Morsal taught me how to make Chai yesterday. She called it Chi Chai. Chai is my very favorite type of tea.

How to make Chai.

Put 1 inch of water in a pot and start warming up on stove.

Put 4 heaping tablespoons of sugar in.

Add 2 1/2 teaspoons Ceylon Tea (or other good black tea)

Fill pot rest of the way with milk.

Add a few pinches of fresh ground cardamon with “shells”.

Pour in a cup and drink! This recipes has floaties, so you can strain it if you want.

I really liked Pekoura when Maryam made it for me. Momma does not make it, because she does not deep fry many things. Morsal taught me how to make it her way. Yum!

How to make Pekoura

• 2 cups each of flour and corn meal
• Cumin Seed, Tumeric, Black Pepper and Fresh Cilantro to taste
• Scant tsp of garum masala
• Paprika for color 🙂
• Water
• Mix ingredients together to make a thick batter.

Slice up potatoes thinly, dunk in batter and then deep fry.

Eat warm. Maryam’s recipe was very different!

Also good with plain yogurt if you want.

Thank you Morsal for all the wonderful things you taught me how to make!

We are having a friend over. Morsal is teaching me how to make afghan food. Yesterday she taught me how to make Bulani.

Make a sticky white bread dough using 4 cups flour, salt, water and yeast. Let rise.

Meanwhile, boil 4 large unpeeled potatoes until soft. If the skin is thick, peel it first.

Thinly slice two onions optional (you can dice them smaller if you want). When potatoes are soft, mash into the onions. Season to taste using Garum Masala (spicy is better), cumin, pepper, cayenne pepper and fresh cilanto. Taste mixture and add more seasoning if needed.

Roll dough into thin circles.  Make sure they fit into the pan you will fry them in. Spread a little mixture thinly on half of each dough circle. Cover and seal well.

Fry each Bulani in a little oil until golden brown. eat warm!

You can also make this with whole or chopped green onions, but Morsal said most kids prefer the potato ones!

Another way to make Bulani is how Maryam taught me.

We made beef jerky for camp. Momma cut the meat and I did the rest. Daddy helped watch the dehydrator. This is the recipe we used.

Warning smell makes you very hungry!

• About 5 pounds of (Beef Loin) Top Sirloin Steak-with very little fat
• 1 1/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 6 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tsp onion powder

• 

• 2 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Trim as much fat as you can from steak. Cut into 1/4 to 3/8 inch slices across the grain. They will cut easier if partially frozen.
2. Place meat and remaining ingredients in a gallon size ziplock back.  Squish it all together and place in refrigerator.

   

3. After an hour or so, squish it all again. Do one or two times more. Let marinade at least 3  hours. We let it marinate all night.
4. When done marinading, lay meat strips in single layer on dehydrator rack. Keep space between meat to dry better.
5. Set dehydrator to 155 degrees and bake till dry.  Ours took 13 hours. Pat jerkey with clean paper towel several times to remove oil.
6. When fully dry, to absorb more oils and make longer shelf life, wrap in paper towels for a few hours before packing in a ziplock bag and enjoy!
7. Shelf life, 3 weeks at room temperature or keep in fridge or freezer for longer storage.

8. Eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9. I think this batch tasted great, but I would add more spice to the next batch to make it tangier.

Warning smell is  extremely appetizing!