Afghanistan

 After our Afghanistan meal, we had leftovers for quite a while. It was a really solid meal, so filling that I think I could have done just one of the two main dishes and easily made a meal of it. But it was fun to try them both, and the dessert was very interesting.

The main dish was Dolmeh-e-Kadoo, or Afghan Stuffed Squash. Luckily it was the right time of year and we had some Patty Pan Squash from our garden, so I used those and they worked very well. The ingredients were all very flavorful; the only one I didn't have was advieh, a spice mixture that can be found in Middle-Eastern markets, presumably. So instead I threw in some cinnamon, turmuric, ground cloves, cumin, dried coriander, and ground ginger, which worked rather well.

The side dish was Bolani Katchalu, or savory pastry turnovers with a potato filling. These were almost like an Afghan version of quesadillas. If I could go back in time I would make them rather smaller, since they were quite imposing and took up more than half of a dinner plate, But they tasted good despite my overzealous portioning. I'm actually getting hungry thinking about them, all golden and crispy. Moving on!

For dessert we had Sheer Yakh, an Afghan recipe for ice cream. Since it did not require sugar as an ingredient, I was expecting it to be on the edge of savory, barely sweet at all. You should have seen my surprise when I first tried it - it was one of the sweetest things I have ever tasted. Apparently the condensed milk was quite sweet...anyways, I wasn't used to the saccharine intensity and so it wasn't my favorite dessert. But others with a raging sweet tooth may find it very nice!

As always, the recipes are linked below, go have a poke around...

Dolmeh-e-Kadoo (Afghan Stuffed Squash):
afghankitchenrecipes.com/recipe/dolmeh-e-kadoo-afghan-stuffed-squash/

Bolani Katchalu (Potato Filled Turnovers):
afghankitchenrecipes.com/recipe/potato-bolani-fried-afghan-flatbread/

Sheer Yakh (Afghan Ice Cream):
afghankitchenrecipes.com/recipe/sheer-yakh-or-kulfi-afghan-ice-cream/