ashak
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Ashak is a traditional Afghan dish primarily made of pasta dumplings filled with leeks or scallions. It is often topped with a tomato-based sauce and yogurt or garlic mint sauce, and garnished with dried or ground mint and sometimes ground meat. The dish is usually served during special occasions like Nowruz, the Persian New Year. The vegetarian version of Ashak is particularly popular in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
Recipe
Ingredients:
For Ashak:
2 bunches of leeks or green onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 package of wonton wrappers
For Tomato Meat Sauce:
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of tomato paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
For Yogurt Sauce:
2 cups plain yogurt
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp salt
Instructions:
Start by washing and finely chopping the leeks or green onions.
In a pan, sauté the leeks with garlic, salt, and pepper until they are soft. Set aside to cool.
Once the leek mixture is cool, place a spoonful onto each wonton wrapper and fold according to package instructions.
Boil the dumplings in salted water until they float to the top, then drain.
While the dumplings are boiling, start on the meat sauce. Finely chop the onion and garlic and sauté in a pan until soft.
Add the ground beef to the pan and cook until browned.
Add the tomato paste, turmeric, salt, and pepper to the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
For the yogurt sauce, combine the yogurt, garlic, dried mint, and salt in a bowl and mix well.
To serve, place a layer of yogurt sauce on a plate, top with a layer of dumplings, and then a layer of meat sauce. Repeat until all ingredients are used.