The Launceston Hazara community will show “the good face” of Afghanistan by sharing their food and culture at the 30th Taste of Tasmania.
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Delicious Banyan Afghan will be serving up traditional Afghani foods such as bolani and mantu, and a Persian Afghani dish ash sabzi at the food event in Hobart that runs from December 28 to January 3.
They will be one of 22 Northern food and beverage stallholders at the 30th anniversary of The Taste of Tasmania, in Hobart.
Delicious Banyan Afghan owner Gholam Jafari, partnering with Yousef Mohammadi, saw the festival as a great opportunity to showcase Afghani food whilst building the business.
Mr Jafari was a refugee in an Iranian refugee camp for more than 15 years before moving to Australia four years ago, a situation experienced by many families in the Launceston Hazara community.
“We are not only demonstrating the foods, but we are also demonstrating the personality and characters that Afghan people have,” Mr Mohammadi said.
“The media told the world about the war in Afghanistan, how terrifying it is, and how many terrible things happen there, but at this festival, we would like to try and show people the good face of Afghanistan,” he said.
“Food can bring togetherness and happiness.”
At the Taste, the team are also serving vegetable and meat mantu, which are an Afghani dumpling, and ash sabzi, a vegetable soup served with meat, coriander, spinach and lots of other vegetables, served with rice.
“If you know someone from Afghanistan and tell them about this food, they will know it for sure, they will know how to cook it, and know how traditional it is,” Mr Mohammadi said.
Delicious Bamyan Afghan will be joined by other Northern food stallholders Mount Gnomon Farm, Casa Paella and the Tasmanian Food Company, and coffee producers such as Coffee Republic and coffee roasters Provenance Coffee Co which will be serving nitro cold brew coffee, filter coffee and espresso martinis.
Northern beverage stallholders include Goaty Hill Wines, Clover Hill Wines, Moores Hill Wines, Morrison Brewery, Red Brick Road Cider and Hells Gates Gin, Little Rivers Brewery Co, and James Boags, which is a sponsor of the Taste for the first time.