Dinner from Afghanistan!

Yum, yum, yum! We made a terrific Afghan dinner last night.
The menu:
Palao (national dish, rice with carrots and raisins)
cauliflower in tomato sauce
naan (purchased in the bakery section of our local SuperTarget)
cookies

The rice and cauliflower were the favorites of the adults. I thought that the cookies were a little dry but M thought they were still very good.

We finally found a country for which www.Crayola.com did not a flag coloring page. We improvised using the Wikipedia entry for Afghanistan. M missed the "Did you know..." section of Crayola's flag coloring page, until I made him a "Did you know..." fact. His fact was "Did you know...

M's interruption
This was the first time i remember eating cauliflower.It was not my favorite vegetable but kinda okay.I liked the cookies.

Back to Anne...
... that people have lived in the land that is now Afghanistan for 50,000 years and farming communities there are among the first in the world."

The Recipes:
Qabali - Afghani Rice (this is for 16 servings, I cut it by four and we finished it off!)
INGREDIENTS

* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 5 carrot, julienned
* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1/2 cup sultana raisins
* 4 cups uncooked basmati rice
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon white sugar
* 1 cup water
* 1 pinch saffron (optional)
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
* 1 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rice in a large bowl, rinse, and then soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add carrots and 1 teaspoon sugar; cook, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in raisins, and continue cooking until the raisins are soft and plump. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Strain rice, and then add to boiling water. Cook for about 5 minutes, then strain with a mesh strainer.
4. In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup oil and 1 tablespoon sugar. Cook until sugar dissolves completely, making a syrup. Remove from heat , and cool. Once cool, add 1 cup water, and return to a boil.
5. Return the rice to pan. Stir in carrots and raisins, and then mix in oil and sugar syrup. Season with saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, and cumin. Poke some holes with a spoon all over the rice. Cover, and cook over high heat until you hear crackling noises. Remove from heat.
6. Bake, covered, in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and toss rice with a fork.

Afghan Cauliflower

Ingredients

* 1 large cauliflower, broken into florets
* 1 onion, sliced into half rounds
* 1/4 cup oil
* 2 cups water, divided
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 8 ounces tomato sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste

Directions

1. In a large frying pan put the oil and onion and saute it until the onion is golden brown.
2. Drain the oil.
3. Add 1 cup water, the garlic and salt and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl put the remaining water, tomato sauce, curry powder, black pepper, ground coriander and ginger paste.
5. Blend well.
6. After the 10 minutes are up, add the cauliflower and tomato sauce mixture to the onions, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Note: The original recipe said cook for 30 minutes or until tender; I only needed to cook for 20 minutes for it to be very tender.

Afghan Cookies
Ingredients

* 1/3 cup pitted dates, chopped fine
* 1/2 cup boiling water, more to cover dates
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 3/4 cup vegetable shortening
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 cups corn flakes

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the chopped dates in a small cup and cover with the boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Drain and discard the liquid.
4. Combine the flour, cocoa, and baking powder.
5. In a large bowl, cream the vegetable shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Stir in the dates.
7. Beat in the vanilla extract.
8. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
9. Fold in the cornflakes.
10. Break off walnut size pieces of the # dough and roll into balls.
11. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
12. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
13. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Brazil!

We took a short break from Around the World dinners for the last week of summer and M's first week of first grade(!). Now we're back and looking forward to trying new foods. This week, we made a meal from Brazil.

Menu:
Cheese Croquettes
Black Bean and Mango Stew
and Brigadeiros (chocolate bonbons named for a general with a sweet tooth)

M has decided that our best meals have been:
1st place: Brazil
2nd place: Denmark
3rd place: tie between Spain and Portugal

Recipes will follow...
M's Interruption
A friend joked about around the world desserts.She would really like this dessert!
On the brazilian flag there were the words ordeme e progresso.I guessed that progresso meant progress.Mom said i was right and that ordeme meant order.

Back to Anne (sometimes called Mommy)...
Everything in this meal was great! The croquettes were a nice change from the usual fried variety, the stew was easy and tasted wonderful, and, well, chocolate bonbons speak for themselves! :)

Let's start with dessert today.
Brigadeiros

Ingredients
* 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup chocolate sprinkles

Directions

1. In medium pan, combine milk and cocoa powder. Cook over low, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 20 minutes. Add butter and salt. Mix thoroughly before removing from heat.
2. When mixture is cool, rub hands with butter and shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in chocolate sprinkles. Place in mini paper cupcake forms.
3. Store in fridge until served.



Mango and Black Bean Stew

Ingredients

* 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
* 1 small red bell pepper, diced
* 3/4 lb tomato, diced
* 3/4 cup water
* 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, well-rinsed and drained
* 1 mango, peeled, seeded and diced
* 1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* salt, to taste (optional)

Directions

1.Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the onion and garlic until tender.
2. Add in the sweet potato, bell pepper, tomatoes, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Add beans and cook uncovered until heated through, then add the mango and cilantro and season with salt to taste.

Croquettes De Queijo

Ingredients

* 2 ounces butter, cubed
* 2/3 cup flour
* 1 egg, separated
* 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
* 1/4 cup parmesan cheese or any hard cheese, grated
* salt and pepper, as needed
* 1 tablespoon water or water, as needed
* chili, salsa for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Rub butter into flour until it gives a coarse mixture.
3. Add egg yolk, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and water, and mix together. Add a tablespoon of water if you find them difficult to bind.
4.Shape dough into golf ball size.
5.Dip into slightly beaten egg white.
6. Place in a well oiled baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until brown and crispy.
7. Invert the balls as well baking this time for 5 minutes or until brown and crispy too.
8. Serve warm with chili salsa.