AFGHANISTAN: Aushak
Servings
24 dumplings
Ready In:
2h
Good For:
Side Dish or Main Dish
Introduction
About this Recipe
By: Sameera Ibrahimi
Aushak are dumplings filled with gandana, which is a kind of leek grown in Afghanistan. It can be hard to find in the US, but you can get it from WFH Market in the Strip. If you can’t find gandana, you could try it with leeks or chives but it is not quite the same.
This recipe for aushak was taught by Sameera Ibrahimi, who is a fantastic Afghan cook.
Ingredients
Filling:
- Large bunch gandana
- Bunch cilantro
- 1 spoon salt
- 1 spoon black pepper
- 1 spoon coriander powder
- 1 small spoon red chili pepper
- 2 spoon oil
Dough
- 2 cups All purpose flour (plus more as needed)
- Salt as needed
- 1 cup water
Yogurt topping:
- Chaka (a strained yogurt- you can substitute greek yogurt if needed)
- Add salt, some water as needed to make a thin sauce
Sauce:
- 1 cup Vegetable oil
- Half Onion
- 2 medium Tomato
- 1 cup Split pea
Instructions
For filling
Remove ends of gandana, separate stalks. Finely chop.
Chop whole cilantro stalks. Combine, rinse, and drain.
Mix salt into gandana and cilantro. Mix, rub together. Add oil. Mix well by hand. Add spices. Mix by hand.
For dough
Combine salt, water, and flour in a bowl and mix together into a dough. Add more flour as needed to form a dough. Kneed. It should be a tough, thick dough, firmer than bread dough. Add flour and water as needed. The dough shouldn’t be too sticky. Form ball, place in bowl and cover tightly with plastic bag.
Fill a large pot with water. Cover. Put the stove on medium with 1 spoon of salt.
Separate half of the dough. Form into a ball and roll in flour. Pat into a circle. Roll out. Use smaller pin to roll up at one end. Use hands while rolling to spread dough thinner on pin. (see video for method) Repeat on each side until very thin, can see through. Fold into a long rectangle. Slice into squares, unfold into strips. Stack. Slice into small squares.
Flour tray. Take a square of dough. Take a pinch of filling. Place in the center. Fold square in half. Seal the edges. Fold in half, the bring the ends around to meet each other, forming a circle (see video above for process).
Put aushak in water and boil on high for 5-10 min.
For yogurt filling
Add water to chaka (or strained yogurt) as needed until the consistency is thin. Add salt to taste.
For sauce
Put oil, saute onion, add salt to taste.
Add tomato. Cook until the water is gone
Add split peas. Cook for 5 minutes in a pressure cooker.
To assemble the dish
Place a scoop of yogurt on a large platter.
Remove the aushak from the water and add to the platter.
Add yogurt on top. Add sauce on top of that.
Top with some chopped mint. Chili garlic sauce optional.
See photos below for process.
