Kabul Eats: Sufi

You can not go to Kabul and come back without eating at/from Sufi. Sufi will find you. Any gracious host in Kabul will make sure that Sufi is one of your first food destinations in Kabul. Sufi also offers catering services around the city so you're bound to run into a Sufi meal at some point in Kabul.

Sufi is located in the Karte Parwan area - which is about 30 minutes away from the central districts of Shar Nau and Wazir Akbar Khan. As with L'Atmosphere, the road to Sufi is long and broken. You will have skip  across a ditch to step into the premises.

The perilous road to great food

Sufi serves authentic Afghan food and culture. There is an art gallery and crafts store on the premises.  There is also live music on some nights. Call them in advance to find out when the shows are. It might also be a good idea to order the food in advance if you are familiar with the menu. We were a group of about 20 odd people and our host had pre-ordered the food knowing that the food takes a while to get to the table.

Hot, clear,chewy soup

The Afghans are very creative with their soups. This soup had a base of chicken stock with diced carrots and potatoes, lots of herbs and whole wheat kernels. The wheat kernels were cooked to perfection - giving them just enough time to dance around on your palate. However, it was the smoky, dried lemon flavor in the soup that excited my taste buds the most. So perfect for a cool Kabul evening!

Hot mess mantu

Dumplings - soft and chewy - stuffed with mutton, chicken and vegetables and stopped off with a lentil sauce and yogurt. The Afghan 'Mantu' deserves as much attention as it's Chinese, Central Asian and Nepalese cousins - it is absolutely delicious! The mantu at Sufi is perfectly crafted but the yogurt sauce was a little too sharp for my taste.

Kabuli pulao (again) with dried fruits this time

You can't go wrong with meat and potatoes

I have admit, I have  been really spoilt when it comes to Afghan food -so I'm going to say that Sufi is worth visiting but may not be the best Afghan food you will eat. The chicken and lamb kebabs you can just keep on eating without any remorse. There is no need for any naan to go with it. However, the fresh juices here are superstars! No sugar, no ice - just pure fruits blended and chilled to perfection. Try the peach and/or anar.

Peach burst!

Sufi is fantastic caterer too as we learnt. They came to the office and set up in 10 minutes flat!

Kabuli pulao (again)

Burani - roasted eggplant with tomatoes and yogurt

Spinach

Chicken Korma

Mutton Korma

Sufi is a safe bet. You should visit it for the art gallery and the live music. A meal with drinks and dessert will cost you no more than USD 15. However, you MUST drink the fruit juices! There is better, cheaper Afghan food out there in Kabul. Keep watching this space for more  of Kabul Eats!

This blog was written as part of the FES Af-Pak Journalism Exchange Fellowship 2012