Cookbook author Durkhanai Ayubi tells us how the Silk Road shaped the food and history of Afghanistan, from Mongolian dumplings to the life-changing braised eggplant at her family’s restaurant, Parwana. Plus, we sample Cajun seafood from the coast of Louisiana with chef Melissa Martin; Adam Gopnik waxes poetic about New York’s greenmarkets; and we make a dish inspired by Palestinian maftoul.

This episode is brought to you by Master Class, King Arthur Baking, and KiwiCo.

Questions in this Episode:

“I am deep into a project transcribing my grandmother’s handwritten recipe book which dates from the 1910s to the 1930s. Her recipe for nut bread says to let the batter rise for 45 prior to baking. Why would she tell me to let a baking powder quick bread rise?”

“I’ve been researching a lot of recipes for chicken and dumplings. I’ve noticed some recipes call for stock, and some call for just boiling a whole chicken. Is it always better to use stock over water, or are there times where using water is preferable?”

“I recently bought a jar of duck fat but I really don’t know what to do with it. Can you give any suggestions? I listen to the show and get inspired to try different things but I’m not sure about this one.”

“I never drink milk or have it in the house, but I use it for baking. What’s the best way to keep milk around so I don’t have to run out and buy it every time I want to bake something?”