Kofta Ketchaloo

This is my version of a typical Afghan dish called Kofta Ketchaloo. It's meatballs and potatoes. As in my previous post, the meatballs can be made however you like, I use only Beef, Egg, Oatmeal, Salt, Pepper, Cumin, and Coriander. Brown the onions, garlic, and pepper, add a tiny pinch of tumeric and paprika, add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, potatoes and meatballs to sauce and simmer.

Onion
Garlic
Green Pepper
Tumeric
Paprika
Cumin
Coriander
Crushed Tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Quartered Potatoes
Meatballs (see above for ingredients)

Cilantro Salad

Pretty much the standard way I make salad every time, depending on what I have in the house. Lime or Lemon can be added, dill instead of cilantro, etc.

Cucumber
Tomato
Scallions
Onion
Cilantro
Salt / Pepper
Vinegar
Olive Oil

Meatballs and Garbanzos

This is essentially chicken soup with meatballs and garbanzos. I had been wanting to try it out for a while and it worked out great. Any meatballs would be fine. I made mine with my mother's recipe that she uses for Afghan food:

1lb Beef
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Oatmeal (or bread crumbs)
Salt and Pepper
Coriander
Garlic

Cook the meat balls with the soup:

Garbanzos
Chicken Stock
Chopped Carrot
Diced Tomato
Onion
Green Pepper
Garlic
Bay Leaf

Beef Heart with Onions

This was not very good but I am adding it just so I remember I actually ate it! I had some leftover beef heart from a friends BBQ that I couldn't let go to waste so I sauteed it up with onions, garlic, and some tumeric. Pretty bad.

Garbanzo Rowley

Definitely one of my favorite foods in the world: garbanzo beans. This would be great over rice too but usually I eat it alone. This one I made using a little more of a tomato base than I normally do and it was great. Other times I leave the tomato out and add a little tumeric or Goya Sazon con Azafran and it gives it a nice yellow color and a little different taste. Also, I cook the meat in the pressure cooker with the onions and garlic first for about 8 minutes to make sure it is tender enough and then I add the beans and the rest of the ingredients:

Garbanzo Beans
Your Meat of Choice (just about any stew meat or bone cut will be great)
Green Pepper
Onion
Garlic
One Tomato
1/4 Chopped Carrot
Tomato Paste
Chicken Stock
Cumin
Bay Leaf
Salt

Pasta Averill w/ Feta

So. Here is the first entry. With the first dish. Pasta Averill. Named after the street I first created it on: Averill Ave. It is a great, light, cold pasta dish for the summertime. Usually I find I need more of everything in it than I thought (except for the penne). It's also best to mix it up and let it sit for a while so the onion, garlic, and herbs sit with the oil and make a nice dressing. Sometimes I will add a little splash of water at the end if it seems dry. Here's what goes in it:

Whole Wheat Penne
Fresh Diced Tomato
Handful Chopped Italian Parsley
Handful Chopped Cilantro
Finely Chopped Onion (tablespoon or so)
Generous Amount of Olive Oil
Salt
Quarter Clove of Very Fine Crushed/Chopped Raw Garlic
Crumbled Feta Cheese