Ashak: Afghan Dumplings For the New Year
About this Recipe
By: Rachel
If you’re looking for an authentic ashak dumpling recipe, this traditional Afghan dish is a must-try. These delicate Afghan leek dumplings are filled with fresh leeks, wrapped in tender dough, and topped with a rich garlic yogurt sauce and savory tomato sauce.
Whether you’re searching for an easy ashak dumplings recipe or a step-by-step guide to making homemade ashak, this recipe brings the taste of Afghanistan right into your kitchen with simple ingredients and deeply comforting results.
From Ashak to Potstickers: A Love of Dumplings
I have a lifelong love of—and fascination with—dumplings. I just think they are the perfect food; magical little pouches of dough bulging with their mysterious, savory fillings. From ashak to momo to gyoza; xiao long bao to potstickers; samosas to pierogi or kreplach to khinkali, I don’t think I’ve ever met a dumpling I didn’t like.
In the vein of Is a Taco a Sandwich, dumplings are technically defined as small pieces of dough or pastry wrapped around fish, meat, or vegetables. You can cook dumplings in oil, steam, or boiling water. By that definition, all filled pastas could be in this category—ravioli, tortellini, agnolotti… the list goes on. The point is, they’re all delicious, and we should all be eating as many dumplings as possible.
Celebrating Nowruz with Ashak
Nowruz is a major festival in Afghanistan, Iran, and other nations in the region. It is a celebration of spring, and of the new year. In honor of Nowruz, which starts on the spring equinox, I wanted to bring you one of my favorite recipes—Ashak (spoiler alert: it’s a dumpling!)
Ashak: A Delicious and Iconic Afghan Dish
I first tasted ashak at the wonderful Kabul Restaurant, where owner Wali Khairzada has been serving deeply authentic Afghan cuisine in Seattle for more than 30 years. From that first bite, I knew I had discovered something special.
With each bite, the dumplings revealed themselves—tissue-paper thin, filled with fragrant scallions and herbs. A delicately spiced tomato sauce enveloped them while lacy streaks of garlic yogurt added richness and tang. A scattering of fresh mint brought a bright, aromatic finish that tied everything together.
These duplings are (admittedly) a little fussy and time-consuming to make. For that reason, Afghans often serve ashak at special occasions like weddings.
Traditionally, friends and family might come over to help assemble the delicate little parcels.
These little dumplings are bursting with flavor. The tomato sauce, yogurt, and mint make for perfect accompaniments. You can choose to prepare your tomato sauce with ground lamb or beef, or leave it vegetarian.
The most traditional filling for ashak is Afghan gandana, which tastes a bit like a combination of leeks, scallions, and chives. Unfortunately, gandana is difficult to find. I grow my own so that I always have a supply available. You can substitute with garlic chives, which are usually available at Asian specialty markets. Any combination of garlic chives, leeks, or scallions will work just fine.
What To Do if You Just Can’t Get Enough Dumplings
To sate your craving for delicious fillings stuffed inside carbs, try these versatile potstickers, or my Pike Place Market-inspired piroshky. Be sure to let me know what other dumpling recipes you’d like to see on the site!
Beverage Pairing
By: Olivia
These flavor-packed dumplings deserve a wine pairing that won’t get lost in the sauce (pun intended). By that I mean, you’ll want a wine with an intensity of aroma and flavor to complement the beautifully flavorful ashak. You can’t go wrong with a Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Viognier, or Muscat. Aromatic white wines are not your only options though, you could also grab red wines like Shiraz, Freisa, Schiava, or Zweigelt.
Ashak
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Tomato Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound (450g) ground lamb or beef, optional
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- 1 can (28oz or 800g) San Marzano tomatoes
For the Yogurt Dressing:
- 1 cup (130g) full-fat plain Greek yogurt
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1 large pinch kosher salt
For the Dumplings:
- 2 cups (250g) gandana or any combination of garlic chives, leeks, or scallions
- 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 1 ¾ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ cup (125mL) warm water
Step by Step Instructions
For the Tomato Sauce
Step 1
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet, and sauté the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant.
Step 2
- If using, add the ground meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Mix in the salt, mint, and coriander. Continue to cook the meat until it is well-browned and there are no visible raw, red pieces. You may drain off and discard any grease that has collected in your pan.
- Add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Turn the heat down and allow the sauce to simmer gently while you make the yogurt dressing and the dumplings.
For the Yogurt Dressing
- Prepare the yogurt dressing by combining all ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring to combine. Cover, and transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.If you wish to drizzle the yogurt sauce over the finished dish, thin it with water.
For the Dumplings
Step 1
- Leeks: Gently sauté the leeks in olive oil until softened, and season with salt. Turn off heat. Mix in any gandana, chives, or scallions and the cilantro. Set aside to cool.Gandana or chives: Prepare the filling by finely chopping the gandana or chives and transfer to a colander. Rinse well, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt, mixing well with your hands to distribute evenly. Using your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and remaining teaspoon salt. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil over the flour, and begin to add the warm water, a little at a time, kneading as you go to incorporate the liquid. Stop adding water as soon as you have a cohesive dough.
Step 2
- Turn the dough onto a work surface and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Step 3
- Lightly flour your work surface and remove the dough from the bowl. Roll the dough out very thinly and cut into circles using a 3” (7cm) round cutter.Have a small dish of water and a small brush at the ready (if you do not have a brush, you can use your fingers), and line a sheet pan or platter with parchment. Bring a large pot to boil with a large pinch kosher salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil.
Step 4
- Working with the dough one circle at a time, lightly wet the circumference of the circle with the brush or your finger. Fill the center of each circle with about 1 teaspoon filling. Fold the dough over to create a semicircle, pressing out any air and pressing the edges together to seal firmly. Transfer each completed dumpling to the parchment-lined sheet pan.
Step 5
- Transfer the dumplings carefully to the boiling water, working in batches as needed. Boil for about 6 minutes, or until translucent, and transfer the cooked dumplings to a serving platter using a slotted spoon.
Step 6
- Top with the tomato sauce and drizzle generously with yogurt dressing. If desired, finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of fresh or dried mint, and serve immediately.
