Melodie K

Savor 196

Pispili, Cheesy Albanian Cornbread [Recipe]

Pispili, Albanian cornbread with leeks and feta cheese is a delicious snack or side dish for your small group.


The women spread supper—a large bowl of cheese melted in butter, into which we dipped our maize bread, and very good it was. ~ Edith Durham, High Albania

Have you ever tasted Pispili, the Albanian cornbread seasoned with leek and crumbly feta cheese?

This is a perfect dish for parties and other group gatherings. It’s only 45 minutes from prep until it comes out of the oven, steaming hot, ready to be sliced, and pounced upon.

Of course, you could bake a small pan all for yourself, too. Then have a generous slice with, say, hot soup one day and a dish of stew the next until it’s all gone.

Good plans both.

One thing for sure: if you’ve never been to Albania or tasted Albanian food, a chunk of Pispili will be a tasty (and filling!) introduction. 

You’ll find, in this one dish, some of the very best foods that each region of this ancient European country has to offer. These include:

  • Corn, the staple food from the mountainous North.
  • Eggs, from the Central Albania, where both poultry and fish from the Adriatic Sea is plentiful.
  • Feta cheese, from Southern Albania where dairy farms rule along with olive and citrus groves.

And, finally, leeks that grow in various varieties all over Albania. 

THIS RECIPE COMES FROM THE KITCHEN OF DONIKA, THE WRITER & CHEF IN CHARGE AT HER BLOG, WHEN FETA MET OLIVE.

Donika is Canadian-born, but her ancestry is Albanian and her ties to those Albanian roots are strong. Many of her recipes are old family favorites; this recipe for Albanian cornbread with feta & leek is one of these.

Pispili ~ Feta & Leek Cornbread

Donika
Albanian cornbread with feta and leek ~ Pispili
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Course Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Mediterranean
Servings 12

Equipment

  • 9" x 13" baking pan/dish (or pan of similar size)
  • whisk
  • wooden spoon or spatula

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup yogurt
  • ¾ cup olive oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1½ cups flour
  • ½ cup fine corn flour
  • 1-2 sticks leek depending on the size
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400F, grease a 9" x 13" pan or a pan size close to that.
  • Prepare leeks, cut them into bite-sized pieces, and rinse.
  • Mix eggs, yogurt, and oil in a bowl; add the cornflour into the egg mixture and whisk together; let sit for 3 minutes.
  • Sift together the flour, pepper, salt and bang powder with a whisk; add flour to the egg mixture and mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula.
  • Add the leeks and feta cheese; combine with the wooden spoon or your hands.
  • Or you can add the leeks and feta cheese to the egg mixture first, then add in the flour mixture.
  • Pour over in pan and press evenly across pan.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cut into squares. Enjoy warm.
Keyword cornbread, picnic food, small group, teatime snack
Pispili is most delicious served warm, fresh out of the oven. Cut it into squares and enjoy!
Pispili fresh out of the oven, before cutting into squares.

TIPS & TRICKS LEARNED MY FIRST TIME MAKING PISPILI

  • The recipe doesn’t specify a type of yogurt to use. So I chose a non-fat plain Greek yogurt and happily discovered that its thick consistency produces sublimely creamy results.
  • You can save a few dollars by crumbling a pack of feta cheese yourself rather than buying it pre-crumbled. It’s easy: I placed the pack in a bowl and jabbed it a few times with my handheld chopper. And just like the “extreme ways” Moby sings about at the end of the Bourne movies, it fell apart.
  • When the time comes to “pour” the batter into the pan, don’t worry if it’s so dense that you have to help it get there with a spoon. (At first, I thought — oh, no, I’ve made it too thick!) Just continue following the directions and press the batter evenly across the pan with your wooden spoon. And, like me, you’ll have a finished dish that both looks and tastes terrific and is deliciously moist.

WHAT MAKES THIS RECIPE SPECIAL?

The magic in this cornbread lies in the balance between the tangy Feta cheese and the delicately mild leeks. It’s a yin-yang thing, Albanian-style.

So even if you’ve thought of Feta cheese as a “strong tasting” cheese, as I did (and do), you may still end up liking this dish. And once you catch yourself and some of your peeps reaching for seconds, well, you may have to rethink your ideas about Feta entirely.

But enough talk about cooking. Let’s cook Albanian already!

Slice of Pispili ~ cheesy Albanian cornbread atop a cream-colored dish.

WHAT NOW

  1. For another perfect-for-baking in a glass dish recipe, check out this sweet and spicy dessert from New Mexico.
  2. Expand your at-home dining menu by adopting more delicious recipes from When Feta Met Olive. Donika’s collection includes beaucoup dishes from Turkey and throughout the Mediterranean as well as Albania.

Qabili Palau, Sweet & Savory Crowd-Pleaser [Recipe]

A white platter laden with Qabili Palau, the national dish of Afghanistan: carrot, black raisins, almond slivers, and basmati rice atop chicken.
Are you happy they’ve invited you to make a dish for your next home group meeting but haven’t a clue what to make?

A small group gathering is an ideal occasion to introduce your crew to Qabili Palao, the national dish of Afghanistan.

For one thing, Qabili Palao packs big flavor and portions hearty enough to satisfy a small crowd. And for another, it’s likely a dish that no one in your crowd has tasted before. 

Fragrant basmati rice, chicken, carrots, almonds, and raisins are the primary ingredients.

What’s more, this recipe boasts a unique spice blend that includes slightly sweet cardamom, mildly bitter cumin, salt, pepper, and even a bit of sugar. The spices work together with the carrots, nuts, and raisins to enhance the flavor of the rice and perfume the entire meal as well.

Qabili Palau carrot, raisin, and almond mix is as fragrant and colorful as it is flavorful.

The result is a dish that’s deliciously spicy but in no ways spicy hot. 

So all of your friends and family members — even those who “can’t eat hot food” — can enJoy Qabili Palau. It delivers maximum flavor without any burn.

This sweet and savory rice dish will leave each member of your small group feeling well-fed and well-loved.

So what’s the name of this dish again?

Qabili Palau. Afghans originally called it Kabuli Palau, after Kabul, their capital city. But as the dish became more and more popular, the name changed to Qabili Palau. 

“Qabili” means well-able and once everyone started making this dish, the bar of excellence got higher. The home cook who could make a stand-out version came to be considered quite skillful in the kitchen — and superior marriage material. (More about this later.)

This Qabili Palau recipe comes from the kitchen of Humaira Ghilzai, writer at Afghan Culture Unveiled.

Humaira was born in Afghanistan and spent her childhood there. However, for decades now, she has been living in the U.S. So she’s more than familiar with what the real deal Afghan dish should taste like. And she also knows exactly what foods available in American grocery stores work best in bringing out the authentic flavor of Afghan cooking.

Kabuli/Qabili Palau – Afghanistan’s National Dish

Humaira Ghilzai
Rice with chicken topped with carrots, almonds, and raisins.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 35 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 10 mins
Total Time 1 hr 45 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Central Asian Cuisine
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • sauté pan, large
  • Dutch oven
  • frying pan
  • colander

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups long grain basmati rice
  • 10 chicken thighs & drumsticks
  • 4 cups diced onions
  • ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil, divided
  • 5 tsp. salt
  • 2 cups shredded carrots
  • 1 cup black raisins
  • ½ cup slivered almonds
  • 3 tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1½ tsp. ground cardamom
  • ½ tsp. ground black pepper
  • 12 cups water
  • 2 tbsp. browning sauce such as Kitchen Bouquet (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
  • Immerse rice in a bowl of water and drain in a colander. Repeat this step 3 times.
  • Choose a sauté pan that is at least a couple inches deep and large enough to fit all the chicken. Pour ½ cup of the oil in the pan and sauté the onions over high heat, stirring quickly, until brown (5-10 minutes). Don't burn them. 
  • Add the chicken to the pan and sprinkle with 3 tsp. of the salt. Cook the chicken over medium-high heat for 6 minutes, turning from time to time so all sides turn golden brown.  The onion will start to caramelize and turn into a thick sauce.
    qabili-palao-sautéed-chicken-with-rice
  • If using the (optional) Kitchen Bouquet sauce, add it now, and let it simmer. *
  • While the chicken is cooking, in a large frying pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add the carrots and cook until tender and a deep orange hue, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Keep a close eye on this to make sure you do not overcook them. Once the carrots are tender, add the raisins, almonds, and sugar to the carrots. Stir quickly over medium-high heat and keep stirring for about 3 minutes. The raisins will look plump; the carrots will take on a nice sweet flavor. Remove from heat and package the carrots into a sealed aluminum foil pouch about the size of a small paperback novel. 
    qabili-palau-foil-wrapped-carrot-raisins-almonds
  • Remove the chicken pieces from the broth and set aside.  Stir the cumin, cardamom, and black pepper into the broth. Continue to cook on low for 5 minutes to allow it to thicken.  
  • Meanwhile, measure 12 cups of water and the remaining 2 tsp. of salt into a large Dutch oven or ovenproof* pot with a fitted lid.  Bring it to a boil.  Add the rice to the water and boil until it is al dente (nearly cooked, though still slightly crunchy). This will take just a few minutes depending on the rice you use. You will have to taste it to check for doneness.  Do not overcook it. 
  • Immediately strain the rice through a colander.  Put the rice back into the cooking pot and add the sauce from the chicken.  Mix well.  Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the rice.  Set the aluminum package of carrots on top of the rice.  This will keep the carrots warm and deepen the flavors without mixing with the rice yet.
  • Bake the rice for 15 minutes in 500 degrees then drop the temperature down to 250 degrees. Cook for another 20 minutes. 
  • Arrange the chicken pieces on a large platter, cover with the rice. Sprinkle the carrots, raisins, and almonds on the rice. Serve with a simple salata.

Notes

* Any italicized words you see in the recipe instructions are those I’ve added to clarify that specific step. I don’t want anything to get in the way of your enJoying Ms. Ghilzai’s delicious recipe to the full!
Keyword small group, special occasions

Tips & Tricks Learned My First Time Making Qabili Palau

  • Don’t let the number of steps scare you off. Follow them, one by one, and you’ll see how easy this is to do. 
  • Ground cardamom is more widely available than whole pod cardamom. But if you do find cardamom pods, I recommend you buy it and grind the pods yourself (as I did, with a wooden pestle) for the freshest taste.
  • The recipe doesn’t specify a type of onion to use. However, I used yellow onion since it’s the type Ms. Ghilzai has recommended for this dish in the past, and the taste blended in like butter.
  • It may feel strange to cook rice to an al dente texture similar to spaghetti. (It did to me.) But resist the urge to keep cooking the rice and get that pot off the stove. Then “immediately strain the rice through a colander” as directed. Your rice will continue to cook in the oven, to later emerge marvelously fluffy. 

Bonus Tip

Sprinkling the top of the dish with rosewater — I use this one— just before serving adds a delicate fragrance that whets the appetite and makes the whole thing smell truly beautiful! 

What makes this Qabili Palao recipe special?

What makes this recipe pop, besides the spices and carrot-raisin blend, is the “sauce.” That is, the savory juices created as the meat, oil, and onions simmer together. It’s this sauce that you mix with your perfectly “al dente” rice 😉 before topping it with the other fixings and putting it in the oven.

So just imagine, your already fragrant, tasty basmati rice becoming even more flavorful as it bakes.

But enough imagining for now. Let’s cook Afghan! 

WHAT NOW

  1. What’s all this about cooking Qabili Palau and Afghan women getting married? Learn all about Qabili Palau here.
  2. Expand your at-home dining menu by adopting more delicious recipes from Afghan Culture Unveiled.

Savor Afghanistan: Qabili Palau AKA Kabuli Palau

Aerial views of Afghanistans' craggy mountains and expansive valleys is an ideal way to savor Afghanistan. Image is by Reinis Melioraskis./Attribution NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

Food is more than what we put into our bodies… It’s the feel of a place, something language can’t get at, the memory of a place as it forms. Wherever I am, food is what takes me there. —Jessica Fechtor, Stir

You say Kabuli, I say Qabili. Whatever we end up calling it, we’ll likely agree that Afghanistan’s national dish, Qabili (Kabuli) Palau, is delicious.  

The secret to Qabili Palau’s allure is Afghanistan’s unique geography and history. The country lies along what was once THE crucial trade route between Persia and India.

As a result, for thousands of years, caravans from these two great empires traveled through this mountain country. And Afghan cuisine, in a very literal sense, soaked up Persian and Indian culture.

In Qabili Palau, you can taste the difference they made.

Savor Afghanistan! Surprise your friends and family by serving Qabili Palau for your next special occasion together.

A SHORT HISTORY OF QABILI PALAU

The slow-cooked rice dish was born in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, in the households of the well-to-do. Only they had the means to buy raisin, nuts, and carrots to flavor their rice. Hence, its original name, Kabuli Palau.

Kabuli =  of Kabul

Palau  =  rice cooked in broth, prepared in such a way that the grains fluff, stay separated, and never get mushy, introduced by the Persians. (More about the Iran-Afghanistan connection later.) 

Then, as economic prosperity grew throughout Afghanistan, so did the popularity of Kabuli Palau. Soon people all over the country were eating it. And the dish took on a new name: Qabili Palau. 

Qabil means “having skill or know-how” in more than a few languages spoken in Central Asia, including Dari, one of the two official languages spoken in Afghanistan. 

The thinking back then was that only someone with mad-cooking skills could prepare this dish.

That opinion still stands today.

Afghans say a woman who can make a great Qabili Palau attracts more marriage proposals than one who doesn’t. So it’s easy to imagine that Afghan men, when courting, ask themselves questions like:

“Is she pretty?” 

“Does she laugh at my jokes?”

and 

“Can she cook a mean Qabili?”

How do we know this? Well, because it’s much the same way with American men. Just swap the word “Qabili” with “ribeye steak” and you’ll understand what I mean.

Now it happens that Qabili Palau…

is not the only type of Palau prepared in Afghanistan. You’ll find people eating different versions of the dish throughout Central Asia…

Qabili Palau is popular throughout Central Asia. There are as many varieties of the dish as there are countries where it is eaten.

…from as far west as Iran to as far east as the Xinjiang Uyghur region of China. 

But ALL of those versions combine rice, meat, vegetables, and spices to make a special occasion dish that has been satisfying much of Asia for centuries. 

So how have Afghans managed to make “Qabili Palau” their unique own?

First of all, they use specific kinds of rice, meat, vegetables, and spices in the dish.

Fragrant basmati rice is an essential ingredient for a Qabili Palau that will help you savor Afghanistan to the max.
  • The rice is good quality basmati;
  • The meat is typically lamb and, from time to time, beef or chicken; 
  • Carrots and onions, caramelized to perfection, play the featured roles as “the vegetables.” 
  • The spice blend always includes cardamom and cumin.

Afghans also put plenty of raisins and nuts, typically slivered almonds, in Qabili Palau.

It's impossible to savor Afghanistan fully without black raisins, slivered almonds, cardamom, and cumin, all key ingredients of Qabili Palau (AKA Kabuli Palau).

Afghans are well, “nuts” about nuts, and popular recipes feature almonds, pistachios, and pine nuts, as well as many others. You could say they like raisins, too.

Afghans have many different kinds of dried fruit and nuts to cook with: fruits and nuts together comprise more than a third of the country’s total exports. 

7 Fun Facts about Afghan Food

  1. Though it was the Persians who introduced Palau to the Afghans and to others throughout Central Asia, the basic dish of rice with vegetables and a rich blend of spices likely originated in India.
  2. Depending on who’s doing the cooking and where in the world they’re doing it, you’ll see recipes with the word Afghans pronounce as “Palau” spelled a number of ways. They include polo and polow (Iran), as well as plov (Uzbekistan). And in the U.S. and elsewhere outside of Asia — as you may have guessed by now — pilaf.
  3. Onions are to Afghans as chile is to New Mexicans: they’re in (almost) everything.
  4. Over 100 varieties of grapes grow in Afghanistan, some suitable for wine. However, since wine production is against the law in this Islamic country, growing raisins is the next most profitable thing to do with all of those grapes. 
  5. Although some Afghan grape farmers have found it more profitable to repurpose their land to raise opium poppies, other farmers still maintain traditional raisin houses (keshmesh khanas) where row after row of heavy grapes hang on racks, drying in the sun. 
  6. Basmati, the name given to the long-grain variety used to prepare any Afghan-style Palau, means “my smile” in Arabic and “fragrant” in Hindi.
  7. “Little Kabul” in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Fremont is home to the largest Afghan community in the U.S. and a number of eateries serving Qabili Palau and other tasty Afghan foods.

Afghanistan, with all of its beauty and yes, confusion, too, is far away. However, in preparing Qabili Palau at home, you can celebrate and taste some of the best this ancient culture has to offer at home. You’ll also feed your family well and that’s ALL good.