Afghani Dining Experience

Afghani cuisine and cooking are very unfamiliar to me and represent a new experience. The lack of understanding of Middle Eastern culture has resulted in me not being naturally attracted to this kind of restaurant. My personal biases based on the impact of 9/11 and the wars and disruption in the Middle East have resulted in me inherently avoiding such restaurants. The Samira Restaurant is located in Bloomington on the north side of the town square and is considered the “home of fine Afghanistan cuisine” by its owner (“Welcome”, n.d.). The word samira, an Arabic name, has several traditional feminine meanings: “friend of the night”, “morning star”, or “pleasant companion” (“Samira”, n.d.). My Friday night at the restaurant was quite pleasant for me and my companion, my husband.

During my pre-visit research, I discovered Afghani cooking described as being “at the culinary crossroads of many cultures”: India, Mongolia, China, Persia, and the Middle East with different herbs, spices and recipes from these countries used in food preparation (Venkatraman, 2006). Meat is prominent, especially lamb and chicken. The Afghans eat native vegetables, cereals such as barley, wheat and especially basmati (long rice), dairy products like yogurt, nuts and fresh and dried fruits (“Cuisine”, 2008). Food is cooked and flavored with olive oil, seasonings and spices like “saffron, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, chilis, leeks, coriander, parsley, mint and black pepper . . . onion and tomato” (Mehta, 1990). Spices for flavoring are a key ingredient for cooking.

Cuisine plays “a very important role in Afghan culture” (Qazi, 2005). In Afghanistan, hospitality is revered and all guests are treated well at dinner. The dinner is traditionally served sitting on cushions on the floor of the living room or dining room, with a destarkhan (tablecloth) laid over a woven rug and the food, served in platters, pots and bowls, laid on the destarkhan (Venkatraman, 2006). Typically there are no eating utensils. Everyone eats with their right hand, which previously was ceremoniously washed (Mehta, 1990).

My expectation of the food and the ambience was quite different from the actual experience. I expected a Middle Eastern atmosphere and imagined a restaurant with woven rugs on the floor, teak furniture, brass accessories, seating on the floor and eating with my hands, and a strong smell of spices and smoke. There was an occasional woven rug hanging on the wall as artwork and a couple of brass pitchers as subtle decorations, but seating was at contemporary tables, with white linen tablecloths and napkins and normal cutlery. The air was fresh with inviting smells. As a first impression, it was obvious that a fine dining experience was ahead.

The menu was easy to read with the Afghani name of each dish and an English description. I advised our server, Erin, that it was our first time to experience Afghani food. She was very helpful and provided numerous suggestions, allowing us to experience a variety of different dishes. The first course was a complimentary, cold appetizer of grilled eggplant and carrot slices covered in olive oil and seasonings. This also included a basket of obi non bread, thicker than American bread, which could be immersed in the delicious olive oil from the appetizer. We had hot soup as a second course; one was a lentil soup with vegetables and a spicy tomato broth and the other a barley soup. The soups were aromatic, steaming hot and flavored with strong seasonings.

The next course was the namounaa (sampling) appetizer plate of four different warm dishes: kadu (baked butternut squash), sabzi (seasoned spinach), badenjan (spiced eggplant) and shalgham (baked turnips). It was a nice presentation and an interesting change in the way these steamed and baked vegetables were served. They varied between salty, spicy, tart and soft textures. The food was neither bland, nor spicy hot. It was quite tasteful and left the taste buds tingling. Though quite content, the main course was next to arrive.

We both ordered a combination meal for a diverse sampling, one a Rock Cornish hen and the other a lamb kebaab (skewer). Both meats were cooked to order and were very good, the lamb tasting much like steak. Side dishes included quabili (a seasoned basmati long rice topped with carrots, raisins, and tomato-onion sauce), manto (a steamed dumpling filled with seasoned ground beef and sautéed onion topped with tomato-onion sauce and spiced yogurt), and sambosa (layers of filo pastry filled with seasoned chicken or beef, onion, and served with a cilantro chutney). My favorite side dish was the quabili with its combination of flavors and textures, a rice dish which is Afghanistan’s most common national specialty (“Afghanistan”, n.d.). Rice dishes are “considered the best part of any [Afghani] meal” (“Cuisine”, 2008). We ordered a bottle of red wine with dinner, which seems very non-traditional for a Muslim restaurant and shows some American accommodation.

This fine dining experience was finished with coffee spiced with cardamom, its taste a bit heavier than American coffee. The owner, aware that we were first-timers and at the restaurant as part of a school cultural experience, was kind enough to drop by for a discussion, though the restaurant was bustling. He was proud that the restaurant was in its tenth year in Bloomington. After working in an Afghani restaurant in Indianapolis, he felt he could be successful starting a restaurant in Bloomington. He shared that the majority of his customers come from Indiana University: students for lunch, professors and graduate students at dinner and the remaining twenty percent are town visitors and residents.

My biases aside, the restaurant was elegant and the food delightfully tasteful and beautifully presented. I would enjoy the experience again.

References

Afghanistan food & dining. Retrieved January 26, 2008 from
http://iexplore.com/dmap/Afghanistan/Dining

(2008, January). Cuisine of afghanistan. Retrieved January 26, 2008 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Afghanistan

Mehta, Kavita. (1990). Dining in afghanistan. Retrieved January 26, 2008 from
http://www.ethnicfoodsco.com/Afghanistan/DinningEtiquette.htm

Mehta, Kavita. (1990). Afghani cuisine. Retrieved January 26, 2008 from
http://www.ethnicfoodsco.com/Afghanistan/AfghaniCuisine.htm

Qazi, Christi. (2007, June). Afghan cooking. Retrieved January 26, 2008 from
http://www.afghan-web.com/culture/cooking/

Samira. Retrieved January 26, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samira

Venkatraman, Vijaysree. (2006, December). Discovering afghan cuisine, a world away. Retrieved January 26, 2008 from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6578725

Welcome to samira’s restaurant. Retrieved January 26, 2008 from
http://www.samirarestaurant.com/

This blog entry is my response to Encounter Project One - Restaurant Visit.