Last month I floated the idea of trying cuisines from all 195 countries in alphabetical order. And I’m happy to say that Maru and I have decided to try it. Assuming we stay in London, we figure it’ll take us around 4 years or so to get through the entire list.
First up was Afghanistan, and we tried Ariana II in Kilburn. We ordered aushak for our starter which is an Afghan version of dumplings typically containing leeks and scallions. The texture and filling were both great and I especially liked the yoghurt sauce.
For our mains we shared a Kabuli pulao with a lamb kofta kebab and chicken curry. The pulao is Afghanistan’s national dish and is comprised of steamed rice, caramelised carrots, and raisins. The rice paired really well with the lamb and curry.
We played Afghan folk music whilst we read up on the country. It was nice to learn about attributes that don’t get covered in the often negative news cycles. For example, neither Maru nor I knew the main languages were Dari and Pashto, nor did we know that it is home to the oldest oil paintings in the world.
Next up, Albania!
Note: I’m also testing to see if writing about each cuisine adventure is something I want to do. I haven’t written about food before, and I don’t want to resort to just saying everything is “delicious”. We’ll keep up the project, but let me know if you find anything about this post particularly interesting!