The refugee story behind the ancestral Afghan cuisine of in Adelaide doesn’t shy away from the pain of the past.
In fact, it embraces it with love and serves it to diners on a traditional Afghanistan plate, decorated with details of hope, family, hospitality and deliciousness. And now, their role in fostering connections and conversations about Afghanistan and the refugee experience is being celebrated with the 2024 y.
“Being a refugee is, at the start, a story of loss,” says restaurateur Durkhanai Ayubi from Parwana Afghan Kitchen. “Yet, you feel so much gratitude [being resettled in another country like Australia] because you get another chance to rebuild your life. I think that's the core theme of the refugee story.”
Ayubi recalls how her family fled communist rule in their cherished home of Afghanistan in 1985. At the time, she was only a toddler. Her parents and three other female siblings (the fifth child in the Ayubi family was born later) lived in a refugee camp in Pakistan for two years. The children were all aged under nine. Then in 1987, the family of six came to Australia on a humanitarian visa.
“When you have to leave behind a country where you imagined your whole life would play out, suddenly, the food of [your culture] comes to represent the home you left. The food of your homeland becomes even more poignant and nostalgic.”
Afghan cuisine decoded
Ayubi explains that her mother, Farida Ayubi, who was a school teacher back in Afghanistan, was always a great home cook. Ancestral recipes, like bolani kachalu (pan-fried flat bread stuffed with potato and served with chutney) or ashak (dumplings stuffed with leek, topped with a lamb mince sauce and dressed with garlic yoghurt) were eaten regularly in their new Australian home.
Our food helps people to shift their understanding of Afghan people and see the beauty of Afghanistan.
However, the traditional dishes provided the family of seven with more than just nourishment. They offered them a tether to the homeland they lost. “Our Afghan dishes were an intergenerational healer for our entire family. The recipes were a bridge to lost memories and dreams. They gave life to our family.”
In 2009, the family opened Parwana Afghan Kitchen under the leadership of matriarch and cook, Farida. Ancestral recipes formed the foundation of the menu.
“When many people who had never tasted Afghan food came into our restaurant, they said ‘I can't believe that this food is so rich and beautiful. All I ever knew about Afghanistan was war’. But actually, Afghanistan, for millennia, has been a global centre of diversity for food.”
Ayubi explains that a large range of fruit, nut, vegetable and legume species originate from Afghanistan. That’s why rice dishes like Kabuli palaw are topped with caramelised carrots, sultanas, slivered almonds and pistachios.
Dairy and meat are also central to Afghan cuisine. “We're one of the very earliest agro-pastoral societies that understood how to domesticate animals and use animal sources and products in our daily cuisine.”
When you eat Afghan food, you taste global food history.
Take the dish karayee gosfand for example. It’s made of lamb pieces marinated in a yoghurt, garlic, chilli, and coriander sauce. It comes served with naan, salad and chutney.
“When you eat Afghan food, you taste global food history. [The food at our restaurant] food helps people to shift their understanding of Afghan people and see the beauty of Afghanistan.”
A new chapter in a refugee story
Over the last 15 years, the restaurant has raised thousands of dollars for Afghan-related causes through charitable dinners. The venue doesn’t serve alcohol but instead, it charges a BYO cost that gets redistributed to people in need.
In 2020, Durkhanai Ayubi authored a cookbook, that fused family narratives with restaurant recipes.
This year's award from Gourmet Traveller recognises the work the refugee family (Farida and her five daughters, Durkhanai, Fatema, Raihanah, Zahra and Zelaikha) has done to cement Afghan cuisine within the Australian culinary landscape.
“Our restaurant has always been an invitation. We know that there are so many details about Afghanistan – how beautiful it is, how rich it is in its culture and history – that remain submerged and buried [because of stories about the war and violence in Afghanistan]. Our restaurant allowed people to experience something special about Afghanistan so they could see how rich it is in culture and history.”
We can better understand our stories through the food we serve on our plate.
Ayubi hopes that her family’s story of loss and resettlement, interwoven through the ancient cuisine of Afghanistan, connects people of all cultures and life experiences who visit their restaurant.
“We're all aching for these interconnections and to remember ourselves deeply. And I think that's what we can do around a table, by sharing food with our loved ones. Our food story is not just one for refugees. We all carry stories of our past within our bones. I believe we can better understand our stories through the food we serve on our plate.
“We should all be living in the moments that we have, cherishing the people around us, even when we go through points of suffering and loss in life. To recognise loss and reconcile it with hope is a really powerful thing for our growth.”
