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Authentic Mastawa Recipe Afghanistan, Asia
JUMP TO RECIPEWe strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
The key ingredients of this winter rice dish from Afghanistan are lahndi meat, short-grain rice, chickpeas, qoroot, and seasonings like narenj peels, turmeric, garlic, dill, mint, and coriander. The dried meat, the garlic, the coriander, and the onions are first sautéed and then poured over with water and simmered until the meat has softened. The rice, which has been previously soaking for a few hours, is added next and the dish is cooked until the rice is done. Once the remaining ingredients are added, the pot is covered first with a cloth and then with a lid, and the dish is cooked on a very low temperature until done. Mastawa is typically served on one large plate to be portioned out at the table.
Cooking tips
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meat
The traditional choice is lahndi meat, but other kinds of Afghan dried meat like gosht-e-qaqh can be used as well. Since they might not be readily available in your area, you can use beef or lamb, preferably fattier, bone-in, cuts like the shoulder. Just remember that if going with raw meat, that you will have to cook it for longer. -
other ingredients
Avoid long-grain rice and always opt for a short-grain or a medium-grain one, which have more starch and will be soft and sticky when cooked. Mint is one of the seasonings in the dish, but dill is often used instead. In case you don't have narenj on hand, or it's hard to come by, you can use Seville orange instead. Just julienne the peel and blanch it in water for five minutes. And if you can't find ... Read more -
method
All recipes state that the rice should soak for a couple of hours before it’s added to the dish, while when it comes to garlic, they differ. Some add it at the beginning, and some fry it separately and add it to the dish during cooking. To cut on the preparation, you can use canned chickpeas and prepare the dish in a pressure cooker.
Mastawa
PREP 20min
COOK 1h
READY IN 1h 20min
This the traditional recipe for the Afghan mastawa. It calls for all the traditional ingredients — landhi meat, dried yogurt qoroot, chickpeas, and rice, plus herbs and seasonings.
Ingredients
3 cups medium grain rice
3 onions, chopped
2 lb lahndi meat (or lamb or beef)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp garlic
1 tsp dry mint
1 tsp coriander, ground
2-3 bouillon cubes
oil, for cooking
1/2 cup qoroot
1/2 cup chickpeas (pre-cooked)
peels of 2 narenj
5-6 hot peppers
Preparation
Step 1/6
Wash the rice three times in tepid water, then let it soak for three hours.
Step 2/6
Sauté the onions, the meat, the garlic, the salt, the bouillon cubes, and the coriander in either a large pot or a large pressure cooker for five minutes, then pour in four cups of water and simmer for 15 minutes until the meat has softened.
Step 3/6
Add the rice and pour enough water, so the rice is covered by 3-4 inches. Cover with the lid or seal the pressure cooker and cook until the water has been absorbed.
Step 4/6
Next, add the narenj and cook for five minutes, with the lid off.
Step 5/6
Then, stir in the qoroot, the mint, the turmeric, the hot peppers, and the chickpeas. Place a cloth or a towel over the pot, then cover with a lid and cook for 10-15 minutes, taking care to lower the heat to a minimum near the end.
Step 6/6
Transfer to a large plate and serve hot.
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