Kichri Quroot is an Afghan dish that consists of shola (sticky rice), meatballs, and quroot (whey). It’s a hearty and loved dish all across Afghanistan. 

Ingredients:

For the meatball mixture: 

• Ground beef (2 pounds)
• Yellow onions (2 medium; chopped)
• Garlic (3-4 cloves; minced)
• Egg (1 Large)
• Coriander powder (2 tablespoons)
• Crushed black pepper(1 teaspoon)
• Salt (1 teaspoon or to taste)
• Cumin powder (1 teaspoon)

For meatball sauce:

• Oil (2-3 tablespoons; you can use any oil  you prefer) 
• Tomatoes (2-3 large; pureed) 
• Yellow onions (2 medium; chopped)
• Garlic (2-3 cloves; minced)
• Turmeric (1 teaspoon)
• Chili peppers (3)
• Salt (1 teaspoon)

For Shola (Rice):

• Arborio rice or any medium-grain rice (2 cups)
• Moong dal (1 cup)
• Oil (2-3 tablespoons)
• Quroot (Whey; 1 pound)
• Salt (1 teaspoon or to taste)
• Palaw masala (1 teaspoon)
• Yellow onion (1 medium; chopped)
• Coriander powder (1 tablespoon)
• Water (4 – 5 cups)

For garnish:

• Mint leaves (handful; chopped)
• Cilantro leaves (handful; chopped)
• Oil (5-6 tablespoons)

Directions:

Add all the meatball mixture ingredients into a large bowl and mix well either with hand or with a spoon making sure all the spices are evenly distributed. Once all the meatball mixture is ready, roll them into small balls the size of a golf ball and set them aside on a plate. 

For the sauce, add the oil to a deep pan and let it heat. Once the oil is heated, add the chopped onions and cook until golden brown. Then, add the pureed tomatoes, minced garlic, spices, and chili, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and bring it to a simmer. Slowly and gently add all the meatballs making sure that sauce is covering the meatballs. Gently shake the pan to ensure all the meatballs are well placed and not sticking to the pan. Close the lid and let it cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Occasionally gently stir the pan to make sure the meatballs are not sticking to the pan. 

For the shola, wash the rice and moong dal thoroughly. In a medium-sized pot, add the oil and once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions. Let the onions turn golden brown and then add 4-5 cups of boiling water and the moong dal. Add the spices and stir well. Close the lid and cook for 30 minutes on low heat. Once the moong dal is soft, add the rice. Cook for another 20 minutes. Your rice should look sticky and mushy. 

If you purchase quroot balls, you should soak them overnight and mix them to get a mixture and consistency like yogurt. If you have liquid quroot, then add salt (1 teaspoon) and 1-2 cloves of minced garlic.

For plating: 

Grab a big plate and a small bowl. Place the bowl in the middle of the plate. Fill the area around the bowl with the rice (shola). You can use a spoon to shape the rice and create a little hill. 

In the bowl, add the quroot mixture. Pour some of the quroot (whey) all over the rice and place meatballs on top of the quroot. Drizzle meatball sauce. Sprinkle some ground mint leaves all over the meatballs and quroot bowl. 

In a separate pot, heat up some oil. Once the oil is heated, slowly and carefully pour the oil all over the plate and the bowl. You will have a sizzling effect which would add lots of flavor to the dish. Add some cilantro to garnish!