I thought I would take a little break from all of the wedding images and give you a peek at some food. I recently decided to start a project wherein I pick a country at random and try to find traditional recipes from the area. I then attempt to cook the recipes that look the most interesting. This is a project that will take forever to finish, but it is fun to work on. I haven't really decided to set any sort of time line for myself, but it is something that will probably sneak into the blog from time to time. If you have any traditional recipes that you think will fit into my little project, please leave a comment. I would love to try your recipe!
I love heirloom tomatoes. They are so beautiful and have so much more character than the boring old hothouse tomatoes that are in all of the supermarkets. They never have the same shape and the colors vary from red to orange, yellow and green. And don't even get me started on the flavor... oh the sweet flavor of a fresh heirloom tomato. Delicious.
Afghanistan was the first country that I choose. Naturally, It is the first county alphabetically. I know, random. Anyway, I chose several recipes to make, but the one I chose to photograph was a yogurt soup. The other option was basically meat on a stick, which is drastically less beautiful to photograph. And I figured I should get all of the photographs of my precious heirloom tomatoes while they are still around.
And now for the Recipe:
Afghan Yogurt Soup with Tomatoes (Sherwa-e-Lawang)
Ingredients:
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 4 Tablespoons ghee (I used olive oil)
- 3 Medium tomatoes, skinned and chopped (I was too lazy to skin them but realized after that I should have)
- 16 oz. yogurt (I use bulgarian)
- 2 tb all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- salt to taste
Method:
Drain yogurt in cheesecloth or muslin bag for about an hour. This is called 'chaka' in Afghanistan and is preferred for use in cooking because it avoids imparting any acid or sour taste which the whey in ordinary yogurt can give to a dish.
Fry the garlic in the margarine or ghee until brown. Add the tomatoes and stir and fry until reddish-brown.
Blend the strained yogurt, 1 cup water, the flour, turmeric and salt, either by hand or in a mixer. Then slowly add to the garlic and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer gently until the soup s thickened, about 30 minutes.
Serves: 3 - 4
I thought it was pretty good. Definitely peel the tomatoes, I had funny chucks of tomato skin floating around in my soup. All in all though, not bad.
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This is such a cool idea -- looks yum!
(11.30.09)Tx for the recipe Sara, looks wonderful, I will make it this week!
(11.30.09)What a wonderful idea, Sarah! I too am braving the fine world of cooking myself and experimenting with recipes. Thank you for sharing this recipe; Robert has been interested in trying Afghan food and this looks like a great place to start.
(11.30.09)What a wonderful idea, Sarah! I too am braving the fine world of cooking myself and experimenting with recipes. Thank you for sharing this recipe; Robert has been interested in trying Afghan food and this looks like a great place to start.
(11.30.09)Very cool! I am going to send you some yummy Malaysian recipes for when you get down to letter "M"! :)
(11.30.09)Thank you! I am enjoying every bite! And Sue.... don't wait until I get to M, send them now!!
(11.30.09)