Homemade Aushak without the Third World Service of Afghan Grill

I love the Afghan Grill. I really do. But lately, my tolerance has wained for the incredibly poor (but friendly) service. I've written about them before here. So, I decided to try my favorite Aushak (leek dumplings with meat sauce) at home:




Fragrant Aushak meat sauce: tomato paste, ground beef, mint, cilantro, ginger, garlic, onion, corriander...lots of ingredients, really rich taste.
























Sauteed leeks and green onions...














A teaspoon of leeks in a wonton wrapper...














Place a bit of beaten eggs along the edges and fold wrapper over. Pinch edges closed.

Put meat sauce on the leek dumplings, dab Greek yogurt mixed with minced garlic and you're done!

Here's the recipe for the Aushak:

Aushak Serves 4

Leek filling

2 leeks (about 2 cups chopped)

3 green onions, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/4 tsp hot chilli pepper

1/2 a pkg of wonton wrappers

Cut most of green top and roots from leeks, halve lengthwise and wash well. Dry with paper towels and chop finely. Fry leeks and green onions gently in oil until soft but not brown. Combine leeks and green onions in a bowl with salt, cilantro and hot chilli pepper. To assemble: Place a teaspoon of leek filling in the center of the wonton wrapper. Using your finger, wet edges of eggroll skin with water and fold in half, sealing edges. Fold the dough in half and seal by pressing the edges together very firmly. Roll aushaks in flour and place on a tray. Cover with a cloth until required.

Meat sauce

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 small onion (1/2 cup chopped)

1/4 cup water

1 clove crushed garlic

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground coriander

pinch black pepper

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1/2 bunch cilantro chopped

1/2 bunch mint chopped

For the meat sauce, blend onion and 1/4 cup water in blender until liquid, then mix beef in pan together with the onion and brown in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When dry add the remaining water and other ingredients to meat and cook 20 to 25 minutes over medium-low heat. Mix in cilantro and mint before serving. Final sauce should be very thick and dry.

Yogurt sauce

1 cup plain yogurt

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the yogurt, mix all the ingredients together and adjust seasoning to taste. To finish bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Drop in aushaks and boil for 5-7 minutes. It is best to do this in batches of about 10 at a time. Remove when cooked and keep warm over simmering water. To serve: spread some of the yogurt sauce on a plate. Top with hot aushaks and cover with more yogurt sauce. Top with meat sauce. Garnish with finely sliced fresh mint.