The Honey Thief (31 page)

Herbs and Spices

I have read that in the kitchen of a master cook of China you may find two hundred herbs and spices. We are more frugal in Afghanistan. Perhaps twenty herbs and spices are used in our cooking. We buy herbs fresh and add them to our dishes as needed. Spices we buy from the market in big quantities and grind them up when the time comes.

Ginger

Stories are told of the strange power of ginger, be it fresh or dried. Even pious people of my faith still hold onto ancient beliefs about its benefits either in dishes or taken as a medicine. It is thought to cure so many ailments that you could almost think, ‘I will go into battle with my pockets full of ginger. Whatever fate befalls me, I will fix it with ginger.’

Dill

Of course. Dill is always on hand. It is also supposed to cure various ailments, but I don’t believe it. Let it do its job in a
qorma
, that’s all I ask of it.

Turmeric

Turmeric is used with meat and vegetable dishes. Wherever there is rice, turmeric in the
qorma
adds something special to the rice’s flavour. And there is always rice. What sense is there in doing without it?

Nutmeg

We use nutmeg with meat dishes, together with cumin and coriander. Not too much nutmeg. Don’t be crazy.

Cardamom

You can flavour beverages with cardamom. The Arabs use it in their coffee, their
gahwa
. Have you tried the coffee of Arabistan? Madness.

Sumac

It’s like lemon. Better you use lemon.

Baharat

This is another word from Arabistan. A mixture of spices.
Sebah Baharat
means ‘seven spices’. It’s handy. You can add it to everything. Maybe not to chicken.

Cumin

For lamb and beef dishes. More for lamb. Or goat. Other herbs appeal to me more. Some people enjoy it. If you leave it out and you have ten guests, one will stand up and cry out, ‘Aiee!’ So best add it if you do not know your guests too well.

Saffron

Good to sprinkle on potato slices when they are cooking. Good for making yellow rice. Too much saffron and you don’t feel like eating anything. There is a phrase in English, ‘to be heavy-handed’. Don’t be heavy-handed with saffron. It’s like a good friend you enjoy seeing for an hour at a time. And it’s expensive. Certain good friends you can enjoy an hour at a time are also expensive.

Paprika

Best for lamb. Also fish. But not carp.

Nigella seeds

This is what the Prophet of our faith says of nigella seeds: ‘There is healing in the black seeds for everything but death.’ Headaches – no. Trust me. So, not for everything. Nigella seeds produce the same flavour as pepper. Be sensible.

Fenugreek

A strange thing, but fenugreek is both bitter and sweet. Who can explain it? Perfect with chicken.

Caraway

Tastes like anise. If you are good with
baklawa
, have caraway seeds in your kitchen.

Cayenne

Hot. Too much heat, the taste is destroyed. You wish to eat food, not heat.

Cloves

Grind the cloves. A whole clove cannot be digested. Use it in
baklawa
, certainly. And with kid.

Coriander

Grind the seeds with a pestle and mortar. Use in salads and everything else. Not so much with lamb.

Fennel

With meat and vegetables, if you are attracted to it. I am not.

Black pepper

Grind your own black pepper. Do not purchase it in powder form from the supermarket. Don’t be lazy. Who can cook properly and be lazy at the same time? No one.

Sesame seeds

Best if you roast them. Then use them in everything.

Tabil

A mixture of garlic, coriander, caraway and cayenne. Know what you are doing before you reach for the
tabil
.

Garlic

Yes and no. That which garlic suits, it suits perfectly. That which it doesn’t, it ruins.

Recipes

Lamb Qorma

Refrigeration is uncommon in Afghanistan. Meat is often preserved, but if it is to be eaten unsalted, it is used quickly. In parts of Hazarajat where the snow remains on the ground for six months, meat is packed in ice. But two days after slaughtering, and no freezing – that’s when meat is at its best. My brother Abdul Ali was a butcher, a very good one. He taught me about meat. Away from Afghanistan, you know, I never enjoy meat of the quality I knew in my village and in Mazar-e-Sharif. But this is the world. Not everyone can find freshly killed Karakul lamb. A pity. For this qorma, use the best lamb you can come by – the meat from the top of the foreleg starting just below the neck, without the bone. You will need more than a kilogram of meat so judge the piece you are offered carefully. We will feed four or five people with this
qorma
. Maybe six.

Here is what you will need:

Lamb
(see above).

Four big
tomatoes
. Not
almost
big, but truly big. And very ripe.

Eight
cloves
.

Enough
peppercorns
to fill the bowl of a medium-sized spoon.

One nub of
ginger
, about the length of your thumb.

Cardamom
, maybe five green pods.

Three brown
onions
.

Two
garlic
cloves.

One small spoonful of
cumin
seeds.

One stick of
cinnamon
, pounded into a powder, or a medium spoonful of
ground cinnamon
.

One medium spoonful of
coriander seeds
.

A pinch of
paprika
, such as would cover the palm of your hand.

One small spoonful of
turmeric
.

Oil
for frying. Sesame is best.

Plain
yoghurt
.

Okay, cut the lamb into many equal pieces so that a single piece can be taken in the mouth comfortably when it’s cooked. Set the meat aside and turn your attention to the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into pieces about the size of the lamb pieces then set them aside with the meat.

Now the herbs and spices that will become part of the dish. First crush the cloves in your mortar. The crushing should leave the smallest fragments of the cloves you have the patience to produce. Next in your mortar crush the peppercorns. Grate the ginger, not too coarsely, until you have enough to make a small mound that covers the middle of your palm. Crush the cardamom in your mortar. The cardamom will not suit everyone. It will be your judgement. Now it is time for the garlic, but don’t crush the garlic cloves until you have completed the next step, which is the chopping and frying of the brown onions.

Okay, the onions. In Afghanistan, we rarely fashion a meal without onions. What the world was like before onions were invented, I cannot imagine. So, the onions, three of them. Peel them to preserve as much of the outer flesh as possible. I am talking of course of brown onions. Onions of another colour may be substituted, but I wouldn’t advise it. Once the onions are peeled, chop them up but not too fine. You need chunks of onion, not thin slices. Now heat some cooking oil in a big saucepan. I am serious when I say a
big
saucepan. For dishes like this, a big saucepan is your friend. Do you want to fill a smaller saucepan to the very brim? No.