AFGHAN CUISINE. HOW DO THEY COOK AND WHAT DO THEY EAT IN AFGHANISTAN?

In this video we will show you how they cook and what they eat in Afghanistan. And in general, we will show what Afghan cuisine consists of.
Historically, grocery shopping was considered a male activity, but in modern Afghanistan it has become a job for women and children; women usually do the cooking, except for professional cooks who are hired by wealthy families (and they are almost always men). Cooking, especially meat, takes a long time because it is done over a small fire.
Kitchen utensils are rudimentary, ovens are mostly wood-fired or filled with gas cylinders; some families have a tandoor. Refrigerators are rare, and there are no sophisticated appliances, such as mixers. Many homes do not have running water. Pots, pots, pestles and mortars are commonly used for cooking, as well as a rolling pin for dough. Special pots of known volume are used to measure the quantity of ingredients, but usually they are added "by eye.
Traditionally, turkey fat, cottonseed oil or clarified butter were used for cooking; modern Afghans cook with ghee and vegetable oil.
Many Afghan sauces include onions, most often red onions, and also hard fried onions are dried, milled and later added to the cooked dishes.
Now let us talk about the process of eating the prepared dishes.
Traditionally, people in Afghanistan eat sitting on cushions on the floor and in large groups. A large dish of rice is placed for 3-4 people, surrounded by smaller vessels of sterno, kebabs, and vegetable dishes. The food is taken with the right hand; the rice is rolled into lumps and then sent to the mouth.
All food is served at the same time; the meat dishes are eaten first, then the desserts. After the meal fruits are served first, followed by unsweetened tea with cardamom.
Restaurants are mostly concentrated in Kabul, and eating out is not common (with the exception of teahouses and shashlik houses). Traditional fast food, called "tabang wala," includes fried corn, bolani flatbread with onions, salted chickpeas, beans, boiled potatoes, samosa and raisins soaked in water. Other types of street food sold in stalls include faluda, a dairy dessert with noodles, sugar, pistachios and rose water; fried fish with zalabi, that is, donuts; halim, steep porridge with minced meat and sugar; and cheese with raisins.
Chaikhana also plays a significant role in Afghan food culture. A teahouse is a small café where men gather to talk over tea or, if the place is large enough, snacks like sherwa-e-chaynaki (literally it sounds like "soup from a teapot"): lamb, onions, peas, fresh coriander, salt and pepper are put into a teapot and then slowly boiled next to or directly on a tea samovar. Next to many teahouses there are kebab houses that serve mutton kebab with onions, coriander and tomatoes, meatballs "kofta", mutton fried with a little salt and no spices - "shinvari", mutton balls and other dishes.
It is worth talking about festive dishes as well. Pre-Islamic New Year (Nauroz) and all major Islamic holidays are celebrated in Afghanistan, as well as the birth of children (especially a firstborn son), circumcision, engagements and weddings.
The birth of children is accompanied by special dishes that should improve the health of the woman in labor: she is given a flour soup "humach", a dessert of flour "liti", a special halva "kachi", "awsh" (noodles richly flavored with garlic) and "shola-e-holba", a sweet dish of sticky rice with fenugreek.
At the engagement party, the groom's family visits the bride's family, bringing gifts and plenty of sweets, while the bride's family serves them a hearty dinner and kaimak tea. A similar feast takes place during the wedding, but on an even larger scale; silk kebab, candied almonds, a dish of molida, which is a sweet cereal made of sugar, flour, butter and sugar with cardamom and rose water, and many other "happy" foods are served.
The Muslim fast of Ramadan is observed by all Afghans: until the sun goes down, they abstain from water and food, only after dark do they fast with water and salt, or dates. After that, many elaborate and expensive dishes are served: soups, mantu, unsweetened shola, fodder with meat, vegetable dishes, fruits and tea. Before dawn, one eats one more meal, usually bread, tea, eggs, cheese, kaimak and canned vegetables.
During Eid al Fitr (the end of fasting during the month of Ramadan), Afghans visit their relatives and have tea with them with special desserts: walnut and almond kozinak (halwa-e-swanak), nougat with nuts (shir paira), and gosh-fil.
On New Year's Day in Afghanistan, many families go out at this time for a picnic where the women cook rice dishes and the men roast kebabs; after eating these dishes they drink tea with halwa.
00:00 Introduction.
00:25 Cooking
02:07 The process of eating
02:46 Street food
04:18 Celebration food
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