Afghan Garlic Recipes

Afghan cuisine — Kabuli pulao, mantu, bolani — fragrant, spiced dishes from the crossroads of Asia — brings its own distinctive techniques and seasonings to every ingredient it touches. When Afghan cooks work with garlic, they reach for its own regional aromatics, fats and signature spice blends, and the techniques that come up most across these recipes are simmering, frying, boiling and steaming.

The aromatic foundation of savoury cooking almost everywhere — pungent raw, sweet and mellow when cooked. In this collection it's most often cooked with fine sea salt, turmeric, ground coriander, onion, plain yogurt and dried mint. The dishes here span afghan classics ready in as little as 35 minutes to slower, more involved cooking that rewards a relaxed afternoon.