and bubbly, dusted with icing sugar and pistachio.
Sheer Yakh
Sheer yakh, the hand-churned ice cream of Kabul: milk, sugar and a hint of cardamom worked over ice and salt until dense and chewy, topped with crushed nuts.
Firnee
Firnee, the Afghan milk pudding for iftar and Eid: whole milk set with cornflour, scented with cardamom and rosewater, topped with pistachios and almonds.
Shami Kebab
Afghan shami kebab: lamb mince blended with potato, egg and gram flour, shaped long and grilled over coals, with sumac salad and garlic-mint yoghurt.
Kishmish Panir
Kishmish panir, the Afghan summer snack: fresh cheese made from milk and buttermilk, pressed in cloth and sliced, served with dark raisins, walnuts and green tea.
Bannu Beef Pulao
Bannu beef pulao: bone-in beef simmered with whole spices into a rich yakhni, basmati cooked in the broth, the beef piled on top. Translated from an Urdu recipe.
Namak Mandi Lamb Tikka
Lamb tikka the Namak Mandi way: lamb threaded between cubes of fat, seasoned with nothing but salt, cooked slowly over charcoal. Peshawar’s grill-house classic.