When You Can’t Get to Afghanistan…

There is a fantastic Afghan restaurant in Cambridge called the Helmand. Every time I go, I always make sure to get the kaddo bourani as an appetizer. It’s slow-roasted pumpkin covered by a yogurt sauce and then covered again by a meat sauce. I know, it sounds a little weird, but it is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. Years ago I found the recipe for it online but the thought of dealing with a pumpkin has always kept me from making it. Then it occurred to me that I could try substituting sweet potatoes. So I had a go at it. While it’s not the same as the Helmand’s, it is absolutely delicious!

Kaddo Bourani with Sweet Potato (4 to 6 servings)

Sweet potato

• 3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 ½ lbs.)
• 6 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 cup sugar

Yogurt sauce

• 2 cups plain yogurt (I used non-fat and it was fine)
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tsp. dried mint
• ½ tsp. salt

Meat sauce

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 large tomato, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 ¼ tsp. ground coriander
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 1/3 cups water

Make the sweet potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 2-inch pieces. Toss them in the oil and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the sweet potato pieces. (1 cup of sugar is correct – that’s not a typo. In fact, that is significantly reduced from the original recipe.)
3. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour then turn the sweet potato pieces. Bake for 1 more hour. Then basted the pieces with the pan juices, cover, and bake for another 45 minutes.

Make the yogurt sauce

1. Mix all the ingredients together. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.

Make the meat sauce

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Brown the onions then add the meat and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until it is broken up into small pieces and the meat is cooked through.
2. Add the tomato, garlic, ground coriander, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

To serve

Spoon the sweet potato onto a plate. Top with cold yogurt sauce. Top with hot meat sauce.