There are very few restaurants in the Chicago area focusing on the food of Afghanistan. But one spot in Evanston has been cooking those traditional dishes for almost 25 years. NBC Chicago’s Steve Dolinsky takes a look inside.
There are very few restaurants in the Chicago area focusing on the food of Afghanistan. But one spot in Evanston has been cooking those traditional dishes for almost 25 years.
The children of the restaurant’s founder are now in charge, and while the dishes haven’t changed much, he said the menu offers large groups a chance to eat together.
The ancient Silk Road wound its way through Afghanistan, bringing the flavors of Persia, Mongolia and India to the table. Those spices and techniques found their way into the kitchen, which results in some seriously delicious dishes.
Just because you see hummus, doesn’t mean it’s a Middle Eastern kitchen.
And a brightly colored salad of chopped tomatoes, onions and parsley could come from any number of countries. Rice? That’s Asian or Persian, right? The great thing about food from Afghanistan – which has been the mantra at Evanston’s Kabul House since 2001 – is that it borrows from several countries.
“I like to look at it as a fusion in that part of the world, because of the Silk Route. There’s a lot of influences from a lot of different countries. The main difference with us is how we marinate our food, and the different types of spices that we use,” said Akmal Qazi, owner of Kabul House.
A simple starter is their homemade yogurt, called chakka.
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“It’s actually strained yogurt – and we mix it with a little bit of garlic and a little bit of mint,” he said.
Borani Banjan is a popular eggplant dish, first fried…
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“And then we saute it in tomatoes and different types of spices and it’s also drizzled with some of the yogurt sauce, which is very authentic to Afghanistan,” said Qazi.
“Afghans are known for their big hospitality, and when we eat, we don’t like to eat alone. We bring everything out on a platter, everybody shares: lamb kebab, lamb chops, chicken thigh kebab, chicken breast kebabs, ground chicken, ground beef, and some beef filet kebabs in there too,” he said.
The meats are marinated for 24 to 48 hours and are grilled until charred but still juicy. And not that they need it, but brushing everything with melted butter certainly doesn’t hurt. Rice comes one of three ways: plain white topped with saffron grains; a greener dill rice and a Pulao.
“Julienned carrots and raisins on top of this rice that’s colored brown with the seasonings and everything else that we mix in it,” he said.
Be sure to sample at least one of their homemade sauces.
“We have cilantro chutney, which we let to sit for about a week before we serve it, and then the other one is a little bit spicier, it’s a red pepper chutney, which are pretty native to Afghanistan as well,” he said.
There are several desserts to choose from, most involving saffron or milk. The platters are definitely the way to go for groups of four or more.
Here's where you can go:
2424 Dempster St., Evanston
847-674-3830
