This is the Cooking page.
Above is a list of every country in alphabetical order. I will be going through them all randomly, starting with Afghanistan, and reviewing each dish.
Afghanistan National Dish: Kabuli Pilaf: Rating: 9/10 Description: A meat, typically lamb, and rice dish, in which carrots, raisins, and various nuts and spices are sauteed, then steamed together and topped with caramel before being served mixed. For mine, I went with lamb, carrots, raisins, pistachios and almonds, and seasoned with turmeric, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, cumin, cinnamon, and saffron. Kabuli Pilaf: 300g lamb (I used bone in but up to you, I recommend lamb shoulder though for braising) 2 cups rice (Long grain basmati ideally) 3 medium carrots 3/4 cup raisins 1 tablespoon sliced pistachios 1 tablespoon sliced almonds 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 cup sugar, if desired 500 grams of onion 3 teaspoons of spice mix consisting of 0.5 tsp cumin powder, 0.5 tsp clove powder, 0.5 tsp nutmeg powder, 0.5 tsp cardamom powder, and 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tablespoon of thickly dissolved saffron, if desired Salt and oil as needed (I used ghee) Instructions: (OPTIONAL): Salt the meat in advance, at least an hour or overnight in the fridge if possible, will improve flavor and texture. (Research dry brining osmosis) 1. Slice the onion and fry in some oil until golden. Then add the turmeric and fry some more. Remove half of the hot onion and keep aside. 2. Add the meat, to the hot onion and fry on all sides, only until the meat changes color on the skin and the meat juices are collected. Add boiling water to half the height of the lamb then reduce the heat to low, close the lid of the container and let the meat cook for ~1hr. Add salt to it and let the meat cook ~30m until the juices are very reduced or completely collected. The meat should be fork tender. 3. While the meat is cooking, soak the rice in cold water and salt for 1hr or more. 4. After washing and peeling the carrots, slice them into thin slices. (I julienned them) 5. If your raisins are hard, soak them in warm water until they have rehydrated, then strain them. 6. Wash the sliced pistachios and almonds and put them in a strainer. 7. Add half of the hot onion that you removed to a frying pan. Place over medium heat and allow to return to the heat. Then add the sliced carrots and fry till carrots soften. 8. Add raisins, sliced almonds, and pistachios, sauté briefly, and then remove from heat. 9. Drain the rice. (OPTIONAL) 10. Caramelize the sugar. Place the sugar in a suitable container and place it on a very low heat without water. Let the sugar begin to melt. When most of the sugar has melted and its color is brown, use a wooden spoon to mix the sugar until the unmelted part dissolves into the melted part and you get a smooth caramel. At this point, remove the sugar from the heat. This is a long process and may take up to 45 minutes. Do not overmix as the sugar will crystalize and become too hard. Note: If caramelizing the sugar, its best to finish it before step 11 begins, so it has the full time to absorb the steam that will become relevant in the next step. 11. Pour a little oil into the bottom of a pot. Cover the bottom of the pot in rice, then layer lamb and your fried mixture, then your seasonings. Repeat this stack (rice,lamb,mixture,spice) until all ingredients have been used. Make sure the top layer is rice. Pour the melted saffron and leftover meat broth it was braised in over the rice. If desired, add caramel to the top. 12. Place the pan over high heat until the ingredients are steaming, then drop the heat, cover the pot, and simmer the rice ~1h.
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