Simon Wilkinson reviews Parwana

A RETURN visit to the magical world of Parwana provides both the reassuring pleasure of old favourites and a few surprise twists.

Kabuli Palaw at Parwana. Picture: Ftema Ayubi

IT’S an Afghan secret, our waiter confides, as he prepares to clean the table. The best piece of pita, he says, is the one we’ve left behind — the one that has been hidden under a pile of grilled meats and now has a golden stain after soaking in the spice-laden juices.

He’s right, of course, and though we’ve more than eaten our fill, we tear into it greedily as if it’s the start of the meal. Many of the reasons to visit Parwana have been documented before – Adelaide’s most famous eggplant, the heavenly rice, the feel-good story of the owners, the Ayubi family.

Now there is another.

This reviewing caper is a great privilege but it can mean that, in constantly searching for all that is fresh and newsworthy, the opportunities for revisiting old favourites are limited. In this special food edition of SAWeekend, however, I thought we all deserved a treat.

It’s more than seven years since I last wrote about Parwana. The boys, then aged five and seven, were mesmerised by the fragrance, the colour and the flavour. The older one said it was his best meal ever. I wasn’t too far behind.

This is their first time back and, much to everyone’s relief, any changes are essentially cosmetic. The dining room has been repainted, with walls of dusky pink on one side and pale blue on the other, so it looks like a sunset sky. Old framed pictures of people and places give a hint of a very different life when home was in Kabul.

 

Kabuli Pilaw rice at Parwana. Picture: supplied

The story of Zelmai and Farida Ayubi fleeing Afghanistan 30 years ago with their young children is integral to the spirit of Parwana, the success of the restaurant one way of showing their homeland in a more positive light. The next generation of the family and their partners now have their own projects, including the Kutchi Parwana street food outlets and another business producing sweet treats.

This extended family also helps with Parwana, where there are now two sittings each evening but it still seems busier than ever.

As for the parents, Zelmai normally keeps an eye over proceedings out front, while the modest Farida is hidden from view in the kitchen at the back.

Parwana Afghan Restaurant chef Farida Ayubi

Her menu has many of the same signature dishes at its heart, and a few others that come and go on different days of the week.

“Mantu” are gorgeous steamed dumplings stuffed with onion sauteed until it is soft and sweet. They are cloaked in just the right amount of a sauce of lamb mince and stripes of yoghurt dusted in paprika. Heavenly.

“Pekowrah” are vegetable fritters like Indian pakora, notable here for the clean, precise frying and the dish of zippy, coriander-based relish on the side.

The eggplant, if anything, is better than I remembered, the strips of veg transformed by bubbling gently in a tomato sauce into a superb, unctuous sludge that even the avowed eggplant hater among us scrapes up with glee. More yoghurt, paprika and fresh mint supply the finishing touches.

 

Eggplant dish at Parwana. Picture: supplied

Rice palaw is the Ginger Rogers to the eggplant’s Fred Astaire, each grain so perfectly light and tender you could almost imagine them dancing across the plate. The Kabuli version is topped with threads of carrot, sultanas and almonds. If there is better rice anywhere, please let me know.

Two meats are served with tomato and cucumber salad, as well as a pile of rolled pita which are first put to good use wiping up any remaining sauce from the other plates. Pieces of chicken are marinated in yoghurt and mild spices, before pan-frying until golden. The lamb is coated in a coarser, more pungent paste.

The two desserts are revelations. “Candied apple” has been poached in syrup until it turns a deep, caramel brown, not just on the surface but through to the core, like a piece of glace fruit. And the “halwa” is a loose crumbed semolina pudding, or maybe a cake, fragrant with saffron and cardamom but with only a whisper of sweetness.

So while a trip to Parwana offers the reassurance of visiting an old friend, it's very clever, extremely humble cook can still spring a surprise. Expect to see more of this with the promise of an expanded dining room and more varied menu early next year.

Get the Delicious 100 food guide here.

PARWANA

124 Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville;
8443 9001; parwana.com.au

OWNER Zelmai and Farida Ayubi

CHEF Farida Ayubi

FOOD Afghan ENTREES $9-$12 MAINS $14-$25
DESSERT $12

DRINKS Parwana does not sell alcohol but allows BYO, with proceeds

from the corkage helping feed the homeless.

BYO $10

Open for DINNER Tue-Sun

SCORE 7.5/10