At the crossroads of the Silk Roads, Afghanistan became a land where spices, ideas, and empires flowed freely through its mountain passes. That layered history lives on in Afghan cuisine, where flavor is built slowly, with care, and every dish carries the imprint of place. In Kent, Washington, home to a growing Afghan community or “Little Afghanistan,” these traditions thrive as part of daily life.
This journey begins in the shops and bakeries where Afghan cooks gather their essentials: green cardamom, cumin, and coriander waiting to be folded into fragrant pulao or stirred into broths.
Baskets brim with dried mulberries, apricot kernels, roasted chickpeas, green almonds, and walnuts as vivid as the bazaars of Kabul. Experience Afghan lunch using recipes passed down from mothers to daughters: Kabuli Pulao with spiced kebabs, Bolani Banjan, creamy eggplant with herbed yogurt sauce, steaming bowls of Aush noodle soup, delicate Ashak dumplings, warm Afghan bread, and more.