Project International Dish: Part 1

As I have mentioned previously I have decided to make the National dish from every country in the world. So I got a list of every country and decided that my first dish would be from the first country listed and the rest will arrive in a random fashion. I will be placing the names of every country on small pieces of paper and putting them in a shoe box...that way the countries will chosen at random. But for the first edition of Project International Dish we will begin with the National Dish of Afghanistan: Qabili Pilau.
(This dish will take 2 days to make)

Ingredients:

1 lb long grain rice, preferably Basmati

4 fl oz vegetable oil (this part I eyeballed with a big scoop of butter)

1 1/2 lb lamb on the bone (you should be able to purchase this at your local grocery)

3 large carrots

1 medium to large onion DICED(I like onions so I use the big ones)

4 oz seedless raisins (I prefer the golden because they are more authentic, but you can use the black ones if Golden's are unavailable)

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp cardamom

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp saffron (optional)(which is good because it is EXPENSIVE and hard to find...but I had to use it since I am going for authentic)


In a large pan put your oil (in my case oil and butter) and saute your onion. The recipe and style will require you to brown the onion slightly darker than you would for an American dish.


Once you have browned the onions add the lamb meat and cook on a medium heat (6 on my stove)until all sides are browned...this should take only a few minutes...you do not want to cook them all the way through.

At this juncture separate the lamb from the juice. Place both in separate containers and refrigerate overnight.
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Now, use your broth to make your rice. You may need to add water, but try not to use too much.




Next you will need to chop your carrots into matchstick size pieces.






Place your oil and the 1 tsp of sugar into a pan and saute/fry your carrots.
You will want to brown the carrots to look like french fires.





Once browned take out of grease and place on a napkin to soak up any excess grease.





Using the oil from your carrots begin to saute your golden raisins. They cook really fast and they only need to be in the pan long enough to plump.




Cut the lamb meat off the bones. Captive audience not required but does make the task more amusing.





Place the rice, carrots, raisins and meat into a casserole dish. Cover and bake at 300' for 45 minutes to 1 hour.







Wearing a cute or tasteless apron, Pull out of the oven. It is ready to go straight to the table.




Make sure your friend brings the Naan. Available at Trader Joes and Whole Foods.










Viola! You have Qabili Pilau!









To eat this properly use the Naan as a utensil and scoop. Bon Apetite!