• KatieK1 on September 23, 2024

  The type, especially for the ingredients is faint and small, therefore unnecissarily difficult to read. It's too bad there isn't an ebook version.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Cookies for Nowroz (Kolcheh Nowrozi)

  • s.shadan on July 26, 2022

    It is best to make a larger number of smaller cookies. The recommended size turn out huge.

• Steamed dumplings: lamb (Mantu 1)

  • Etrnalhope on September 13, 2021

    I cheated and used wonton wrappers--the white ones, not yellow. Turned out delicious! Nice combo of flavors. The index finger holes nicely catch sauce. Even though it seems just like a garnish in reading the recipe, I feel like the dried mint made a big difference. I used goat instead of lamb. I'm not sure if it was because of the size of the wonton wrappers, but 1 tsp filling felt like too little, I used closer to 1 TBSP.

• Steamed dumplings: vegetarian tomato (Mantu 2)

  • jenburkholder on September 09, 2021

    These were tasty, if unsurprisingly laborious and perhaps not ultimately worth the effort. The filling was good, but a touch bitter - that may have been my cabbage, however. The dough was lovely, smooth and obliging, and didn't dry out so quickly that this amateur dumpling-maker had to hurry. The sauce I was unconvinced by - the yogurt was a great accompaniment, but the vegetarian tomato sauce didn't add a lot in my opinion. Perhaps the lamb is better; certainly it's closer to traditional. The folding was unintuitive, but some of them turned out quite attractively nonetheless. Probably wouldn't repeat, but glad to have made them. Oh, I also froze them, which worked fine. The steaming time is way off, needs less than half the amount given.

• Vegetarian tomato sauce

  • jenburkholder on September 09, 2021

    This wasn't bad, per se, but it didn't quite do it for me.

• Stuffed flatbread (Bolani)

  • michalow on February 17, 2021

    These are easy to prepare, and although I didn't love them with the pumpkin filling, I will try them again with one of the others. I wasn't sure what "knead until firm" meant, so I just kneaded until the dough held together, which didn't take long. The recipe calls for a 10-minute second rise, but I let some go longer (closer to an hour) and I thought they were much better -- unlike those with the 10-minute rise, they puffed up a bit while cooking and yielded a nicer final texture.

• Pumpkin flatbread stuffing (Kadoo bolani filling)

  • michalow on February 17, 2021

    I used canned pumpkin and this was fine, but not that interesting.

• Chicken kebab (Kebabeh degee morgh)

  • SuzyP on December 20, 2020

    Recipe can be found in the BBC GoodFood December 2020

• Turmeric and yogurt-braised chicken (Morgh lawang)

  • Stephenn31 on January 20, 2024

    Delicious!

  • gregorio_inkp6y on April 27, 2026

    Worth the plan ahead step of soaking the split peas. I only had chicken thighs on hand. A great sauce to accompany this rich chicken dish. That last squeeze of lime before digging it ties it all together.

• Naan flatbread

  • katiesue28 on March 29, 2023

    These did not turn out well for me. Very heavy and a bit too tough. The recipe was unclear as to how large of a baking pan to spread the dough in, so I may have made these different than the author intended.

• Plain white rice (Challaw)

  • jungliemonkey on November 05, 2020

    Tasty, but quite 'involved' for rice... Could perhaps do with slightly less water and oil.

  • SuzyP on December 20, 2020

    Recipe can be found in the BBC GoodFood December 2020

  • Stephenn31 on January 21, 2024

    Tasty. I didn’t put in the full amount of oil. Nice and fragrant

• Rice with carrots and raisins (Kabuli palaw)

  • shaziahashmi on December 29, 2020

    One of the main reasons I wanted this book was to find a recipe for kabuli pulao. Loved this but I think we will reduce the amount of rice to 2.5 or 2 cups next time. Halved the amount of oil for the carrots and raisins which worked well.

  • michalow on February 15, 2021

    I made this without the lamb and it is really delicious. The recipe advises to just leave the lamb out and use vegetable stock for a vegetarian version, but the adaptation is not quite that straightforward and I wish there had been better instructions for this. I ended up sautéing the onions, rice, and spices together and cooking like a standard rice pilaf. For the topping, I fried carrots, raisins, and almonds together (adding sequentially) and skipped the sugar and additional cardamom. Used way less oil and salt all around.

  • Etrnalhope on September 13, 2021

    I really wanted the lamb to come through, but it didn't. Could have been a problem with the lamb and not the recipe. This makes a TON of rice, although tasty. I followed the recipe instructions for oil ::covers eyes::. I'm not sure it added that much to the dish because the oil is neutral tasting. I'd probably follow what others said and reduce oil in the future.

• Meatball curry with rice (Kofta challaw)

  • Stephenn31 on January 21, 2024

    A nice hint of heat and blend of simple spices. It tastes like more than the simple recipe list suggests. The kofta were incredibly soft and delicious

  • Shirls on January 25, 2026

    This is really simple but makes the best meatballs I have ever done.

• Salted Afghan cookies (Kulcheh shor)

  • s.shadan on July 26, 2022

    The recommended amount of water makes the dough too sticky. The milk wash is not very good either.

• Braised eggplant with yogurt dressing (Banjaan borani)

  • Etrnalhope on September 13, 2021

    I've made this a couple times and it was a huge hit both times. Even though the eggplant is deep fried, the eggplant doesn't appear to absorb that much of the oil. I'm left with much of the oil that was there before, which I use for other things. I find that the 10 min. simmer isn't long enough to transform the tomatoes into anything resembling sauce. Both times, I uncovered and boiled to reduce the liquid until the tomatoes no longer held their shape. I'd describe it as very chunky sauce. Good complement to Kabuli Palaw from the same cookbook. I also like it to accompany the Adas Polo recipe from Bottom of the Pot--I might prefer that combo.

  • bwilcox on July 28, 2023

    Oily and delicious

  • Kiwibackhome on May 25, 2024

    Classic and delicious. Used canned tomatoes and cooked for 20 mins plus.

• Lentil curry (Dahl)

  • jungliemonkey on October 30, 2020

    Came out far too liquid for me... However, the flavour was pretty good. Will try again, cooking the lentils for slightly less time and adding about half the final amount of water.

  • michalow on February 15, 2021

    I don't know that I'll seek this out again over other red lentil dals in the future, but it is very good and satisfying. The recipe says it makes four servings and I would say that's four full meals. If you're planning to serve with other dishes, this makes quite a lot. I used significantly less oil and salt than the recipe called for and it was plenty. Best with a hit of lemon.

  • gamulholland on October 05, 2021

    I’m in agreement with the other(s) who said there’s too much liquid. I would follow the package directions for the basmati rice and use less liquid, instead of scooping it off at the end like I did. But it was very tasty overall.

  • jenburkholder on November 15, 2021

    I ignored the quantity of liquid, because I could probably cook red lentils with my eyes closed and know what I like. I actually really liked this dal, it was mild, but pleasant, and the hint of cardamom in the background was very nice. That said, as others have noted, the proportions are weird - not only the water, but also the sheer quantity of food it makes, the over-large amount of tomatoes (I used ~2/3 the tomatoes and it was perfect), same with onions.

  • bwilcox on July 28, 2023

    Of all the dahl’s I’ve made, probably my family’s favorite

• Green bean curry (Fasoolia)

  • jungliemonkey on November 07, 2020

    Tasty, but very oily. I get that this is probably how it's meant to be, but it's too much for me... Might try again with half (or less!) of the oil and double the yoghurt.

  • jenburkholder on March 31, 2024

    Paid no attention to the oil amount listed and quite enjoyed this - a flavor combination that was a bit different from anything I’ve had before.

• Cauliflower curry (Golpi)

  • michalow on February 21, 2021

    Easy and delicious. I used about half the sugar and salt and a fraction of the oil called for in the recipe.

  • jenburkholder on November 15, 2021

    I didn't care for this. Turned out watery for me, and under-spiced. I also cut down the oil.

• Potato curry (Qormeh kachaloo)

  • bwilcox on July 28, 2023

    Did not use good potatoes for this

• Braised pumpkin with yogurt dressing (Kadoo borani)

  • jungliemonkey on October 27, 2020

    Super-easy and quick to make, and delicious too! My first from this book and very impressed with the result. I used butternut squash and sliced the chillis into thin lengthways strips.

  • shaziahashmi on December 29, 2020

    Tried to sub acorn squash for pumpkin - wouldn't recommend.

  • jenburkholder on November 16, 2021

    This I quite enjoyed. I used butternut squash and went a little heavier on the salt, since it seemed under-seasoned as written. Would make again, rich and cozy. Unlike every other recipe in the book, I might have actually used MORE oil than called for, but it added a lovely unctuousness. Don't skimp the yogurt sauce.

  • et12 on November 16, 2025

    I wasn’t sure what this would taste like until the very end, but it was delicious. The yogurt is a necessity and ties everything brilliantly. I served with a naan and a small portion of rice

• Chickpea curry (Nakhot)

  • jungliemonkey on November 05, 2020

    Pretty good, but very oily! Even if that is correct, I think I would try with about half the oil next time.

  • Etrnalhope on September 13, 2021

    I should have read the note below before making this. I had the same experience. Pretty good, but oily. I'm not convinced the oil adds much here since it's a neutral oil, at least nothing that couldn't be achieved through less of it.

• Chicken curry (Qormeh morgh)

  • rchewing on October 31, 2023

    Almost every element of this recipe needs longer cooking than indicated.

• Kidney bean curry (Lobeyah)

  • jungliemonkey on February 01, 2021

    Used half the oil and the beans needed to be cooked for longer than stated in the recipe, but very tasty - will try again!

• Mixed mushroom curry (Samaroq)

  • valente347 on August 28, 2023

    Made a smaller portion with porcini mushrooms. I didn't have fresh chiles, so I used dried whole chiles d'arbol. The photo I uploaded has parsley for prettiness-I didn't have curry leaves, but I bet they'd be great. If you don't have some chaat masala prepped from a prior recipe in the book, it's worth the effort and gives such a lovely and distinctive taste.

• Falooda

  • PriyaPath on March 27, 2026

    So good. Excellent falooda recipe and so easy to make.

• MIlk tea (Shir chai)

  • Ganga108 on March 22, 2025

    Making my tea this way this morning.

• Mung bean soup (Maashawah)

  • jenburkholder on December 06, 2021

    Quite tasty. I realized when I went to soak the kidney beans that they had gone bad...! So instead, I grabbed some Rancho Gordo Ayocote Morado beans and those worked great, even cooked in the right amount of time with the chickpeas. I also used more green beans (~10 oz) and way less oil (~2 tbsp). Getting this soup balanced is a trick, but it's very cozy and nice once that's managed. Despite what it says, the garlic sauce is NOT optional, and a good blop in each soup bowl is what makes the whole thing so tasty. I didn't make the koftas.

  • bc2rlh2023 on December 01, 2024

    Didn’t have red kidney beans so used other dried beans. Made the garlic sauce but neither my husband liked it and thought the soup was just lovely without it.

  • Chefjames1 on March 27, 2026

    This was good. I substituted buckwheat groats for the barley to make it gluten free. The picture looks like it has some sort of chili oil on the top which would also be a good addition I think.

• Eat Your Books

  Often we are told not to judge a book by its cover. In the case of Parwana we can do just that. The gorgeous cover is a true reflection of this book’s content.

  Full review