Food Reviews Restaurants

Kabul Express, Hyson Green, Nottingham

Afghani food at Kabul Express, Nottingham
I’d never eaten Afghani food before last week and I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect before walking into the Kabul Express in Nottingham’s Hyson Green.  From the street, it’s a strange looking place with shiny silver walls, bright fairy lights and gaudy fabrics adorning the windows.
Once inside and past the plastic water feature though, I was surprised to find a fairly hushed feel with private dining booths along one wall and tables along the other.
Afghan food in Nottingham

Leaving our shoes at the ‘door’ we climbed into our private booth and made ourselves comfortable on the cushions. Our waiter passed our menus and drew the curtains allowing us to choose our meals and chat quietly about our day.

 

The food has echoes of Moroccan, Indian and Turkish – lots of rice and wheat, spiced vegetables and meat dishes.  We just ordered a bit of everything so that we could try some of the restaurant’s speciality dishes.

Here’s what we ate & drank:

  • Ashak – Leek & scallion filled dumplings, topped with yoghurt special sauce. 
  • Mantu – Steamed dumplings filled with chopped lamb, onions & herbs topped with yoghurt & special sauce.
  • Afghani Naan – Cooked in a tandoor with cumin and caraway. 
  • Dupiaza – Tender pieces of lamb with doubled cooked onions in sauce.
  • Sabzi – Spinach cooked with herbs and spices in a thick sauce.
  • Salty Lassi – A yoghurt based drink.
I’ve never tried Salty Lassi before and on the first slurp, I wasn’t keen. However, once we started eating, the whole flavour of the drink and the way it interacted with my palette changed. The saltiness of the yoghurt was perfect with the savoury spinach and the spicy lamb curry. The Mantu dumplings were probably my favourite thing – filled with lamb and onions, they were delicately spiced. We ate them with the spicy green coriander sauce.
ashak dumplings
mantu dumplings

We were really surprised by the value – our bill was less than £25 – an absolute bargain for the amount of food we consumed. Dave was very taken with the fact that you can order a whole lamb spit-roast for group parties so I’m sure we’ll be back at some point in the future for a birthday or other large gathering.

On exit, there was just time for a shiny wall selfie before heading home to lay down in a dark room and get over the amount of food consumed!

 

Fancy trying Afghani food?  Head over to the Kabul Express for a great value meal. They also deliver and are on Just Eat here.

The Kabul Express, 
77 Radford Road, 
Nottingham 
NG7 5DR.

0 Comments

  1. Wow! I only went to one restaurant when I was in Afghaistan (too dangerous) and have hankered after Afghan food since. Might have to take myself to Nottingham for a special trip! And have you changed your blog? Looks fab 🙂

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