Helmand Palace
So marks the beginning of what we're hoping to be a spectacular run of restaurants. The first spot in the A to Z dinner club series was a success. Tucked away at a busy intersection on Van Ness Avenue in Russian Hill, Helmand Palace treated us to remarkable food at surprisingly reasonable prices. For most of us, it was our first experience with Afghan cuisine and apparently our first geography lesson on Afghanistan (a number of us actually wondered whether or not Afghanistan was landlocked). Here's a quick Afghanistan geography question: what four countries ending in "stan" border Afghanistan: 1) Pakistan, 2) Turkmenistan, 3) Uzbekistan, and 4) Tajikistan. Who knew? And yes, Afghanistan is landlocked and aside from the "stans" listed above it borders China and Iran.
Now to the food. As with many other countries, Afghanistan was influenced heavily by its neighbors and by the fact that it lay in between important and ancient trade routes between Central Asia and India. As a result, Afghan food has strong ties with Persian, Mongolian, and Indian cuisines. Indian spices, Persian meats, mints, and subzi (spinach), and Mongolian noodles, are just a few examples of some of the things you'll find at an Afghan restaurant.
At Helmand Palace we were treated to a menu with a ton of options. So many options in fact that for a moment we were all caught too paralyzed to make a decision. Luckily, we had some Nan-e Afghani (Afghan bread) and tasty dips to hold us over while we decided. The strategy then became to simplify and select five dishes each representing one of the following: beef, chicken, lamb, vegetarian, and fish. The fish choice was easy (actually only two choices on the menu. Not much more you can expect from a landlocked country). We ordered the Quormay Ma-He, which is the fresh fish of the day, pan-fried and sauteed with ginger, garlic, sundried tomatoes, potatoes, peeled tomatoes, and spices. Yum! The dish was flaky, light, perfectly cooked with a beautiful blend of spices. A hit for sure and a top two candidate for the evening.
Next choice was vegetarian. The Kaddo was highly recommended by foodies and Afghan cuisine enthusiasts and it did not disappoint. The dish incorporates sweet, spicy (not spicy hot), and creamy characteristics and is made up of pan fried then baked baby pumpkin seasoned with sugar and served with garlic yogurt sauce (+ground beef sauce in the non-vegetarian version). This dish was spectacular and the #1 hit at Helmand. A website with a Kaddo recipe for those interested can be found here: http://mikes-table.themulligans.org/2007/11/07/kaddo-bourani/ (interestingly enough and totally random the site references Helmand's sister restaurant in Massachusetts).
Aside from these two favorites, other dishes ordered during the night included the Mourgh Challow (sauteed chicken breast with sauteed spinach and pallow), Dayjee Kabab (leg of lamb with yellow split peas, onion, red peppars, and vinegar) and the Chapendaz (beef tenderloin served on sauce of grilled tomato, cumin seeds, hot peppers, onion, and wheat barley).
Safe to say that our first stop on the A to Z train was a hit! Next up for B? Bolivian? Burmese? Brazilian? hmmm.... stay tuned.
Aside from these two favorites, other dishes ordered during the night included the Mourgh Challow (sauteed chicken breast with sauteed spinach and pallow), Dayjee Kabab (leg of lamb with yellow split peas, onion, red peppars, and vinegar) and the Chapendaz (beef tenderloin served on sauce of grilled tomato, cumin seeds, hot peppers, onion, and wheat barley).
Safe to say that our first stop on the A to Z train was a hit! Next up for B? Bolivian? Burmese? Brazilian? hmmm.... stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment