Make Ahead
Afghan Dumplings with Lamb Kofta and Yogurt Sauce
Popular on Food52
72 Reviews
nyanya
October 4, 2020
Fantastic recipe, as an Afghan I can say that this recipe is very authentic and delicious as it should be.
Darian
September 8, 2019
Wow! My whole family agrees this dish was amazing! We love dumplings, and lamb, so this recipe was checking all the boxes from the get-go. For some reason, my anticipation level was more at "interested" than "excited" and I am so glad to have been wrong. The dumplings on their own were fantastic. I was quite surprised at how flavorful such a simple filling could be. The lamb ragu was off the charts! The yogurt sauce was the perfect balance. On the whole the dish was a little spicy, and little tangy, hearty and filling. I ended up with 27 dumplings and the 3 of us had zero problem eating all of them. It really didn't take very long for this whole meal to come together either, maybe 45 minutes, so definitely weeknight-eligible. I had never tried a recipe billed as Afghan before and now I'm motivated to explore this cuisine a little more. These dumplings with lamb and yogurt will definitely be on repeat at our house.
Charlee
July 14, 2019
We (We being my husband LOL) made this recipe as written the first time and didn't enjoy the dumplings, especially for the amount of work involved. We've (both of us) made it many times since, just the lamb kofta & yogurt sauce, and served it over rice. It's not only divinely delicious, but sufficiently quick for weeknights. We use 2 lbs of lamb and more or less double everything else so we can have leftovers. Thank you so much!!
deanna1001
July 15, 2017
Loved this! But know that you will get way more than 25 dumplings. Not a problem in my house. Totally wonderful.
Tom B.
April 20, 2016
Great dish but much too salty. Cut down the salt by about 2/3rd, especially in yogurt.
procrastibaker
November 7, 2013
No wonton wrappers at my local grocery store, so I used fresh sheets of pasta, and the dumplings turned out beautifully. The kofta was a little paprika-heavy for my tastes, so I added about a teaspoon of cumin, and another .5 teaspoon of coriander, which rounded it out nicely. Loved how it tasted once it was all assembled, although bites of the dumpling on its own are quite bitter, so make sure you have a good kofta and yogurt to dumpling ratio. Next time I would probably use fresh mint, to brighten up the finished dish, or perhaps go with a 50-50 yogurt and sour cream mix, to set off the lovely, spicy taste of the lamb. The whole thing came together quite quickly, and with two people working together in the kitchen, could easily be a weeknight dinner. We both thought it was delicious, and will be adding it to the regular rotation. Thanks so much, Katie and Humaira!
Fancy A.
October 3, 2013
This was absolutely delicious!!
Made this with beef instead of lamb since it was local-- and substituted fresh sheets of lasagna noodles for the dumplings (made about 6 large raviolos. Also added chopped mint into the yogurt sauce. Will definitely be remaking this over the winter, was almost like a delicious deconstructed lasagna without all the work!
Made this with beef instead of lamb since it was local-- and substituted fresh sheets of lasagna noodles for the dumplings (made about 6 large raviolos. Also added chopped mint into the yogurt sauce. Will definitely be remaking this over the winter, was almost like a delicious deconstructed lasagna without all the work!
hghilzai
February 2, 2013
You can definitely make the meat sauce and the yogurt at least one or two days ahead of the time. As for the dumplings, you may stuff them and freeze or refrigerate until you are ready to boil. I suggest if you are making the dumplings more than one day ahead of time that you freeze it. I hope this helps. - Humaira (www.afghancooking.net)
hchambers86
January 24, 2013
Are there components of this that can be made ahead? I'd like to make it for a surprise birthday dinner but want to make sure that I have the timing right!
Thanks!
Thanks!
PaulaE
January 12, 2013
I have made this dish at least 10 times now, and every single friend I've served it to has asked for the recipe. It's a real stand-out and a permanent part of my go-to repertoire. Thank you, Katie and Humaira. I've started visiting your wonderful blog for more Afghan ideas.
hghilzai
January 12, 2013
I want to thank all the fabulous Food52 cooks for trying our recipe and your wonderful comments - Humaira (www.afghancooking.net)
za'atar
January 12, 2013
I've made this recipe 5 times since discovering it a month ago. So delicious! As easy as spaghetti with meat sauce, but with a new flavor profile that spices things up. Yum.
Nazmul H.
December 9, 2012
The actual name of this Afghan dish is Mantu ( most commonly made with minced beef). The vegetable (leek) dumplings are called Aushak.
hghilzai
January 12, 2013
You are right, Mantu usually has minced beef inside the dumpling and a yogurt sauce as a topping. The dish featured in this book has sautéed leeks with minced beef sauce & yogurt. Aushak is the correct name as noted in the book. I submitted this recipe from my blog www.afghancooking.net.
PaulaE
May 16, 2012
This is a new family favorite. The only variation I've used, and it's amazing, is to substitute fresh mint for dried. I mince up a big handful of the fragrant herb and mix it into the yogurt with the garlic. This adds to the fresh, bold taste of the dish.
AllisonGG
September 12, 2011
Just made these this weekend, and they were amazing! My 1-year old was thrilled with the dumplings, while my husband liked the lamb the best. Thanks for a great recipe.
rs1139
August 1, 2011
i made this this past week and am IN LOVE. we did a homemade tomato sauce and made it extra spicy... mmm! we also used greek yogurt, which i think gave it extra mph.
MTMitchell
July 25, 2011
We made this last night, and it was fantastic. It was a huge hit with my husband, who is usually a pretty "selective" eater, and I also really enjoyed it. The green onion filling was a tiny bit too strong for my liking (again, though, my husband thought it was perfect), so I might cut it with something next time, but definitely a keeper. Thanks!
mzmecz
July 17, 2011
For sygyzy, the Helmand in Chicago serves "leak dumplings" (my favorite dish in the whole city) and they are mild and sweet. You might try leaks in place of scallions or half and half.
golgappa
July 14, 2011
This is one of my favorite dishes that my Afghan sister-in-law makes except that she stuffs the dumplings with the meat and then just garnishes with the yogurt-sour cream garlic sauce….yummy!
hghilzai
January 12, 2013
The dish your sister in-law makes is called Mantoo, it is another type of Afghan dumpling and also one of my favorite. I will post a Mantoo recipe on my blog (www.afghancooking.net) so you all can try it.;
ellent124
June 5, 2011
Can't wait to try! I used to order this all the time at an Afghan restaurant that was on M Street in Gorgetown in the late '70s. I found a recipe, but it wasn't quite the same--maybe this will do the trick!
sygyzy
May 11, 2011
I made this, substituting beef, and it's quite good but I had one issue with it. Is it just me or did anyone else feel that the filling (scallions/green onions) were very harsh in flavor. It's part of the onion family and as such reminded me of eating raw onions (like on a burger). I cooked it for over 10 minutes and it tasting like eating raw scallions. Very harsh. Anyone?
HollowLeg
April 30, 2011
This was amazing. And I added some of the leftover garlic yogurt to my scrambled eggs this morning. Some of the best scrambled eggs I've ever made!
Sam1148
April 21, 2011
That's a wonderful recipe. I've saved it for reference, as I think it would make great 'bento box' lunch item packing the sauce in the little compartments and the dumplings and meat in main container for rewarming.
Sagegreen
April 21, 2011
Congratulations on this win and stellar recipe. Looking forward to making it.
fiveandspice
April 20, 2011
Huge congratulations! This is such a lovely dish! I have a feeling it will become a staple in this house.
Oui, C.
April 20, 2011
Congratulations on your win, and for such a fabulous recipe. I found this week's contest so difficult as both dumplings really appealed to me. Can't wait to try them both, but will definitely start with your winner! - S
Katie S.
April 20, 2011
Thank you. This is actually a great one to do with your kids. It's one of my youngest daughter's favorites.
Katie
Katie
lorigoldsby
April 17, 2011
Congrats! beautiful dish--it looks lovely "deconstructed"...definitely harder to do than one would think. I may try this tomorrow, with some red swiss chard for greens--or other recommendations?
Katie S.
April 20, 2011
I would use tender spring onions since they are so delicious this time of year. It really is just a tiny bit of flavorful filling so you want to pack in some flavor. Good luck.
Katie
Katie
Victoria C.
April 15, 2011
This sounds wonderful. I love the food from the Khyber Pass restaurant in the East Village, so I'm going to try this
boulangere
April 14, 2011
The story behind your recipe is as lovely as it is.
Katie S.
April 20, 2011
Thank you...it really is fun to get together with friends and make these dumplings...and they are surprisingly easy to do.
Katie
Katie
cheese1227
April 14, 2011
I will certainly try this one. It sounds extremely interesting. Thanks for sharing it.
dymnyno
April 14, 2011
These sound delicious! The only Afghan food that I have regularly is the guys at the farmers' market in the Bay Area who are selling their fabulous yogurt and sauces, and flatbreads.
Katie S.
April 20, 2011
Yes, they make delicious bolani. We have a recipe for that on our blog if you are interested.
Katie
Katie
susan G.
April 9, 2011
I hope you will link your blog to your food 52 profile. I need to expand my understanding of Afghan food. My restaurant experiene, at Helmand in Cambridge, and other restaurants in Baltimore and Washington, have been a great pleasure.
Katie S.
April 20, 2011
I've heard good things about both of those restaurants. I just filled out our profile so you can get a link to to the blog.
Thanks
Katie
Thanks
Katie
Burnt O.
April 9, 2011
I follow your blog, and I LOVE this recipe! Qayum Karzai's restaurant, The Helmand, is just down the street from my house. He is my neighbor, and the brother of Afghani President Hamid Karzai. He also gave me his recipe for Kadu Borani - the sweet and savory pumpkin and yogurt dish that uses a similar meat sauce to Aushak . I'll be printing this out and putting it in my permanent file. Thank you!!
AlohaHoya
April 9, 2011
I used to work at the Afghan Embassy in Washington DC and Ashak was my favorite (except for Orange Rice).... It is absolutely one of my VERY favorite foods in the whole world. Thank you so much... Now to go out and find ground lamb and I am off!!!!!
healthierkitchen
April 5, 2011
So glad to have this recipe - I am saving it to try soon. We have a local Afghan restaurant that we enjoy going to and this (and the mantu) are our favorites!
See what other Food52ers are saying.