Herati
Aushak: leek dumplings three-sauce.
Aushak
Herati / Western-Afghan leek dumplings
View page →Herat sits in western Afghanistan near the Iranian border, and the kitchen reads Persian first, Afghan second. The signature dishes work with green herbs and lighter spicing. Ash-e reshteh is a deep-green soup of legumes and fresh parsley-cilantro-mint, finished with reshteh noodles and a tadka of mint and fried garlic. Reshteh polo is the Nowruz rice — saffron basmati layered with toasted noodles, dates, and braised lamb under a deep-golden tahdig crust. Kofteh Herati is a wedding-table meatball that hides a soft-boiled egg and barberries inside, simmered in saffron-tomato gravy and cut open at the table. Aushak — the leek dumplings — are lighter and more vegetable-forward than their Kabuli mantu cousins. Halwa aurd-e sujee and khoshaf round out the sweet end with rose water, saffron, and slow-soaked dried fruit. The Herati kitchen is considered the most refined in Afghanistan.
Start Here
Herati leek dumplings — handmade wheat wrappers filled with leek and scallion, boiled, then served on garlic yogurt with lamb-and-split-pea qorma and dried mint.
Why start here · The three-layer assembly (yogurt base, dumplings, qorma top) is the Herati signature — Persian sensibility expressed in dumpling form.
The Nowruz rice — saffron basmati layered with toasted reshteh noodles, dates, and braised lamb, finished with a deep-golden tahdig crust.
Why start here · Reshteh polo is the dish Heratis make for New Year. The toasted-noodle layer is what tells you it's not regular polo — a small detail that changes the whole dish.
A wedding-table meatball that conceals a soft-boiled egg and barberries inside, simmered in saffron-tomato gravy and cut open at the table.
Why start here · The hidden interior is the point — cutting one open reveals the egg-yellow center and the red of the barberries. A feat-of-engineering meatball, served as the centerpiece of Herati weddings.
A deep-green soup of mung beans, lentils, and a fistful of fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, mint, dill), finished with reshteh noodles, kashk yogurt, and a tadka of fried mint and garlic.
Why start here · What every Herati home cooks during Nowruz. The herb-to-broth ratio is unusually high — the green is the flavor, not a garnish.
The Pantry
See all 58 ingredients›
Proteins
Grains & Staples
Dairy & Fats
Sauces & Condiments
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
See 6 more techniques›
Kindred Kitchens
Cuisines built on the same signature ingredients
Other regions
Siblings within Afghan — each its own tradition.
