Food Connections - Afghanistan

After having explored the theme of commonalities of various languages, I am going to start writing about food influences. Afghani cuisine is fascinating to me because of the multiple influences it has undergone.

Afghani Cuisine

Afghanistan is situated at the meeting place of four major cultural areas: the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. Afghanistan was also a crossroads on the ancient Silk Routes connecting Europe with the Far East. This traffic brought many imported items such as Chinese tea and Indian spices, all of which have had a big effect on Afghan cuisine.

Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern, Persian, Central Asian, Indian and even Far Eastern foods and dishes bear similarities to Afghani cuisine.

This is probably because Afghanistan has been ruled by these following rulers at different points of time.

Alexander the Great (Greek)
Kanishka (India, Kushan dynasty)
The Ottoman Turks (Several attacks, never really ruled Afghanistan)
Nadir Shah Afsar (Persian)
Tamerlane/Timur Shah (Persian)
Genghis Khan (Mongol/Central Asian)
Babur (Indian/Mongol)
Sher Shah Suri (Indian)

The Far Eastern influence could have been because of travelers such as Marco Polo who traveled through the Silk Route from China.

Some popular Afghani dishes and their similarities

Yogurt Soup - Very similar to the cucumber raita of India and the cucumber yogurt salad of the middle east

Lentil Soup - The exact replica of the Indian dal

Kebabs - Popular in Persian, Greece, Lebanon, India. Spelt as kebabs, kababs, kabobs in different places. And if you really stretch your imagination, its similar to the Teriyaki Chicken of the Far East !

Cilantro Chutney - Pudina Chutney in India, Cucumber sauce in the Middle East

Pilaf - Biryani/Pulao in India, Pilaf in Russia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

Interesting right ?!
Thai Cuisine is tomorrow ......