Arasta’s Kitchen brings to your table supreme culinary goodness from Afghanistan: food made with love and passion that is part of a cultural heritage with a history of more than 5,000 years.
Arasta’s Kitchen is a home-based catering and take-away business in the Diplomatic Quarter. Owner Arasta Harshoon’s food is made of the finest and freshest ingredients peppered with delectable seasonings, mild spices and flavors. One of Arasta’s specialties is the mantu (Afghan dumplings). It is one of the most popular dishes of Afghanistan. It is a meat-stuffed dumpling steamed in a traditional steam pot. In Arasta’s Kitchen, mantu is made from homemade dough and stuffed with delicious veal, onion garlic, and some spices. The mantu is then topped with tomato sauce and yoghurt and finally, garnished with fresh coriander. The mantu is a delicious dish that is easy to make. Don Arasta’s apron and follow her recipe to a great Afghan food:
Ingredients for Filling
- 2 cups of chopped onions
- 1 pound of ground beef (shank)
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic
- 2 teaspoon of coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of freshly-ground black pepper powder
Ingredients for Topping
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 3 tomatoes
- 2 teaspoon of Tomato Paste
- Cooking oil
Ingredients for Yogurt Dip
- 1 teaspoon of dried mint leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- Plain yoghurt
Steps:
- To make the filling, heat pan over medium heat and add garlic, ground beef, salt, and coriander. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the meat is cooked halfway. Add black pepper and remove from heat.
- Combine the meat and one cup of onions. Let it cool down to room temperature.
- To make the sauce, add oil, tomato, and garlic to a pan. Fry them for about 5 minutes. Add the salt and tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- To make the yogurt dip, combine all ingredients for dip in a bowl and mix well.
- To make the pastry, combine flour, salt and oil in a large mixing bowl and gradually add water while mixing with hands until it becomes doughy. Leave the dough to settle for 15–20 minutes or until it becomes firm.
- Separate the dough into small handfuls and roll into individual ball shapes.
- Scatter some flour on the bench surface and using a small rolling pin, cut the strips into 2-inch squares.
- Place approximately one tablespoon of the filling mixture into each sheet and wrap it to become a dumpling.
- Add the dumpling in the pot, cover lid and cook for approximately 45 minutes.
- When the dumplings have cooked, add a thin layer of the yogurt mixture to a large serving plate. Place the steamed dumplings on top.
- Pour some more of the yogurt mixture on top of the dumplings and coat everything with the the tomato sauce.
- Garnish it with fresh coriander and serve.
Arasta’s Kitchen
Diplomatic Quarter
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Contact Number: +966-59-557-2125
Email: arasta.harshoon@yahoo.com
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/arastaskitchen/
