Anahita
Gallery, Inc.
Fine
art, photography & textiles from Central Asia.
international recipes
Russian
samovars provide endless hot water for tea, and antique Turkish ceramics
hold flowers near the elaborately decorated soup bowls from the Northwest
Frontier Province of Pakistan. Zoom
A Dastarkhan from Afghanistan
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The Afghan dastarkhan, literally 'tablecloth' is the enormous meal served to family and guests on special occasions. The first step in any Afghan meal is to taste a bit of bread from one of the flat loaves of unleavened nan that accompany every meal. In this way you tell your host that even a little bread would be enough! At which the host gives a self-deprecating nod, claps his hands and the cloth you are seated before is quickly filled with victuals sufficient for a small army. There are no set entrees in the dastarkhan, though some consider a big pilau a must, but there are always lots of little dishes of fresh tomatoes, onions and salad greens to accompany the main meal, and bowls of almonds (sugared and plain), walnuts, pistachios and raisins, grapes and melons to fill in the corners at the end. |
appetizer - Sabse Borani 4 cups fresh spinach leaves, well-rinsed and chopped 1 medium onion - thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic - minced 2 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 cup lightly drained plain yogurt (drain about 1 hr - easiest method is to place the yogurt in a coffee filter and let stand)
Place damp spinach in a saucepan, cover and cook until wilted. Drain and squeeze to remove excess water. Heat oil in a large skillet, sauté onion at low heat until golden, add garlic and sauté briefly, then add spinach, and cook for a minute or two more. Let cool. In a bowl, smooth yogurt and add spinach mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve cold with crisp hot bread or nan.
entree - Qaubili Pilau Heat 1/2 cup vegetable fat in a Dutch oven or pressure cooker, add 1 medium onion, diced, and fry until lightly browned. Add 1 lb. of beef or lamb, cut in 1 inch cubes, and brown. Add 2 cups water, 1 tsp. salt and 1 1/2 tsp. mixed spices (equal parts of cinnamon, cloves, cumin and cardamom, ground). Cover and simmer, or cook under pressure until the meat is tender. Remove the meat and set aside - save the juice for cooking the rice. Cut 2 carrots into toothpick size pieces. Heat 1/2 cup vegetable fat in a saucepan. Add 1 tbsp. sugar and the cut up carrots and simmer until tender. Remove carrots from fat, add 1 cup dark, seedless raisins, and cook until they swell up. (You may also brown a couple of tablespoons of blanched almonds.) Remove each and set aside. To cook the rice, boil the meat juice and add 2 cups long grain rice, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and sufficient water to bring the liquid 2 inches above the rice. Add the oil in which the carrots were cooked and 1/8 tsp. saffron (optional) to the cooked rice. Put meat and rice in a large casserole, cover and set in a 300 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Place meat in the center of a large platter. Mound the rice over the top and sprinkle with carrots, raisins, and almonds. Serves 6-8.
dessert - Gosh i Fil (Elephant's Ear) 3 lg. eggs 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. sugar 2 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 cup milk 3 3/4 cup sifted white flour 2 cups vegetable fat cooked syrup of 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water mix of 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. cardamom and 1/3 cup ground pistachio nuts
Beat eggs, then add and beat together salt, sugar, oil and milk. Add sifted flour to beaten mixture, turn out on lightly floured board and knead for 10 minutes until smooth. (Add a little water if necessary). Roll out small sections of dough to paper thin circles or squares. For ears, pleat in one side of a circular piece - for bows; pleat in the center of a rectangular piece. (You can make these up to a foot in diameter - whatever your pan will accommodate.) Heat fat in a large shallow pan, and fry ears a few at a time until lightly brown, turning once. Remove from fat and drain. Pour dribbles of syrup over pastry and dust at once with generous amounts of powdered sugar, cardamom and pistachio.
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. Anahita Gallery Inc.
616 ½ B Canyon Road Santa Fe, NM 87051
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textiles,
jewelry
ethno arts, Islamic arts, and
antiquities
textiles,
jewelry
ethno arts, Islamic arts, and
antiquities
textiles,
jewelry
ethno arts, Islamic arts, and
antiquities
textiles,
jewelry
ethno arts, Islamic arts, and
antiquities