Noshe Djan E-Book

Helen Saberi

• Herausgeber: Marion Boyars
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2004

Beschreibung

Situated at the crossroads of four major regions-the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East-Afghanistan has survived centuries of invasions, whether military, cultural or culinary. Its hearty cuisine includes a tempting variety of offerings: lamb, pasta, chickpeas, rice pilafs, flat breads, kebabs, spinach, okra, lentils, yogurt, pastries and delicious teas, all flavored with delicate spices, are staple ingredients. This cookbook includes over 100 recipes, all adapted for the North American kitchen, for favorites like "Mantu" (Pasta filled with Meat and Onion), "Shinwari Kebab" (Lamb Chops Kebab), and "Qabili Pilau" (Yellow Rice with Carrots and Raisins). The author's informative introduction describes traditional Afghan holidays, festivals and celebrations. Also included is a section entitled "The Afghan Kitchen," which provides essentials about cooking utensils, spices, ingredients and methods.

Leseprobe

Picnicking in the Hindu Kush.

New and revised edition first published in Great Britain in 2000 by Prospect Books, Allaleigh House, Blackawton, Totnes, Devon TQ9 7DL.

Reprinted, 2004, 2012.

The original edition was published by Prospect Books Ltd, London in 1986.

© 1986, 2000, text, Helen Saberi. © 1986, 2000, drawings, Abdullah Breshna.

The author, Helen Saberi, asserts her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder.

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA: A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 10: 0907325947; ISBN 13: 978-0-907325-94-9 ePub ISBN:978-1-909248-09-0 PRC ISBN:978-1-909248-10-6

Original design by Philip Wills; set in Baskerville by Lucy Kind and Tom Jaine.

Printed in Great Britain by Short Run Press Limited, Exeter.

To Alexander and Oliver and all the children of Afghanistan

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

The Afghan Kitchen

Bread

Soups

Street Food and Snacks

Pasta and Noodle Dishes

Egg Dishes

Kebabs

Main Dishes

Vegetable Dishes and Salads

Pickles and Chutneys

Fruits and Desserts

Pastries, Sweets and Biscuits

Jams and Conserves

Drinks

Further Reading

Index

A NOTE ABOUT LANGUAGES

There are several languages in Afghanistan. The three main languages are: Dari, which is closely related to the Farsi (Persian) spoken in Iran; Pashtu, which is the language of the Pashtuns; and Turkic, of which there are several different dialects. My Afghan family and most of my Afghan friends speak Dari, and this is also the language most commonly used in Kabul, so it was the one I learned. I give the names of dishes in a phonetic transcription of Dari, with apologies to language scholars for any inconsistencies.

Foreword

Acknowledgements to the First Edition

This book would not have been possible without the help and interest of many friends and relatives. First of all I would like to thank my husband, Nasir, for all the help, advice, patience and especially encouragement he has given me in preparing this book. I must say he particularly enjoyed tasting all the recipes!

Special thanks are due to my sister-in-law, Najiba Zaka, and also my close friend, Shaima Breshna. Both sent me many recipes, but also advised and helped me with Afghan cooking techniques and traditions, and showed me how to make some of the more complicated dishes.

Special thanks too to Shaima’s husband, Dip. Ing. Arch. Abdullah Breshna, for volunteering to provide all the lovely and unusual illustrations for the book.

Many other friends have given recipes, advice and encouragement. I should particularly like to thank Khalil and Sara Rashidzada, who invited us to their home to show me how to prepare the delicious speciality of the Uzbeks, mantu, and an Uzbek pilau. I am also grateful to Abdullah and Parwin Ali, Qassim and Valerie Hachimzai, Naheed and David Knight and Mr Abdul Ghaffour Redja.

I thank Anthony Hyman for his guidance and advice, particularly on the introduction; and Stephen Keynes for his help in getting the book published.

For so often looking after my children, especially baby Oliver, so that I could get on with the final testing of recipes and typing of the manuscript, I should like to express my gratitude to my mother, Hilda Canning, and my friends Carole Cooles and Louise Boyd. Young Alexander must also be thanked for his patience and understanding when I was too busy to help with homework or take him swimming.

Finally I would like to thank everyone at Prospect Books, especially Alan and Jane Davidson, not only for undertaking to publish this book and giving their expert advice, but also for their sympathy to the Afghan cause. I am particularly indebted to my copy-editor, Idonea Muggeridge, for her help and enthusiasm, all the more appreciated as I had never written a book before.

Acknowledgements to the Second Edition

Over the years, since the first edition of this book was published, I have been able, with the help of many friends and relatives, to increase my knowledge of Afghan food, traditions and customs. Many Afghans have generously given me their recipes and they are included in this book. For these new recipes and information I am particularly indebted to my sister-in-law Najiba Zaka, Shaima Breshna, Gul Jan Kabiri, Kaka Noor Saberi, Aziza Ashraf, Mahwash Amani, Zobeida Sekanderi, Lila, Rahila Reshnou, Homa Rundell, Nafisa Yahyaee, Maleka Ibrahimi, and Fatima Gailani.

My thanks continue to go to all the people who helped me with the first edition, and particularly to Abdullah Breshna who once again generously volunteered to do illustrations for me. I especially like the new drawings of the donkey-seller and the scene of making rosewater in the garden. They bring back such evocative memories of my nine years in Afghanistan. All the illustrations capture the flavour and character of Afghanistan so beautifully.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who gave such generous and supportive reviews of the first edition. Claudia Roden, Barbara Santich, Shona Crawford Poole, Paul Levy, Miriam Poulunin, Jill Tilsley-Benham, John Birch, Faye Maschler, Ray Sokolov, Derek Cooper, Julie Sahni, Kerry Connor, Dolf Riks, and Rosemary Clancy.

Gratitude and love also go to my sister-in-law Michèle Hachim-Saberi, who volunteered to translate Noshe Djan into French and thanks to Wali Nouri for arranging its publication in France to help the organization, AFRANE. I thank Antonia Fumagalli, who not only volunteered to translate my book into Italian to help the Afghan cause, but also found a publisher, Piemme. Harriet Sandys, Afghan Aid and the Swedish Committee were particularly active in selling my book to raise funds for humanitarian aid and charity work inside Afghanistan.

I am grateful to all my friends and relatives who have continued taken such a lively and sympathetic interest in Afghan affairs and cuisine over the years. I would particularly like to thank Tony and Hilary Hyman, Don and Sylvia Barton, Jim and Paula Cullen, David and Naheed Knight, Qassim and Valerie Hachimzai, Abdul Ghaffour Redja, Ben and Sarah Tomsett, Norman and Jacky Pritchard, Robin and Carol Debell, Bob and Carole Cooles, Laura Mason, Anissa Helou, Russell Harris, Ove Fosså and Charles Perry.

My heartfelt thanks and gratitude once again go Alan and Jane Davidson who have not only continued to be sympathetic and interested in Afghan affairs but have also encouraged and advised me continuously over the last 13 years. For the last seven I have worked alongside Alan on his magnum opus, The Oxford Companion to Food. It was a great honour and pleasure to do this. I have learned so much and of course enjoyed the opportunity to ensure that Afghan dishes and Afghanistan are mentioned in the book approximately ten times more often than would otherwise have been the case.

Heartfelt thanks are also due to Tom Jaine for spurring me on to produce this second edition and for his part in bringing about the separate edition by Hippocrene Books in the USA.

Finally, my love and gratitude go to my husband Nasir, who has not only painstakingly helped me work out recipes from memories he has of his childhood, when he used to watch his grandmother or mother cook, but has continued with characteristic patience and enthusiasm to help, advise and encourage me. I am deeply indebted to him.

Helen Saberi London, 1986 and 2000

Preface

I became interested in Afghanistan at school after reading a book about the country and its culture and traditions. It sounded such a fascinating and interesting place that I became determined to visit it one day.

I had always been interested in foreign lands and had already travelled quite a bit. So after finishing school and secretarial college I applied for a job with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I worked first in London and then was posted to Warsaw. Soon after, I was posted from there to Kabul, Afghanistan. I was absolutely delighted and thrilled to be sent to one of the places where I had always wanted to go.

I arrived in Afghanistan in March 1971. I flew in a very small aeroplane from Peshawar to Kabul over the mountains and the famous Khyber Pass. It looked so barren, mountainous and dusty that I must admit I wondered if I had made a mistake in going there. However, after this somewhat daunting first impression I grew to love Afghanistan – its stark and stunning scenery, its barren and dusty deserts, the brilliant blue skies, snow clad mountains, lush green valleys, and the colourful and bustling bazaars; but most of all I loved it for the wonderful, hospitable people.

During my first year I travelled around the country as much as possible and met many Afghans including my future husband. After a short engagement, we were married in England in 1972. When we returned to live in Afghanistan, I was offered a locally-engaged post at the British Embassy. I had the best of both worlds—I kept my links with Britain, while at the same time I became an Afghan. I quickly learned the language of Dari, and during the next eight years travelled around most parts of the country. I became very interested in the culture and traditions of the people and in their food and customs.

We entertained a lot at home and even for our non-Afghan friends we nearly always cooked Afghan food. I have lots of happy and fond memories of hours spent in the kitchen with my maid, and also my friend, Gulbadan, and my mother-in-law, preparing ashak, boulanee, pilau, and many other specialities and delicacies. I extended my knowledge of Afghan food and traditions in the best way possible, by being the guest of many families from different tribes and backgrounds and tasting all kinds of regional specialities on my travels.

I lived in Afghanistan until March 1980, when due to the Soviet invasion and occupation, the escalating fighting and civil disturbances, we decided reluctantly that it was time to leave. However, although we left most of our material belongings behind and some of our family and dear friends, I am fortunate still to have my memories, together with a tremendous love for Afghans and Afghanistan.

I often prepare Afghan food at home in London. My husband especially enjoys ashak, pilau dishes and kebabs. My nine-year-old son, Alexander, has a particular liking for nan and kebabs. When he smells nan baking, his eyes light up and he cannot wait for the bread to come out of the oven and to eat it while it is still warm and very fresh.

I decided to write this cookery book, not only because I think Afghan food will appeal to many people in the West, but, also because I felt that it would be a contribution, however small, to the Afghan cause. Afghanistan and the Afghans will not easily be forgotten. I also believe that it will be a valuable record of Afghan cookery and its rich, varied traditions, which if the political situation does not change, may well be lost in a short time. The war is having terrible effects on the Afghan people, resulting in a massive exodus of refugees to countries all over the world and a consequent dispersal and destruction of their culture.

Many men, women and children are without food, medicines or shelter. An Afghan cookery book is perhaps especially poignant at the present time because there is a real threat of famine inside Afghanistan. Royalties from the sale of this book will go direct to charitable organizations working inside Afghanistan, to provide the food and medicines which are so desperately needed.

Preface to the Second Edition

One of the main reasons for writing the first edition of this book was to record Afghan culinary traditions and recipes, which I felt might be lost due to the war in Afghanistan. I also wanted to contribute, in a small way, to the Afghan cause and to help prevent Afghanistan from being forgotten. Many men, women and children were without food, medicines or shelter and the war had resulted in a massive exodus of refugees to countries all over the world and a consequent dispersal and erosion of their culture.

Sadly, more than a dozen years later, the situation in Afghanistan is even worse. Civil war continues; ethnic group is fighting ethnic group; many men, women and children have been killed; thousands of children have become orphans; millions may be starving; women’s rights are nonexistent; and a whole generation has known nothing but war and deprivation. The refugees who fled to the West are still refugees and many more have fled because of the continued fighting. (North America, by the way, is where most of the refugees are, and where, in consequence, there has been a considerable growth of interest in Afghan food.)

So, it is just as important now as it was in the mid-1980s to record the foods and traditions and recipes. Certainly, Afghans think so. I have been greatly heartened by the response my book has had from many of them now living in different corners of the world. They have sent me much constructive, helpful advice and information about Afghan food and cookery in all the variety which the presence of so many ethnic groups in one country has brought about. I was particularly delighted when many told me that they had bought my book to give to their children, many of whom left Afghanistan at a very early age and do not remember much about the traditions and customs. It has been an honour and pleasure for me to help them to know more about their own food culture and how to cook Afghan-style.

My husband has delved into his memory and produced many new delights for me, such as the jams, qormas and pilaus which his mother and grandmother used to make. He has also translated some of Mr Abdullah Afghanzada’s wonderful book, Local Dishes of Afghanistan, which is an almost definitive collection of Afghan foods and recipes in the Farsi language. My husband and I have adapted some of his excellent recipes to suit present-day requirements, while still retaining their authenticity.

So, there are quite a few new recipes, seventy altogether. Also, I have replaced some recipes where I have found better ones. And I have taken account of the ingenuity with which Afghan refugees in the West have devised shortcuts, for example using wonton wrappers in place of the special pastry for mantu and ashak.

This is not a scholarly work, but I have tried where possible to include interesting new information about Afghan life, foods and traditions, which I have read or learned about over the years.

I am sure that my readers will join me in hoping that one day there will be stability and peace in Afghanistan and that all the diverse ethnic groups of Afghanistan will once again come together with understanding and tolerance and rebuild their beautiful country.

Introduction

Afghanistan is situated at the meeting place of four major cultural areas: the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. It is because of this geographical position that Afghanistan became the crossroads for many invading armies from different places each with their own culture. These marauding armies, often passing through Afghanistan, journeying further afield, realized the advantages of maintaining strongholds here and paused for a while.

In the fourth century BC, Alexander the Great conquered Afghanistan on his way to India; in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries ad , Afghanistan was plundered by Genghis Khan and the Mongols en route to the Middle and Near East. Babur, founder of the Moghul Empire in India and a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, began his rise to power in Kabul and is buried in his favourite garden on a hill in Kabul, the Bagh-e-Babur Shah. The conqueror Nader Shah Afshar invaded and conquered Afghanistan in the eighteenth century on his way to India recruiting Afghan fighters to serve with his troops. The British in India were twice invaders in the nineteenth century.

Afghan dynasties, in their turn, have flourished and at various times extended their influence to parts of Central Asia, India, Iran and even China. From the Kushans, to the Ghaznavid sultans, to the Durrani rulers, such spheres of influence have contributed much to the rich patterns of civilization.

Because of its special position in Central Asia, Afghanistan was also a crossroads on the ancient Silk Routes connecting Europe with the Far East. Traders and merchants from many countries travelled there, including the famous Venetian traveller Marco Polo. This traffic brought many imported items such as Chinese tea and Indian spices, all of which have had a great influence on Afghan cuisine.

The Silk Road.

The numerous different ethnic groups living in Afghanistan – the Tajiks, Turkomans, Uzbeks, Baluchis, Pashtuns and Hazaras are just some of them – have also left their mark on Afghan traditions and food.

In short, Afghanistan has been a melting pot for a large number of cultures and traditions over the centuries, and these different influences can be detected in the variety of Afghan food and the regional specialities. Readers of this book will find many similarities with Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern, Persian, Central Asian, Indian and even Far Eastern foods and dishes.

CLIMATE

Afghanistan is a land of contrasts – vast areas of scorching parched deserts, large areas of high, cold and inaccessible mountains and extensive green plains and valleys, some of which are sub-tropical. Generally the summers are dry and very hot and the winters very cold with heavy snowfalls especially in the mountains. It is this snow which provides the much needed water for irrigation in the late spring and summer. The plains and valleys are very fertile so long as there is water, and a wide variety of crops can be cultivated; it is these crops which determine the everyday diet of Afghans.

Cereals such as wheat, corn, barley and even rice are the chief crops. Rice is grown on the terraces of the Hindu Kush in the north and in the Jalalabad area. Cotton is grown in the north and south-west of the country, and cotton factories in Kunduz and Lashkargah produce edible cottonseed oil. Sugar beet is grown mainly in the Pule Khumri/Kunduz area and is processed in the factory at Pule Khumri. Sugar cane is cultivated in the Jalalabad/Nangarhar area.

Because the range of climatic conditions in Afghanistan is so wide, a great variety of vegetables and fruits grow in abundance. Afghanistan is particularly famous for its grapes, from which green and red raisins are produced, and for its melons.

SOCIAL CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

Afghanistan is a poor country but it is rich in traditions and social customs. Unfortunately it is not possible to describe the Afghan way of life in great detail in this book, but I have endeavoured to pick out the most interesting and important aspects relating to food and cookery.

Hospitality is very important in the Afghan code of honour. The best possible food is prepared for guests even if other members of the family have to go without. A guest is always given a seat or the place of honour at the head of the room. Tea is served first to the guest to quench his thirst. While he is drinking and chatting with his host, all the women and girls of the household are involved in the preparation of food.

The traditional mode of eating in Afghanistan is on the floor. Everyone sits around on large colourful cushions, called toshak. These cushions are normally placed on the beautiful carpets for which Afghanistan is famous. A large cloth or thin mat called a disterkhan is spread over the floor or carpet before the dishes of food are brought. In summer,food is often served outside in the cooler night air, or under a shady tree during the day. In the depth of winter, food is eaten around the sandali, the traditional form of Afghan heating. A sandali consists of a low table covered with a large duvet called a liaf which is also big enough to cover the legs of the occupants, sitting on their cushions or mattresses and supported by large pillows called balesht or poshty. Under the table is a charcoal brazier called a manqal. The charcoal has to be thoroughly burned previously and covered with ashes.

Food is usually shared communally; three or four people will share one large platter of rice and individual side dishes of stew (qorma) or vegetables. Home made chutneys, pickles, as well as fresh nan, usually accompany the food.

The traditional way of eating is with the right hand and with no cutlery. Spoons may be used for puddings and teaspoons for tea. Because hands are used in eating, there is a handwashing ceremony before meals and for this a special bowl and jug called haftawa-wa-lagan are used. A young boy or girl member of the family brings this to the guest, and pours the water over his hands for him, the bowl being used to catch the water.

SPECIAL OCCASIONS AND RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS

Afghanistan is a Muslim country and religion plays a very important part in the way of life. Afghans observe all religious days and festivals, which are based on the lunar calendar.

The two most important festivals are Eid-ul-Fitr (also called Eid-e-Ramazan) and Eid-e-Qorban (sometimes called Eid-ul-Adha).

Eid-ul-Fitr, which goes on for three days, marks the end of Ramazan, the month of fasting, and is celebrated rather like our Christmas. Children receive new clothing and families visit relatives and friends. Presents are not exchanged but in recent years the practice of sending Eid cards has increased considerably.

Eid-e-Qorban is the major festival marking the end of the Haj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, and lasts for four days. Again, children receive new clothing and friends and relatives are visited.

At each Eid, tea, nuts, sweets and sugared almonds called noql are served to visitors and guests. Often special sweets and pastries are also prepared; halwa-e-swanak, sheer payra, goash-e-feel and others. Many Afghans sacrifice a lamb or calf at Eid-e-Qorban, which takes its name from the word qorban, meaning sacrifice. The meat is distributed among the poor, and relatives and neighbours.

The handwashing ceremony and the haftawa-wa-lagan

Another important day of celebration is New Year, called Nauroz. The Afghan New Year falls on 21 March, the spring equinox, our first day of spring. This special day, which celebrates new life, has its origins long before Islam, in the time of Zoroaster and the Zoroastrians. Special dishes and foods are made for the New Year: kulcha Naurozee, a biscuit made with rice flour and sometimes called kulcha birinji; and miwa Naurozee, a fruit and nut compote, also called haft miwa or haft seen by some because it contains seven (haft) fruits and the name of each fruit includes the Persian letter seen. Shola-e-shireen or shola-e-zard, both sweet rice dishes, are also made on this day for Nazer, a kind of thanksgiving. Another traditional food at this time is sabzi chalau with chicken. The recipes for these dishes can be found in the relevant chapters.

Samanak is another ancient dish prepared especially for New Year. About fifteen to twenty days before the New Year, wheat is planted in flower pots and from this wheat a sweet pudding is made. The preparation for this dish is elaborate.

At New Year when everything is new and fresh and the bitter winter is finally over, Afghans like to go on picnics and many people visit holy shrines, ziarat.

Buzkashi is also played at New Year. It is the country’s national sport and it resembles polo. Buzkashi literally means ‘goat-grabbing’. The headless body of a goat, or sometimes a calf, is used in place of a ball. The game originated on the plains of Kunduz and Mazar-i-Sharif during the time of the Mongol invasions of Afghanistan, when it is said that the Mongol horsemen used (decapitated) prisoners of war instead of goats.

Children go out to fly their kites. These are made with colourful tissue paper on a light wooden frame, and the thread, specially made with ground glass, is extremely sharp. The kites fight each other in the air, trying to cut the thread of other kites.

Afghans love an excuse for a party. Births, circumcisions, engagements and weddings are celebrated in grand style, although many of the associated customs are dying out.

The birth of a child, especially the first male child is a big occasion, when many guests will be expected. Numerous dishes and specialities are prepared; aush, ashak, boulanee, kebabs, pilau and many desserts. Celebrations continue for ten days. On the third day or sometimes the sixth day, called Shab-e-shash, the local priest, mullah, comes to bless the child and the naming ceremony takes place. Relatives sit round a room and choose a name, which is then called into the baby’s ear. On the tenth day (dah) after the birth, the mother gets up for the first time (until this time her women relatives have been looking after her and the baby) and goes to the public baths (hamam). This day is therefore called Hamame-dah. Humarch, a flour-based soup, which is considered a ‘hot’ or strengthening food is served, especially to the new mother. Other traditional dishes often made specially for this occasion because of their reputed strengthening and nourishing properties are leetee, kachee, aush and shola-e-holba, the sweet rice dish with fenugreek. On the fortieth day after the birth, the sweet bread called roht is baked for close family relatives. Roht is also baked and rolled on the day the child walks for the first time.

Circumcision is another occasion which is still celebrated. Relatives and friends gather together when the male child is circumcised. Traditionally, the local barber is responsible for performing this task. On such a day kebabs are made from the fresh meat of a lamb specially sacrificed for the occasion and are served with a variety of foods.

Engagements and weddings are elaborate and many of the celebrations vary between the different ethnic groups. They also vary from city to village. Any engagement or wedding is an occasion for a large party.

Engagements are called shirnee khoree, which literally means sweet eating. Traditionally the family of the groom bring sweets, goash-e-feel, presents, clothes, jewellery and other gifts for the bride’s family. The bride’s family in return prepares and organizes the food and the party to celebrate the occasion. Large numbers of guests, depending on the social standing and financial circumstances of the bride’s family are invited. Special kitchens are often set up in order to cope with the preparation of vast amounts of food; pilau, qorma, ashak, boulanee and many varieties of desserts; firni, shola, jellies, pastries and of course lots of fruit. The tea qymaq chai is usually served.

Weddings take place in two stages: nikah, the religious ceremony when the marriage contract is actually signed, takes place first and is followed by arusi, which is a combination of wedding party and further ceremony.

At the second stage of the wedding the guests are first served with food while the bride is preparing herself in a separate room. A wide assortment of rich dishes similar to those at an engagement are served. The arusi ceremony usually takes place quite late in the evening and after the inevitable tea.

The bride and bridegroom are then brought together for the first time (the bride was not present at the religious ceremony – her signing of the contract was done by proxy). The groom sits on a raised platform called takht (throne) and the bride approaches, heavily veiled with female relatives holding the Qor’an (Koran) over her head. The bride joins the groom and a mirror is placed before them. Several ceremonies then take place involving the tasting of sharbat (sherbet) and molida, a flour-based, powdery sweet. Henna is painted on the couple’s hands or fingers. Sugared almonds (noql) symbolizing fruitfulness and prosperity and other sweets, symbolizing happiness, are then showered over the newly-weds, rather like the Western tradition of throwing confetti.

Another, less happy, occasion when many friends and relatives get together is for a death. Food is prepared for the mourning family and guests, many of whom will stay for a number of days with the bereaved family. On the first Friday after a death, and on the fortieth day, relatives and friends gather together to hear the Qor’an being read, usually by the local priest (mullah), after which food is served.

Another custom which perhaps should be mentioned here is the Shab-e-mourdaha, which literally means night of the dead. These special nights are held on the eve of an Eid and New Year. The dead of the family are remembered and halwa is made and distributed to the poor.

Nazer is another important religious custom. It is practised by all, whether rich or poor, and is similar to a thanksgiving, but can take place on any day. Nazer is offered for a number of reasons like the safe return of a relative after a journey or recovery from a serious illness. Another important reason for nazer is to mark a visit to a holy shrine and the fulfilment of a prayer made on this pilgrimage. For these occasions special dishes such as halwa or shola are cooked and distributed to the poor. The most simple offering for nazer is to buy a dozen fresh nan and hand pieces out to passers-by in the street. The more affluent sacrifice a lamb or calf. Nazer is always accepted graciously as it has such religious significance.

My mother-in-law used to make a large pot of halwa. Portions of this were placed on a large piece of fresh nan.A large tray was set up and a servant or member of the family went out on to the street and offered it to anyone passing by. We also sent it to our neighbours.