Rawash
Raw rhubarb with salt
رواش (rawash): Kabul's spring street snack of tart raw rhubarb stalks with salt
For a few weeks in spring, men walk down from the hills around Kabul and Paghman with bundles of rawash, wild mountain rhubarb, and sell the thick red-flecked stalks on the pavement, peeled to order and handed over with a twist of salt. It is a crunchy, juicy and mouth-puckeringly sour snack, a sign that winter is over, eaten while walking or at a picnic on the first warm Friday. Wild rhubarb is almost impossible to buy outside the region, so this home version uses young, slim forced or garden rhubarb stalks, which are close in sourness and crunch. Never eat any of the leaf: rhubarb leaves are poisonous, so cut them off and throw them away, and enjoy the stalks in modest amounts, as they are high in oxalic acid. Chef's tip: chill the stalks in iced water for 10 minutes first; the cold makes them snap and softens their sharp edge.
- Total time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 14 oz young pink rhubarb stalksleaves and leaf base cut off and discarded
- 1 tsp flaky salt
- 1 pinch red chilli powder (optional)
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Rinse 14 oz young pink rhubarb stalks well, then soak it in a bowl of iced water for 10 minutes until very crisp.
10 minStep 2: Pull off any stringy outer skin from the thicker stalks with a small knife, as the vendors do.
Step 3: Cut the stalks into 8–10 cm batons and arrange them on a plate.
Step 4: Put 1 tsp flaky salt in a small dish, mixed with 1 pinch red chilli powder if you like, and serve so everyone can dip the rhubarb into it before each bite.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 15 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 3 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does rawash take?
- About 5 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
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