by Katie Sullivan Morford
Photo 1 of 3
by Sarah Shatz
Photo 2 of 3
by Sarah Shatz
Photo 3 of 3
by Katie Sullivan Morford
A&M's Testing Notes:
Expand CollapseKatie Sullivan Morford's Notes:
Expand4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided Ask a question about this ingredient
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped Ask a question about this ingredient
2 cloves garlic, minced Ask a question about this ingredient
1 pound ground lamb Ask a question about this ingredient
1 cup tomato sauce Ask a question about this ingredient
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika Ask a question about this ingredient
1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander Ask a question about this ingredient
3 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper Ask a question about this ingredient
1 pound scallions, washed Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes Ask a question about this ingredient
1 package won ton wrappers Ask a question about this ingredient
1 teaspoon white vinegar Ask a question about this ingredient
1 cup plain, whole milk yogurt Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon dried, ground garlic Ask a question about this ingredient
1 tablespoon dried mint Ask a question about this ingredient
In a large pan, saute the chopped onion over medium heat in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté another minute. Add the lamb and sauté until cooked through, breaking it up like finely minced taco meat. Add the tomato sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, the paprika, coriander and black pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring regularly for 20 minutes. Set aside.
Ask a question about this stepWhile the meat is cooking, trim the root off the scallions and finely chop, using the entire onion (both white and dark green parts). A food processor is useful here. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and add the green onions, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the crushed red pepper. Turn heat to low and sauté until tender, 10 minutes. Set aside.
Ask a question about this stepTo assemble the dumplings, fill a small bowl with water and put it at your work station. Set a won ton wrapper on your work surface and dip your finger into the water. Moisten the edges along two connecting sides of the wrapper. The water will serve as glue for the dumpling. Put about a teaspoon of sauteed green onions in the center of the wrapper. Fold the dough in half over the green onion in the shape of a triangle. Use the tip of your finger to firmly press the edges of the dough together to form a tight seal. Next, lift the two longest points of the triangle and press them together, creating a little circle over the dumpling. It will look like a fancy napkin fold.
Ask a question about this stepWhile you are assembling the dumplings, bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Add the vinegar. Once all of the dumplings are done, immerse them in the water and boil according to directions on the won ton package (about 4 minutes).
Ask a question about this stepWhile the dumplings are boiling ,quickly make the yogurt sauce. Stir together the yogurt with the garlic and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt.
Ask a question about this stepGingerly scoop the cooked dumplings out of the water with a slotted spoon, a few at a time, and arrange on a large platter. Spoon the yogurt over the dumplings and the ground meat on top of that. Sprinkle with dried mint and serve immediately.
Ask a question about this stepJust made these this weekend, and they were amazing! My 1-year old was thrilled with the dumplings, while my husband liked the lamb the best. Thanks for a great recipe.
i made this this past week and am IN LOVE. we did a homemade tomato sauce and made it extra spicy... mmm! we also used greek yogurt, which i think gave it extra mph.
We made this last night, and it was fantastic. It was a huge hit with my husband, who is usually a pretty "selective" eater, and I also really enjoyed it. The green onion filling was a tiny bit too strong for my liking (again, though, my husband thought it was perfect), so I might cut it with something next time, but definitely a keeper. Thanks!
For sygyzy, the Helmand in Chicago serves "leak dumplings" (my favorite dish in the whole city) and they are mild and sweet. You might try leaks in place of scallions or half and half.
This is one of my favorite dishes that my Afghan sister-in-law makes except that she stuffs the dumplings with the meat and then just garnishes with the yogurt-sour cream garlic sauce….yummy!
made this for sunday dinner -- delicious!!!
Can't wait to try! I used to order this all the time at an Afghan restaurant that was on M Street in Gorgetown in the late '70s. I found a recipe, but it wasn't quite the same--maybe this will do the trick!
This was a great recipe! I can't wait to make it again.
I made this, substituting beef, and it's quite good but I had one issue with it. Is it just me or did anyone else feel that the filling (scallions/green onions) were very harsh in flavor. It's part of the onion family and as such reminded me of eating raw onions (like on a burger). I cooked it for over 10 minutes and it tasting like eating raw scallions. Very harsh. Anyone?
This was amazing. And I added some of the leftover garlic yogurt to my scrambled eggs this morning. Some of the best scrambled eggs I've ever made!
That's a wonderful recipe. I've saved it for reference, as I think it would make great 'bento box' lunch item packing the sauce in the little compartments and the dumplings and meat in main container for rewarming.
Congratulations, ladies, on such a lovely win!
Congratulations on this win and stellar recipe. Looking forward to making it.
Congratulations. A great recipe...which I'll have to try soon!
Huge congratulations! This is such a lovely dish! I have a feeling it will become a staple in this house.
Congratulations on your win, and for such a fabulous recipe. I found this week's contest so difficult as both dumplings really appealed to me. Can't wait to try them both, but will definitely start with your winner! - S
Thank you. This is actually a great one to do with your kids. It's one of my youngest daughter's favorites.
Katie
Congratulations! Will try this soon!
So exciting to see you two on here!!! Congrats!
Thanks CJ!
Congrats! beautiful dish--it looks lovely "deconstructed"...definitely harder to do than one would think. I may try this tomorrow, with some red swiss chard for greens--or other recommendations?
I would use tender spring onions since they are so delicious this time of year. It really is just a tiny bit of flavorful filling so you want to pack in some flavor. Good luck.
Katie
This sounds wonderful. I love the food from the Khyber Pass restaurant in the East Village, so I'm going to try this
this looks spectacular!
I'm so happy this is a finalist! I can't wait to give them a try.
The story behind your recipe is as lovely as it is.
Thank you...it really is fun to get together with friends and make these dumplings...and they are surprisingly easy to do.
Katie
Lovely lovely recipe.
I will certainly try this one. It sounds extremely interesting. Thanks for sharing it.
So excited this is a finalist! Contests!
These sound delicious! The only Afghan food that I have regularly is the guys at the farmers' market in the Bay Area who are selling their fabulous yogurt and sauces, and flatbreads.
Yes, they make delicious bolani. We have a recipe for that on our blog if you are interested.
Katie
Congratulations on being a finalist!!
Congrats on being a finalist! This sounds incredibly delicious!
I hope you will link your blog to your food 52 profile. I need to expand my understanding of Afghan food. My restaurant experiene, at Helmand in Cambridge, and other restaurants in Baltimore and Washington, have been a great pleasure.
I've heard good things about both of those restaurants. I just filled out our profile so you can get a link to to the blog.
Thanks
Katie
I follow your blog, and I LOVE this recipe! Qayum Karzai's restaurant, The Helmand, is just down the street from my house. He is my neighbor, and the brother of Afghani President Hamid Karzai. He also gave me his recipe for Kadu Borani - the sweet and savory pumpkin and yogurt dish that uses a similar meat sauce to Aushak . I'll be printing this out and putting it in my permanent file. Thank you!!
Thank you for your support.
Katie
I used to work at the Afghan Embassy in Washington DC and Ashak was my favorite (except for Orange Rice).... It is absolutely one of my VERY favorite foods in the whole world. Thank you so much... Now to go out and find ground lamb and I am off!!!!!
YUM! These sound amazing!
Lovely recipe!
Another one for the recipe box!
So glad to have this recipe - I am saving it to try soon. We have a local Afghan restaurant that we enjoy going to and this (and the mantu) are our favorites!
What wonderful flavors!!!
Aldo Sohm is the award-winning Chef Sommelier at Le Bernardin in NYC.
photo 1 of 29
Yogurt (we used whole milk Greek Fage), ground lamb, tomato sauce, onion, scallion, wonton wrapper, garlic, white vinegar, and a cadre of spices: garlic powder, paprika, dried mint, coriander. Mm.
photo 2 of 29
Look at us, all mise-en-placed!
photo 3 of 29
Right this way, onions. (No Amanda this week -- she's still in Rockville, Md. for the launch of Whole Foods Market Cooking -- but as you'll see later, Merrill has other friends around to lend a hand -- or four.)
photo 4 of 29
Some lovely local ground lamb joins the pan. Katie Morford says to break it up like taco meat, so we do.
photo 5 of 29
Next up -- tomato sauce (looking very Bolognese-y, right?).
photo 6 of 29
A shower of spices -- this is where it veers away from the Bolognese archetype.
photo 7 of 29
A mountain of scallions destined for filling.
photo 8 of 29
Merrill tackles the heap, cutting them into 3-inch lengths to get them ready for the food processor.
photo 9 of 29
Scallions, prepare to meet your maker.
photo 10 of 29
Keep a distance when you remove the lid -- otherwise you'll look like you've been watching The Age of Innocence instead of making dumplings.
photo 11 of 29
The paste gets cooked briefly to tame the scallions' bite.
photo 12 of 29
Another shower of salt and spice (red pepper flakes, to be exact).
photo 13 of 29
Christmas!
photo 14 of 29
Yogurt sauce -- just add garlic powder, salt and dried mint. Stir. Done. (Katie Morford actually has you keep the mint separate to sprinkle on at the end -- your call.)
photo 15 of 29
See?
photo 16 of 29
Jennifer jumps in to help Merrill with dumpling assembly.
photo 17 of 29
Using store-bought wonton wrappers helps speed up the process.
photo 18 of 29
Jennifer recruits Amanda's daughter Addie -- the more the merrier!
photo 19 of 29
Now, we'll let Addie show you how to make a dumpling. First, wet the edges with a little water so they'll seal.
photo 20 of 29
With your blob of filling in place, grab the far corner.
photo 21 of 29
Fold toward you.
photo 22 of 29
Seal the corner first.
photo 23 of 29
Then seal the whole dumpling by pressing along the edge.
photo 24 of 29
Bring the two far corners together, and pinch!
photo 25 of 29
Like folded dinner party napkins, ready to sink into a hot bath.
photo 26 of 29
As they cook, they'll bob to the surface.
photo 27 of 29
Fish them out with a slotted spoon and drain them briefly on a paper towel-lined plate.
photo 28 of 29
Almost dumpling time!
photo 29 of 29
This is a new family favorite. The only variation I've used, and it's amazing, is to substitute fresh mint for dried. I mince up a big handful of the fragrant herb and mix it into the yogurt with the garlic. This adds to the fresh, bold taste of the dish.