🍛
✨ Newdinner
Kabuli Pulao
Afghanistan's celebrated national dish — long-grain rice cooked in spiced lamb broth, crowned with caramelised carrots, plump raisins, and tender braised lamb.
⏱ 150 min🔥 720 kcalHard
★4.9(512)
12 recipes using lamb — Kabuli pulao, mantu, bolani — fragrant, spiced dishes from the crossroads of Asia.
These 12 afghan lamb recipes are ready in about 130 minutes on average, with 420–820 kcal per serving, and 17% are rated easy enough for a weeknight. Every recipe includes exact ingredient quantities, step-by-step instructions and full nutrition per serving.
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 lamb, they reach for its own regional aromatics, fats and signature spice blends, and the techniques that come up most across these recipes are simmering, boiling, frying and steaming.
A tender, distinctively rich red meat at home in fragrant, spice-forward and slow-cooked dishes. In this collection it's most often cooked with ground coriander, raisins, turmeric, ground cumin, onions and garlic. The dishes here span afghan classics ready in as little as 90 minutes to slower, more involved cooking that rewards a relaxed afternoon.
Reader favourite: Ashak — Afghan Leek Dumplings is the highest-rated dish in this collection at 4.9★ from 1,654 ratings.
Afghanistan's celebrated national dish — long-grain rice cooked in spiced lamb broth, crowned with caramelised carrots, plump raisins, and tender braised lamb.
Delicate Afghan steamed dumplings filled with spiced minced lamb and onion, served on a bed of garlicky yogurt and tomato sauce — a celebration dish of exquisite flavour.
A fragrant Afghan lamb stew cooked down with spinach, leeks, coriander and dried fenugreek leaves until deeply green and intensely flavoured.
Delicate Afghan dumplings filled with spiced leek and spring onion, served on a bed of yoghurt and topped with a rich lamb and tomato sauce and dried mint.
Afghanistan's celebrated steamed dumplings — delicate pasta parcels filled with spiced minced beef and onion, served on a bed of yogurt and topped with a rich tomato-chickpea sauce.
Afghanistan's national rice dish — a fragrant lamb pilaf topped with caramelized carrots, raisins, and toasted almonds, the crowning achievement of Afghan cuisine.
Delicate Afghan dumplings filled with scallions and leeks, topped with meat sauce and yogurt.
Afghanistan's national dish — fragrant lamb rice with caramelized carrots, raisins, and whole spices.
Afghanistan's national dish and crowning glory — tender lamb braised in aromatic spices, served on a mound of fragrant rice studded with sweet carrots and plump raisins.
Afghanistan's essential everyday soup — bone-in lamb and chickpeas simmered in a fragrant tomato and vegetable broth with turmeric, coriander and cinnamon. Ladled over flatbread for a complete meal.
Afghanistan's national dish — fragrant long-grain rice steamed over lamb shanks, crowned with caramelised carrots, raisins, and pistachios.
Afghanistan's celebration dumpling: paper-thin pasta filled with sautéed leeks, topped with garlic yoghurt and spiced lamb sauce.
Look for firm, pink-red meat with white (not yellow) fat. Quick cuts: chops and rack; slow cuts: shoulder, shank and leg for braising and roasting.
Lamb loves bold seasoning — garlic, rosemary, cumin and mint cut through its richness. Trim excess fat, and rest after cooking as you would beef.
Best served pink at 55–60°C / 130–140°F for chops and racks; tougher cuts go low and slow until meltingly tender.
Rich in complete protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins, with more flavour-carrying fat than lean beef.
Most of these 12 Afghan lamb recipes are ready in around 130 minutes from start to finish. The quickest, Afghan Aushak (Leek Dumplings), takes about 90 minutes, while the slower-cooked dishes run up to 180 minutes.
Across this collection they range from about 420 to 820 kcal per serving, averaging 593 kcal — Afghan Aushak (Leek Dumplings) is the lightest option at 420 kcal.
Korma Sabzi — Afghan Spinach and Lamb is a great place to start — it's rated easy and comes together in about 110 minutes. 17% of the recipes here are beginner-friendly.
In these recipes, lamb is most often paired with ground coriander, raisins, turmeric, ground cumin, onions and garlic. Afghan kitchens also lean on its own regional aromatics, fats and signature spice blends.
Best served pink at 55–60°C / 130–140°F for chops and racks; tougher cuts go low and slow until meltingly tender.