The majority of our staff here at Afghanaid practice fasting during Ramadan - a time of prayer, celebration, and spending time with family and friends. We wanted to share some of their go-to recipes for iftar, the breaking of the fast. Aay Khanum is a firm staff favourite, so be sure to try out our recipe and let us know how you get on!

Serves: 3-4                                                                                                     Cook time: 1 hour 35 mins

Ingredients

1 egg

3 cups plain flour

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 white onion, chopped

1 pound ground beef

2 bell peppers, chopped

½ cup chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp paprika

1 1/2 cups fresh coriander, roughly chopped

2 tsbp tomato puree

½ cup cooked chickpeas

1 ½ cups natural yoghurt

2 tbsp dried mint

Salt

Pepper

Vegetable Oil

Method

Add the egg, 1 tbsp oil, a generous pinch of salt and 1 cup of warm water to a bowl, and mix together well. Then add 3 cups of plain flour gradually. Knead the dough well, before setting it aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Put 2 tbsp oil to a large frying pan on medium heat. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves and 1 chopped white onion to the oil and simmer for 1-2 minutes, before adding in the ground beef with a pinch of salt.

As the beef is browning, throw in 2 chopped bell peppers, along with ½ cup of chopped tomatoes. Add 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp of paprika and a generous amount of pepper, and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently.

Take off the heat, and mix 1 cup of fresh coriander into the mixture.

Once the dough has rested, flour a surface well and roll out the dough a little, before dividing it into balls around the size of a lemon. Then roll out each lemon into a flat oval shape.

Flour each oval well, before passing through a pasta machine, first at level 5, and then a second time at level 2. The pieces of dough should be around 30cm long, and 10-15 cm wide. 

Take your rolled out pastry and fill half with the meat mixture. Fold the other half over the top, making sure the filling is sealed within. Then roll the pastry lengthways into a roll.

Brush a steamer with oil, before brushing the individual rolls with oil too. Steam them for 45 minutes.

As your rolls are steaming, add 4 tbsp oil to a saucepan on medium heat. Add a crushed clove of garlic and 2 tbsp of tomato puree with a pinch of salt, stirring well. Now add ½ cup of cooked chickpeas, mixing thoroughly for 3 minutes. Finally, pour ⅓ cup of water into the mixture, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Into a bowl, add 1 ½ cups of natural yoghurt, a crushed clove of garlic, 2 tbsp of dried mint and a pinch of salt and mix thoroughly.

Remove the rolls from the steamer and serve on a plate, covering the rolls generously in the yoghurt mixture and tomato and chickpea sauce. Sprinkle black pepper, chilli flakes, and the remaining fresh coriander on top to finish.

Enjoy!

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