January 2026

Saland-e Nakhod (Chickpea Yogurt Stew)

Saland-e Nakhod (Chickpea Yogurt Stew)
Source of Recipe
New York Times Cooking, Recipe from Tamim Samee and Michael Shaikh Adapted by Eric Kim
Serves/Makes/Yields
4

In 2007, the human rights investigator Michael Shaikh first tasted this dreamy, golden chickpea stew, saland-e nakhod (also called qurma-e nakhod), at his friend Tamim Samee’s dinner table in Kabul, Afghanistan. “It’s a dish some Afghan families have forgotten,” Mr. Samee told Mr. Shaikh. This recipe comes to us from Mr. Shaikh’s book, “The Last Sweet Bite: Stories and Recipes of Culinary Heritage Lost and Found” (Crown, 2025). Many cultures have a richly spiced chickpea stew thickened with tangy yogurt. This one, with its soft, comforting flavors, belongs in that glorious pantheon.