After my recent trip to the Middle East where I was lucky enough to enjoy Egyptian, Lebanese, Yemeni, Iranian, and Arabic "Gulf" food, I knew I had to try food from Afghanistan for a fuller cultural appreciation of the different cuisines of the region. Ariana did not disappoint, serving authentic Afghan cuisine on a cozy, intimate setting.
Lamb, I learned, is a staple of Afghan cooking - the menu included lamb shish kabob, chopan (marinated lamb rack), quabili (lamb shank chunks baked in pallow rice), and sabzi challow (sauteed spinach with lamb), and likewise an assortment of beef dishes. Definitely a meat lover's paradise. Not exactly my thing, so I went for the vegetarian special: a platter of baked pumpkin, pan-fried eggplant, sauteed spinach, and okra sauteed with fresh tomatoes, served around carrot-sweet pallow rice:
It was exceptional. The spinach was cooked perfectly, and the okra still retaining some texture and bite, unlike the mushy okra that one so frequently encounters in Southern cooking in the U.S. I still find it fascinating that okra, a vegetable thought to be of African origin, over centuries migrated to Afghan and even Indian cooking, and was also brought to America by the slave trade; the plant is the same, yet the applications have evolved to be quite different. After having this rendition of okra, I wouldn't eat it any other way. And the real star of the dish was the baked pumpkin, which had caramelized to a sticky sweet treat, practically the dessert to top off the meal. Combined with the savory vegetables, the sweetness was perfect, delectable. When most Americans think about eating out, let's be honest, Afghanistan is not the first word that comes to mind. But this unexpectedly elegant cuisine is not to be missed, trust me.
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