A non-fandom post. (International cooking project: help/advice requested)

[kayleearafinwiel]

 https://dayzeroproject.com/user/kayleearafinwiel85/list/145856

So I'm working on this list. One of the ideas to work on is cooking something from every country in the world. My friend and co-author AfricanDaisy has started on that challenge, and I was inspired to try too.

 

The problem is, the first country, alphabetically (well, the first widely recognised country) is Afghanistan. I've tried looking up Afghan recipes of all kinds - the idea is to make a 3 course meal, if possible anyway - and literally everything I've run across - even breakfast! - contains onions as a central ingredient. I can't eat onions in most circumstances. Onion powder/dried onion seems to be ok as a flavoring, and frozen chopped onion occasionally works. I have a feeling it's a certain type of onion that I'm sensitive to but can't pin it down, and I don't want to hurt myself. 

Any advice?

Kaylee

Comments

[narya_flame]

Do spring onions/scallions set you off? My other half struggles with raw onion (cooked is OK) but can cope with these - and if you cook them down you get roughly the same effect as using normal white onion. Maybe a little sweeter and spicier.

Or if it's just a general allium base you need, could you use garlic instead? Or leeks? (They'd give a slightly different flavour but it'd be in roughly the right ball park.)

Failing that, I used a sofrito of carrots and celery as a base to a lot of dishes when my brother in law was put on a low FODMAP diet. Obviously that changes the flavour profile more than just switching up your alliums, but it still gives dishes a deep, tasty, savoury base.

Probably none of these are authentic for Afghan cooking, but it's preferable to being ill!

[kayleearafinwiel]

Green onions (spring onions/scallions are the same, yes?) do set me off, just not quite as badly as most other onion.

What's a FODMAP diet? *curious*

[narya_flame]

I actually had to look up the answer to whether green onions, scallions and spring onions are the same! Yes, they are - although spring onions in the UK = scallions/green onions across the pond. What the US calls spring onions, we call continental onions, for some reason.

Low FODMAP is a diet that doctors often recommend to people who appear to be suffering from food intolerances. A number of things are removed (gluten, dairy, processed meat, alliums) and then gradually reintroduced to work out what is causing the problem.

[kayleearafinwiel]

http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/recipe-sabse-borani-spinach-yogurt-dip/

http://www.afghankitchenrecipes.com/recipe/lavand-e-murgh-chicken-in-yoghurt/

These two recipes (which I linked to Keiliss, too) are the ones I'm looking at that have onion in them. (The third course is almond cookies, which thankfully have no onion, though I was beginning to think they wanted onion in *everything*)

I don't think I've run across spring onions in the US. Well, what the UK calls spring onions I've seen all the time, though I don't call them that, but anyway.

[narya_flame]

TBH I agree with Keiliss; I'd make a similar dip without onion, and you can always say it's "inspired by." Leeks and onion powder should work in the main course.

I'm assuming that red onions are also an issue, otherwise I'd have suggested using these instead!

[keiliss]

If you give me an example of a recipe you like the sound of I could maybe suggest how to adjust it? My cousin doesn't do onion well either, so it's not as unusual as I would once have thought. Btw have you tried red onions? They're a lot milder.

[kayleearafinwiel]

I was looking for the same things AfricanDaisy did: "sabse borani, which is a dip made of yogurt, spinach, and caramelised onions, with noni flatbread. The main course was lavand-e-murgh, a slightly sweet dish of chicken in a yogurt sauce. Dessert was kulche badami, which are almond cookies."

Of course looking at that right from the beginning I hit a snag. The dip obviously has onions in it, she even said so.

http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/recipe-sabse-borani-spinach-yogurt-dip/

http://www.afghankitchenrecipes.com/recipe/lavand-e-murgh-chicken-in-yoghurt/ This also has onions in it

http://www.afghankitchenrecipes.com/recipe/kulche-badami-almond-cookies/ What do you know, no onions. *g* well, they are cookies, but tbh I wasn't going to put anything past these recipes by now...lol

[keiliss]

I wouldn't leave the onions out of the dip, they're there for texture as well as taste. However, if you're willing to cheat a tiny bit, here's a similar (Turkish) recipe which has no onion: http://www.shizzling.com/2011/11/cac%C4%B1k-recipe-turkish-spinach-yoghurt-garlic-dip-cacik-.html . I'd also either use a thick yoghurt or else drain it as in your recipe.

For the main - heh, it's a lot of onion. You could maybe substitute finely sliced leeks for the texture, though you won't get the same effect, and a little dried/powdered onion for the flavour.

Hope that gives you some ideas to work off. It's a very cool idea :D