Kishmish, کشمش: The Dari term for raisin; a partially dried grape. Kishmish, کشمش: An integral ingredient of Afghan cuisine. You will find it sprinkled on our rice, embedded in our pastries, and subtly flavouring our yoghurts.
Kishmish, کشمش: Dubai’s first gourmet Afghan street and soul food restaurant. A tale of our love for food, nostalgia for home, and our dream: to share the riches and comforts of Afghan food.
On any typical day, along the bustling banks of Kabul River, you find hundreds of food carts and small, unpretentious local eateries. The offerings look as unassuming, but, the complexity of aromas and tastes represent a unique fusion of South, West and Central Asian cuisines, all coming together in a gastronomic harmony that is a mirror reflection of Afghanistan’s geographical location at the crossroad of the ancient Silk Road and thousands of years of invasions.
The Afghan street food is made of basic, natural and organic meats, vegetables and legumes, but is rendered sumptuous by millennia-long cooking techniques, delicate herbs and mouth-teasing spices that can be traced back to an array of influences. From Alexander’s Hellenistic civilization to the Mauryans of the Subcontinent, the Persian Sassanids, the Ummayad Arabs, the Mongols of the Central Asian Steppes, each has left its culinary mark on the dishes that we serve at Kishmish.
From using an Afghan tandoor (a cylindrical makeshift oven) to heat our beloved Naan bread, the smell of our mixed spices, to the comfort a bowl of Shur-Nakhut provides at the end of a long day, Kishmish is about sharing and celebrating Afghanistan through our food.