Sunday 9 December 2012

Afganistan

There were SO many options when planing this meal.....I wanted to invite like 10 people over. But it is Wednesday, not the easiest day to find dinner guests. In fact, you may be wondering why on earth would we be cooking up an elaborate meal on a Wednesday. It's simple, I am Wonder Women. Well, truth be told, I only work 4 days a week, and get Wednesday off. But, I'd like to think of myself as Wonder Women. Not the gal with the great hair who can pull off bikini bottoms and a belt every day (I couldn't do that ANY day) but just your average, run of the mill working mother. You know what I'm talking about.....you are Wonder Women too, or married to her, or will be married to her one day, and you are her son or daughter, or will join the ranks of Wonder Women one day too. So, thank the Wonder Women in your life (thanks Mom and mom-in-law), you both rock!) 
Sorry, I got a little side tracked there.

Being a Muslim country, there isn't a national "drink", so we took a liberty here, and made some Pomegranate Martini's. 

The menu:
   
We started with Boulanee, basically a meat and potato filled pastry ( that Fintan enjoyed for the rest of the week in is lunch box, score 1!!)

For the main we had Afghanistan's National Dish, Qabili Palau and Lamb with Spinach.
For dessert, we made Firnee (a cardamom flavoured custard) and Brides Fingers (kind of like Baklava)
We didn't care for the Firnee, but the fingers were tasty.

I will leave you with the recipes for the Boulanee, the Qabili Palau, and the Brides Fingers.

Boulanee


·         1 package square egg roll wrappers

·         Vegetable  oil
·         1 cup mashed potatoes
·         ½ tsp salt
·         ½ tsp coriander
·         ½ tsp cayenne pepper
·         ½ bunch chopped cilantro
·         4 green onions, chopped
·         1 lb ground beef
·         ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  1. Add salt coriander, cayenne pepper, cilantro and green onion to mashed potatoes and mix.
  2. Brown ground beef with pepper,salt and coriander.
  3. Mix ground beef with mashed potatoes. Let cool.
  4. Take an egg roll wrapper and place a spoon full of filling in the middle.
  5. Wet the edges of the wrapper and close, making a triangle.
  6. Fold the ends of the triangle into the pastry, making a small envelope. Flatten with your hand.
  7. Heat oil and fry the boulanee until brown on both sides, about 4–5 minutes.
Qabili Palau
This was a super yummy rice dish, enjoyed by all of us, more than once! I found the recipe on this blog
Thank you!








Brides Fingers
Similar to Baklava, but super easy to assemble, Shawn "cheated" tonight, as there is wheat in the phyllo.

1/2 package (16 oz.) frozen phyllo dough, completely defrosted
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (optional)
¼-1/2 cup liquid honey
Filling:
1/2 cup almonds or pistachios, pulverised in food processor with
1/3 cup sugar
Glaze:
1 egg, beaten
sugar
Directions
  1. Combine the filling ingredients.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 1 or 2 baking sheets.
  3. Cut the phyllo in half crosswise and again in half, stacking the covering with a slightly dampened towel to prevent drying. Lay 2 rectangles on your work surface with the shorter sides facing you, and brush lightly with melted butter.
  4. Place a rounded tablespoon of the filling in a line across the shorter side of filo that faces you. Fold the longer edges of the pastry inward, sealing in the sides of the filling, and roll the pastry up from the short side, forming a fat cigar shape. Place on the baking sheet with the cut edge down. Repeat with remaining dough.
  5. Brush the tops of the pastries lightly with a bit of beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.
  6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
  7. Dip the warm fingers into honey and arrange on a serving tray. Serve at room temperature.