I thought instead of stressing about how we could go away for the weekend and all the logistics associated with safe travel in the current situation, why don't I explore the world! Meld my passion for cooking with recipes from all over the world and I could do a culinary tour of the world! This project would have many benefits; we would learn something about the culinary traditions of each country, be able to identify them on the map and possibly learn something about the culture and the country as I researched the food. And the best result would be that we would cook and taste many dishes which we would never otherwise get to eat in our lifetime.
I didn't even know how many countries make the world, so that was my starting point. Now, given the very vast world to explore, I decided that to make it easy I had to choose a method. After some thought I decided I would go in an alphabetical order, starting with A and working my way through till Z. Second, I will look for vegetarian recipes, with minimal ingredient substitution. And third, wherever possible I will use produce from the garden. I plan to do video recording of the cooking process, so that I can remember and recreate the recipes that we love and be able to share with you all the process of cooking a dish when you know absolutely nothing about it!!
I am so excited to get started on this project. I have created a separate page on the blog menu to find all the recipes for this project and I will upload videos on my YouTube channel - "Gardening and Cooking Made Easy".
So to kick us off, I have selected Ashak (Aushak) from Afghanistan. I looked up the Afghani cuisine on the internet and some of the recipes that were called out were Bolani, Ashak, varieties of Palaw etc. I had also let my friends know about this project and requested that they provide suggestions for countries that begin with the alphabet "A" and surprisingly many of my friends provided a lot of Afghani food suggestions. I had never eaten or seen Afghani food, so I looked up many recipes on blog sites and youtube. Finally, I decided on making Ashak because it was described as a dish made on special occasions, it could be made vegetarian, was recommended by a friend who had eaten the authentic version as well as I was growing chives and scallions in the yard.
I must say that it was an excellent choice to begin with. Ashak is a chive filled dumpling served on a bed of yogurt sauce along with meat or lentil sauce. Through the various recipes that I read through and viewed, the filling should be of chives, but scallion greens and leeks are acceptable, split peas can be used for the vegetarian version of the recipe and if you want a shortcut, you can use store bought wonton wrappers for the dumpling covers. I, of course, opted to make the entire recipe from scratch including the dumpling dough and the end result was fabulous. I will definitely add this to my cooking repertoire as well as make the three separate components of the dish as separate recipes too. The lentil sauce will taste great with rice, roti or bread. The yogurt sauce makes a delicious dip and the dumplings will taste fantastic even in a pasta sauce. So without further ado, here is the recipe.
Here is the link to the video demonstrating the detailed method.
Ingredients
For the dumpling cover
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp oil
1 egg
1 tsp salt
water to knead a firm dough
For the filling
1.5 cups of finely chopped chives and scallion greens (leafy green part only)
salt to taste
1/8 tsp chilli flakes
1/8 tsp black pepper powder
2 tsp oil
water to cook the dumplings
For the lentil sauce
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup split pea (chana dal)
1 cup diced onions
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste
water, enough to have a sauce which flows easily but is thick to coat the dumplings
For the yogurt sauce
1 cup yogurt
1/4 tsp grated/finely minced garlic
salt to taste
mint powder, for garnish
Method
Rinse and soak the split peas/chana dal for 30 mins or so, till softened.
To make the dumpling covering
Mix together the all purpose flour, oil, salt, egg and adding a little water at a time, knead the mixture to form a firm, smooth dough. Keep it aside for 30 minutes so that the gluten can relax and it can be rolled out easily.
To make the dumpling stuffing
In a mixing bowl, add the chopped chives and scallion greens, add the oil, salt, chilli flakes and black pepper powder and mix well. Keep it aside.
To make the lentil sauce
Heat the oil and add onions to it. Fry this for a minute or two and then add the garlic. Fry this mixture till the onions start becoming translucent and then add the spices - turmeric, cumin seeds, coriander powder and chilli powder. Cook the spices for a minute or two and then add the tomato puree. Cook this till the raw tomato smell disappears and then add the soaked split peas. Stir well, add salt and water and then cook this till the chana dal is cooked through. You may need to add more water if you are cooking it in a saucepan. The dal should not be so mushy that it will lose its shape. I cooked it in the pressure cooker, for 2 whistles. After that, I adjusted the consistency of the sauce by adding water and boiling it. If you cook it in an instant pot, it will take about 8-10 mins at high pressure.
To make the yogurt sauce
Add the garlic and salt to the yogurt and mix well.
To mold and cook the dumplings
Roll out the dough into a thin sheet which is about 2-3 mm thick and starts to look slightly translucent. Then using a round cutter, cut it into circles. Place 1/2-1 tsp of filling in the center of this dough circle. Adjust the filling quantity depending on the size of the dough circle. Then fold the dough into a half, to form a semi cirlcle/half moon shape. Pinch the dough all along the edges, making sure that it is sealed well. Place this in a plate which is dusted with flour, so that the dumplings don't stick to the plate. Cover with a towel, so they don't dry as you form all the other dumplings.
Once all the dumplings are ready, boil water in a large saucepan. Once the water is at a rolling boil, keep the heat at medium high and add the dumplings into the water, one at a time. They will sink. Stir them gently with a slotted spoon, flipping them over. It will take a few minutes and then the dumplings will float to the surface. They are cooked through when they float and start looking translucent. Remove these from the water using a slotted spoon and place in a colander, so that excess water will drain off.
To serve
On a serving plate, spread a layer of the yogurt sauce. Then arrange the dumplings on this sauce layer. Spread another layer of the yogurt sauce. Then add a layer of the lentil sauce on top of the yogurt sauce. Finally, sprinkle some mint powder. Serve. Eat each dumpling with some of the yogurt and lentil sauce. The combination is a burst of flavors in every bite. Absolutely delicious!!
Tips
Chives and scallion greens, both have a mild onion flavor. So, if you don't have access to chives use the onion greens (scallion greens). Drain the leafy greens well after you wash them, so that the stuffing does not have a lot of water. If the stuffing is watery, it will make the dumpling mushy and difficult to handle. I had about 1/3rd of the dough remaining after forming all the dumplings. So you can double the amount of stuffing, keeping the dough ingredient quantities the same. If you are cooking the dal in a saucepan, cover it to quicken the cooking and stir frequently, adding water as needed. You can use a little water to seal the edges of the dumplings, if the rolled circle is dry or if you are using store bought wonton wrappers.
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