taste

I have visited Kabul in Afghanistan twice. Once in summer (August) and once during winter (February). Mountains and hills are all around Kabul, you cannot miss them from any point in the city. A lot of houses in the city are on the small hills at the periphery and at the centre as I could see.

Kabul street view, note the snow capped mountains in the background

At the time of my visit (c. 2018-19) Afghanistan was Governed by the Ghani government and it was relatively peaceful. There were a lot of apprehensions about our security during our visit to Kabul for about 3 weeks. Not so much about the attacks by the militants, but the kidnappings of foreign nationals for ransom within the city by mafia. I was going alone, the first one to reach there, with one of my colleagues joining me several hours later. We were given a bullet/explosion proof land cruiser for our journey across the city. Each day and each journey was a new route through new neighbourhoods. This way I explored Kabul a little, though through sitting inside a vehicle. All the photos I collected are through our vehicle, resulting in mostly street photography. Thus my experience as a traveller in Kabul was fully “insulated”.

Kabul city scape in summer, note the mountains in the background, compare them with the winter photo when they become snowcapped.

The visa was given gratis from the Afghan embassy in Mumbai situated in a bungalow on Walkeshwar Road. Anyways, after an uneventful flight from Delhi, with stunning views of Hindu Kush on the way, I was finally in Kabul. The airport luggage collection was a huge mess, as Kabul airport is not very big. The rush there was immense, but I could get to my bags. I could not get the FRO registration done at the airport as the officer was not there, for which I had to go to another day to an police office in the city (but that is another story).

I saw some very humane and amazing murals with messages on the walls. I think they must have been removed by now

As Indians, wherever little we went, there was a genuine warmth and respect shown by the Afghans from all walks of life. They really considered India and Indians as their true friends. Hindi/Urdu was spoken by almost all, an influence of the Bollywood and Indian soap operas. My students knew that (Tulsi Virani was the MHRD Minister of India!). My heart goes out to the teachers who attended our courses, and I hope that they are safe and doing well. It would be great to know how they are doing now…

A snowy experience

The snow in Kabul is a very regular. They told me that it is often used as phrase to say something is very regular “as regular as the snow in Kabul”. Kabul in winter was like a dreamscape. I had never seen snow in person in real life. So this was my first snowfall! It really makes the landscape so beautiful and serene. Some of the scenes, especially of a early morning snow covering everything I recall everytime I think of Kabul. You can see the fort of Kolola Pushta in the background.

The same view in Summer

Though due to our security concerns we could not visit the market areas or restaurants of city per se, we could not visit city at large though I wanted to. We stayed in a very secure compound in the heart of Kabul in the area of Shahr-e-Naw very close to a fine departmental store Finest Supermarket. I did all my shopping there, though my desire to wander and shop through the bazaars of Kabul remains.

Something about the food

They say the best way to experience a new culture is to experience their food. I did, but in a limited way. Our personal Afghan cook at did cook us a variety of delicacies for us everyday. Though the bread/naan is always from the neighbourhood bakery called the naanbai. This was a revealation for Ajayji who had read about them but had never seen them. Across Kabul whereever we went there were two shops ever present: a naanbai and a meat shop. Vegetable shops were there but they were not that common, though I saw a few bazaars for vegetables and fruits. Everywhere we went there were roadside stalls selling fruits and dryfruits.

A bucket list item!

On our compound there were several fruit trees including pears, peaches, pomegranates, grape vines and apples . During my summer visit, I could tick off one item from by bucket list. To pluck an apple from an apple tree and eat it. Though it was not fully ripe, the tick off was done!

A bucket list item: me picking an apple from an apple tree

Dry fruits

Afghanistan is famously known for its dry fruits. Almonds, raisins, apricots, pistachio, prunes, cherries figs among other things. I got a few of them at the Finest departmental store, though I would have definitely liked to visit the Kabul’s dry fruit markets. Other thing that has been grown, suited to climate of Afghanistan is saffron. I got some Saffron grown in Herat as a gift and I purchased some of it. Saffron is quite cheap as compared to India (~ 500 INR for 5 grams). Again I regret not taking photos of dry fruit stores in the market filled to the ceilings with variety of dry fruits.

The other dry fruit worth mentioning, primarily I have not found it anywhere else, is the dried mulberry. The Afghans call it tut, perhaps after shahtut the urdu/persian word for mulberries. The dried mulberry comes in two varieties white and black (the white one being slightly expensive). This has a very different and subtle taste profile, the sweetness the melts in your mouth.

I was gifted the mamra almonds by one of the students from his farm. He came from a Northern province on Tajik border. But otherwise too the almonds are quite cheap. The raisins are in a variety and quality that we don’t get in India. They also have the grapes preserved inside a mud container which creates a unique flavour, though I saw these at Finest but did not puchase them. I came to know about them only later.

The peach of Kabul

Just like the dry fruits, there are lot of options for fresh fruits as well. The road-side stalls as well as early morning transport of fruits to distant parts of the city was testimony to this.

But the pinnacle of my trip to Kabul which will remain in my memory as long as I live is a peach that I ate there. We had a personal cook for us who would cook our breakfast and dinner in the compound. I like to eat fruits a lot, so on our request he used to keep fruits for us to eat in the pantry. During my summer visit on one of the occasions our cook brought peaches along with usual apples and tangerines. Now this peach was almost size of my fist, the peaches you get in India are almost half the size. And it had a pretty pink-red-orange-yellow colour. When I sniffed it, an absolutely fantastic aroma indicating the fruit was ripe and ready to eat. As I cut the fruit with my trusted Swiss knife of several years, the juices seeped through the cuts in its peach coloured flesh. As I cut close to the seed lodged in the middle, there was a colour change. A deep deep red emanating from the seed spread to the peach coloured flesh of the fruit. These dark colours the peach and the red were an absolute contrast and a sight to behold. It was as if I was looking at a work of art.

As I took the first bite of that fleshy peach, I was thrown total aback. The taste of the peach when it hit my taste buds, it gave me sensations that cannot be described in words. Its almost after five years that I am writing this, but the taste of that peach is still very much with me. The peach exploded flavours in my mouth which I had never experienced in my life. This was along with that sweet aroma that comes from perfectly ripe fruits. My body had a sensory overflow just from that one bite! I almost had an orgasm (foodgasm!?¿) after that first bite! Oooff! That was some taste. I tasted that peach leisurely extracting flavours, tastes and textures. I never knew something could taste that good…

Unfortunately I do not have a photo of the peach, perhaps it belongs to my memories only … Perhaps that is why Babur longed for fruits from Afghanistan when he was in India

We asked the cook to get more peaches like these. He got us peaches the next few days, but they were never as good as the first one. I am not sure given the current situation in Afghanistan that I would be able to visit it anytime soon. But I am still looking for that tasty peach, my senses still searching for that aroma and juices and taste. Perhaps one day, I will be able to go back to Kabul and relish that taste again…

We generally associate cooking with its product – the edible food it produce. But here I would like to reflect on the process of cooking. For me, personally, cooking is a stress relieving exercise. The final product is one of the components not the only one. What makes great food great is not only the product, but the process – how well the cook has balanced the flavours, the textures and aromas. And this is something that the cook savours. For a good cook the best satisfaction comes from the orgasmic faces that eating the food brings out….
So let us look at what are various steps in the process.

Deciding what to cook?

This can be a major challenge sometimes, especially when you have abundant ingredients at your disposal. But if you have limited ingredients the kind of food that you can cook is obviously limited. You cannot make a chicken-noodle soup if you don’t have chicken and noodles, rest of the ingredients are optional in way.

Gathering the ingredients

This I think is one of the feel good parts for me. Getting all the ingredients ready, washing and cleaning them. This also creates a sense of what will be the output. One can visualise the metamorphosis of the raw elements to something well cooked – how their colour, flavour and texture will change during the cooking. When you look at cooking as a process, a lot of imagination has to be therein you as a cook

The Spices and flavours

The natural flavours in the food are sometimes too bland or we need to temper them to suit our palate. Different cuisines uses different spices and herbs to make the food relishable. Lot of powders or different spices are used, while in some cases whole spices are used. The ginger garlic paste is another basic ingredient in many cuisines. And finally salt. Almost no dishes are made without salt. Put too little or none it becomes bland or tasteless, put a bit too much and it becomes salty!
The plate below has onion cut very finely, coriander cut, ginger garlic thick paste, black pepper powder, salt, paprika, chilly powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder.

The garam masala is another quintessential routine for much of indian cooking.You can make one yourself easily.

Pepper and chillies of various kinds are used to add fire to the food. Choose yours wisely.

Fresh or dried herbs are a also used to give the required zest. Basil is the best!

The Cutting Board

I prefer wooden cutting board. It is easy on the knives and it feels good to cut on it.
Mincing an onion in little pieces with a knofe which obeys and performs with movement of your hands is one of best experiences.

Though onion can be cut in several ways, depending on what you are trying to make it taste like…

A baby cabbage is one of the most wonderful things to cut. To see the internal structure of the cabbage and you know it is going to be a nice dish..

Halving mushrooms or slicing them is therapeutic in itself. You feel victorious after halving a packet of them. You feel something has been achieved for the day.

The cutting tools – the knives – are a separate topic in themselves and deserve their own separate post.. But as they say a good chef will not trade the knives with (think of something which rhymes with knives)…

Setting the stage

Once the ingredients are ready, cleaned and cut, our next step begins. This is the preparation for. the final act of cooking itself. It may be mixing things, marinating them or mashing them up.

putting the chicken on the spikes and put on fire test

and see the marinated raw chicken metamorphise to chicken malai kabab

The Cooking Medium

Each dish has to be cooked in the media it is meant to be cooked with. Depending on the cuisine it can be groundnut oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, butter, olive oil, sesame oil, ghee or lard. Each medium will give its unique flavour and aroma to the food. And some dishes don’t taste the same or even taste awful when not cooked in the preferred media.
When you add the masala to the medium, the way it releases its colours and aromas is something that I admire. The aroma of onions getting cooked in pure ghee… yum.. ir garlic getting cooked in olive oil…

The Cooking Vessel

Over last couple of years I have been introduced to cast iron vessels for cooking and I am not going back. I have already planned not to purchase any non-stick ones in the future. It is cast iron all the way now.

The Order of Things

When the medium is hot enough you start to add things. In the order, sometimes you change the ordery you get good result, or it is a fiasco. I think new dishes were discovered in this way. When you go outside the cookbook and try something new, many times it might be a failure, but at times you will be rewarded with great new dishes.
For example, you would want to make the flour ready for making roties or bread before you want to make them,

vegetable roast in the oven – do we add herbs and spices first or later?

The Aromas

You know you have a great dish incoming when the dish starts to release its aroma. You might now smell it if you are too close to a dish while cooking, go to a different room and come abck you will know its a good dish cooking. A good aroma also creates a sense of mystery and longing for the dish, it stirs up appetites.

Unfortunately our science of smell is not that well developed so I cannot make you experience the aromas – but use your imagination..

The Colours and texture

The colours in the food make it attractive. A dull coloured food will be not that attractive. That is reason we find salads so much attractive!

colourful salad – with texture and taste

colourful salad – with texture and taste and hummus

The Presentation

As we approach the final stages of cooking the presentation of the food is the final frontier. No matter how well you have cooked it, if the food is not presented well, well it loses it’s charm, though it might be still edible..

hummus, pita bread, couscous salad, pickles

ghee rice with dry fruits and caramelized onions

pork pandi curry aka coorg pork with naan and curd salad (raita)

boiled eggs with paprika and fresh coriander

The Taste

The real satisfaction to a cook comes from the pleasure that other find in eating the food that has been cooked. It pays of all the effort that was put in process, while the product is something akin to the metaphorical tip of the iceberg..

It is always joyful to cook for others than cooking alone for yourself. It helps you relax as you order the seemingly raw ingredients into a masterful recipe full of flavour, aroma and texture. Rightfully done cooking is the most therapeutic exercise for your troubled soul. It is perhaps this reason that mothers while cooking the food want you to eat more and more…

Temet Nosce

Know Thyself Too…

The Peach from Kabul