Kabul Kabob Cuisine

Kabul Kabob is a family run business that serves fine Afgani cuisine. We invite you to explore our unique flavors. Try our lunch buffet served daily or join us for dinner!

Afghanistan’s Culinary Tradition

Afghanistan’s culinary tradition is as rich as its history. Ingredients from different cultures include spices, mint, yogurt and pasta.

Afghans rely on grain as the staple of their diet, using up to 20 varieties of rice. Other food basics include bread, cheese, eggs, mast ( a tart yogurt) nuts, (such as pistachio and almonds), numerous fruits and vegetables and tea. Afghans also use local meats, slaughtering livestock according to dietary law (Halal).

The vegetables used most commonly in various combinations include: carrots, raisins, spinach, eggplant, potatoes, and tomatoes. These are combined with lamb, chicken and beef. Afghans use fresh herbs, especially mint, to season their dishes, as well as spices such as garam, saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander and ginger. Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, green and red chilies are also used as seasoning.

Pallow, rice served with meat and vegetables, is common throughout the country. An important traditional dish is Kabulli Pallow, which includes chunks of lamb beneath brown rice, topped with carrot t strips, raisins, almonds and pistachios. Pallow and other meals are usually accompanied by yogurt, a mixture of marinated vegetables, torshi, and hot chili sauce.

Anther popular Afghan dish are kabobs, small cubes of meat skewered with vegetables such as onions and tomatoes and then grilled. Kofta Kabob includes minced meat ground with onions. Shami Kabob is made of minced rice mixed with mashed potatoes and raw egg.

Another popular dish, looks somewhat like Italian ravioli, is Aushak; scallion-filled dumplings, topped with yogurt meat sauce and mint. A similar dish is Mantu; dumpling filled with meat and onion.

Most meals are accompanied by bread and rice. Rice is usually served plain, though for more formal meals, it is cooked into a Pallow. The most common bread is naan; a flat, oblong bread made from whatever grain is available. Bread is traditionally baked daily in a clay pot buried in the ground over coals (a tandure) or on a heated stone.

Dessert often includes local fruit such as; melons, apples and apricots. A popular cooked dessert is Firni, a milk pudding topped with pistachios. When Afghans gather for meals, they wash their hands together and then sit on large cushions, share food from large ceramic platters placed on a cloth spread over carpet. Food is integral to the hospitality shown throughout Afghanistan. Guests are routinely offered tea and are given the best food when a meal is served, even if this means family members must go without.