The Honey Thief (36 page)

Now the rice. We will do this a little differently to normal. Find a pot almost as big as the chicken pot. In this pot, boil five cups of water with a certain amount of salt added. Now pour into the boiling water enough Basmati rice to satisfy your family and your guests. Let the rice cook for a sensible time, not long; if you are a grown man, for about the time it would normally take you to shave, or if you are a woman, the time it would normally take for your husband to shave. Next, drain the rice and rinse it with cold water. When the rice is reasonably dry, transfer it to a broad frying pan and pour the sesame oil over it. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the rice on a very low heat for half an hour. In this way, the rice will become crisp on the bottom of the pan and fluffy on top. Now call your family members and your guests. Allow them to serve themselves, covering the crispy rice with as much of the magnificent chicken stew as they can possibly wish for. Accept the congratulations of your family and guests. Eat.

Glossary and Notes

Abdul Ali Mazari

A revered Hazara political leader, Abdul Ali (or ‘Baba’ – ‘Father’) Mazari founded the Hezbi Wahdat party that championed the rights of Hazaras in Afghanistan. He died at the hands of the Taliban in 1995, aged forty-nine.

Afghani

The basic unit of currency in Afghanistan. One AUD is worth approximately forty-four afghanis.

Ashak

Afghan appetiser of leeks and minced lamb wrapped in a crust of dough.

Badenjan

Afghan crushed eggplant and yoghurt dip with herbs and spices.

Barakzai dynasty

A Pashtun family that provided twelve of the thirteen Afghan ‘khans’ (or kings) between 1826 and 1973.

Bichak

Afghan appetiser, either sweet or savoury, served as a triangular pastry typically stuffed with pumpkin and herbs or with minced fruit and jam.

Bolanee, or Boulanee

Afghan baked pasties typically filled with mashed potato and herbs.

Chalow

Rice prepared in the Afghan manner, parboiled then cooked in an oven.

Dari (language)

Official language of Afghanistan derived from ancient Persian and similar to Farsi, the language of Iran.

Dogh

A yoghurt drink, often served chilled, with mint.

Gosh feil

Afghan ‘elephant ear’ biscuits, made with egg-dough and spices, sprinkled with crushed pistachio nuts.

Gundy tree

A type of wild olive tree.

Hazara

The third-largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, making up around twenty per cent of the population. It is widely accepted that their ancestors came from Mongolia in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries during the period of the Mongol Empire. The Hazaras are the most oppressed minority in Afghanistan, being Shi’a in a largely Sunni Muslim country and facing longstanding discrimination and persecution from other ethnic groups.

Hijra

The journey made by the Prophet Mohammed and his family to Medina in Saudi Arabia in the year 622 (Western calendar).

Husseiniya

A house designated as a mosque, often found in small villages in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Muslim Middle East.

Imam

A priest of the Islamic faith, usually of high standing.

Jihad

An Arabic word meaning ‘struggle’ or ‘strive’ and most commonly used amongst Muslims to mean ‘striving to practise one’s faith’. It can also mean struggling against enemies of Islam.

Kashk-e baadenjaan

The whey of cheese, used in many Middle Eastern dishes.

Khameerbob

An Afghan pasta dish.

Khan

A Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler.

Khoresht aaloo

An Iranian dish popular in Afghanistan made with chicken and prunes.

Koo-koo-yeh morgh

A chicken omelette.

Kuchi

A nomadic tribe that has traditionally travelled through parts of Afghanistan, often herding sheep and goats.

Lavash

Thin, flat bread, usually soft, popular throughout the Middle East and elsewhere.

Maghrib

Evening prayer for Muslims.

Mantu

Dumplings, sometimes savoury, originating in Armenia but widely enjoyed throughout the Middle East.

Mecca

A city in Saudi Arabia that houses a memorial to the Prophet Mohammed. The Grand Mosque is considered the most holy shrine of Islam.

Mujaheddin

Loosely aligned Afghan guerrilla groups, which came to prominence when they fought against the pro-Soviet Afghan government during the late 1970s. In 1979, when Soviet troops entered Afghanistan at the request of the Afghan government, the mujaheddin forces fought both the Russian and Afghan government troops with marked success. After the Soviet Union pulled out of the conflict in the late 1980s, the mujaheddin fought each other in the subsequent Afghan Civil War.

Mullah

A religious teacher or leader, trained in the doctrine and law of Islam; the head of a mosque.

Naan

A type of bread.

Palao

Any of many Afghan dishes served with rice cooked in a savoury broth.

Qabil palao

A rice dish made with mutton or lamb.

Qorma

A name given to any of a number of Afghan dishes of rice and meat.

Ramadan

The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which participating Muslims fast from dawn until sunset each day.

Rubab

A short-necked string instrument that has a deep resonant sound; similar to a lute, it is made of wood with a goatskin covering. The rubab (also ‘rabab’), sometimes considered the national instrument of Afghanistan, is often called the ‘lion’ of instruments; it has a double-chambered body carved from mulberry wood, three main strings and a plectrum made from ivory, bone or wood.

Russian invasion of Afghanistan

Fifty thousand Soviet military personnel entered Afghanistan in December 1979, at the request of that nation’s Marxist-Leninist government. Ten years of fighting between the Soviet armed forces and mujaheddin forces ended when the last Soviet troops withdrew in February 1989.

Sha’ban

The eighth month of the Islamic calendar.

She’er berinji

Afghan rice puddings.

Shadoof

An ancient device consisting of a bucket held by two ropes which, when swung, scoops water from one channel and deposits it in another; a man-powered water pump.

Shi’a

One of the two major branches of Islam – Sunni and Shi’a – which formed after a split in the early years of the faith, and based on fundamental differences in beliefs. At times, these differences have led to major conflicts between the followers of the two major branches of Islam. Shi’ites make up only about twenty per cent of Muslims worldwide.

Sunni

Numerically, the dominant Muslim denomination. The Hazara are Shi’a but the majority of the population of Afghanistan is Sunni.

Tambor

An ancient stringed instrument with a long slender neck. It is known throughout Central Asia and dates back to 1500 BC. Today it is mostly played in Afghanistan and Kurdistan to accompany popular music, but it was traditionally a holy instrument used by Sufi mystics and poets in Afghanistan.

Tamburlaine, or ‘Timur’, the Great

A warrior of Turco-Mongol ancestry, Tamburlaine established a vast Middle Eastern empire in the fourteenth century. Renowned for his savagery, he died in 1405, aged thirty-five.

Toichek

The most common sort of Afghan bed; consisting of blankets covering a thin mattress, the whole bed is designed to be packed away during daylight hours.

Tribes

The four major ethnic groups of Afghanistan are Pashtun, Uzbek, Tajik and Hazara. Uzbeks and Tajiks also have homelands outside Afghanistan, in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan respectively. Strictly speaking, each of these ethnic groups include up to seventy individual ‘tribes’.

Tula

Traditional Afghan musical instrument similar to a large recorder. It has six finger holes and is played by blowing into, or across, the mouthpiece.

Turbat

One of the names for the prayer rug on which Muslims kneel at times of prayer.

Wu’du

The ritually prescribed preparations for prayer amongst followers of Islam, and the sequence of actions carried out during prayer, including washing of parts of the body.