When you travel to Afghanistan, you will be amazed by the diverse culinary regime you encounter in the country. The traditional foods have roots in the old culture of the country and serve as symbols of geographical and, of course, ethnic diversity. It' is essential to know that Afghan cuisine incorporates a wide range of food items. This allows individuals with different food preferences to easily come together, discuss, and exchange opinions.

One of the popular foods that you can find almost in every restaurant in Afghanistan is Lamb Tikka Kebab. This kebab is usually made from lamb meat, and often served with Afghani bread. When you travel to the country, you can find this kebab and Ghabili Palaw (Ghabili Uzbeki) in almost every restaurant or food outlet you visit.

In the Afghan Lamb Tikka Kebab, a selection of ingredients helps with creating a delicious and memorable dining experience. The recipe includes lamb leg meat as the main ingredient of the Kebab. This meat is sourced specifically from the waist or thigh region. Complementing the meat is a blend onions, and garlic to taste. The seasoning is kept simple yet essential with salt added to taste. The final touch is the use of enough oak charcoal to prepare the kebab and give it a distinct smoky flavour.

A common feature of Afghan kebabs similar to Iranian kebabs is that we don't make Afghan kebabs very spicy unlike the way Kebabs are made in countries like India and Pakistan. We only add enough pepper to give the kebab flavour, and we do not make it too spicy. The goal is for the customer to feel the taste of the kebab and meat instead of being overwhelmed by excessive spiciness.

Afghan Lamb Tikka at Rumi Palace

Afghan cuisine, rooted in cultural traditions and reflective of the country's geographical and ethnic diversity, has long been celebrated for its array of flavours. As an Afghan restaurant in South Australia, most of our dishes are Afghan. However, we hadn't been offering Afghan kebabs for several years which was a notable gap in our restaurant. Therefore, we responded to the demands of our customers, that an Afghan restaurant must have Afghan kebabs, by introducing Afghan Lamb Tikka Kebab to our menu in 2023.

In Afghan Lamb Tikka Kebab, the lamb leg meat from the waist is usually used however, we use the lamb backstrap. To make the tikka kebab, we cut lamb backstrap into small pieces and skewer them.

We put one piece of tail fat into every skewer to make our Kebab real authentic. This is the advantage of our tikka kebab to our Afghan restaurants since they don’t add the tail fat. Additionally, other restaurants tend to add too many spices to the tikka kebab that results in altering its original flavour. However, our aim is to maintain and transfer the authentic taste of Kebabs that are found in cities like Kabul, Herat, Qandahar, or Bamyan.

How Afghan Lamb Tikka is served at Rumi Palace

In Afghanistan, the lamb tikka kebab is served with 8 small skewers of lamb kebab in one serving. However, at Rumi Palace, customers can choose how many skewers of Lamb Tikka Kebab they would like to serve. The minimum amount for one order is 3 skewers. This gives us our customers to order any number of (3 or above) Lamb Tikka skewers to enjoy the authentic and flavourful taste of this kebab.

While our restaurant predominantly serves Afghan dishes, the absence of Afghan kebabs was a noted gap that needed to be filled. With the addition of Afghan Lamb Tikka Kebab, we made a step in filling this gap and transferring the rich flavour of Afghan food. Come to our restaurant and try our Lamb Tikka Kabab, the authentic Afghan kebab!