Kosovo: Alba

So far I've been attempting to eat a London meal for each of the 193 'UN recognised' states alphabetically. I started with Afghanistan, and on Saturday wanted to try an Albanian. To my delight I managed to find a restaurant in Kilburn called 'Lisi', however on arrival I found that it was no longer called Lisi, it was called Alba, and it wasn't strictly Albanian it was Kosovan. Apart from the problem of skipping from A to K it made me realise how insipid the whole idea of 'UN recognised' countries is. I'm really limiting my experiences with this criteria, It doesn't do justice to the concept of truly discovering London's ethnic food given the fact that a large percentage of immigrant communities here are refugees from politically unstable regions or are from groups who don't have an internationally recognised homeland.

Kosovo is one such example, although its declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008 was recognised by 54 member states (including the UK), it isn't officially a UN sovereign state. The main reason for independence was the fact that its population is largely made up of ethnic Albanians who had suffered persecution as part of Serbia, as a result Kosovan food and culture is quite similar to Albania's.

Arriving at Alba my eagerness to try what I then thought was Albanian food was initially met with disappointment when the waitress told us that after a busy day all they had left was beef burgers. Seeing the large Albanian/Kosovan family next to us mopping up the remnants of a feast I was somewhat incredulous. Clearly the British's love of eating familiar junk abroad instead of foreign muck was hampering our chances of an authentic Albanian, although she assured me the burgers were traditional. As we were on the verge of leaving she capitulated and said that they might be able to do us a mixed grill and salad, emphasising it would be Kosovan and not the Albanian we'd pleaded for for the past five minutes.

Waiting for the food to arrive we were entertained by the Kosovan news. Features included some poor unfortunates paraded round at gun point and a startled Father Jack lookalike being dragged out of his cubby hole; our fellow diners didn't bat an eyelid. What seemed like an amazing satelite link to Pristina could well have been a pre-recorded video as the newsreader read premiership football results from before Christmas.

Not sure quite what to expect (there were no menus) we were presented with a selection of charcoal grilled beef. This included a sirloin steak (overdone for my liking), Sudjuk a smoky beef sausage flavoured with garlic and paprika, Cevapcici a kofte style kebab of beef mince, a piece of chicken fillet, and finally the beef burger we'd been threatened with earlier. Despite my reservations the burger was actually pretty good, like the rest of the meat it had imbibed the sweet smokiness of the charcoal, there was a nice chili kick from pepper flakes and the onions in the mince had retained a pleasant crunch. However as with the Cevapcici kebab, the mince was too fine and lacked sufficient texture. The grill was accompanied by side dishes of hot pickled peppers, a salad topped with mint and a feta like cheese, and Hajvar a delicous spicy relish of roasted peppers, aubergine, garlic and chili.

The portion failed to satisfy the three of us, so the waitress who had promised more if necessary obligingly brought out another plate. This time there was more steak, another sirloin, a small T-bone, chicken, mushrooms and once again the house speciality burger. The steak this time had been cooked more judiciously and was pinker. Unfortunately it had been smothered in a home made cottage cheese which drowned out the seared beefiness. Credit to the chef though who was working alone on a small grill, by 9:00 the place was full of Kosovan/Albanian families en masse, tables of ten and twenty, and the meat kept coming. To my relief we weren't missing out, the glamorous peroxide blondes and their thick necked, gold chained spouses were eating the same as us, devouring burgers with gusto.

As far as I can gather this is one of the few Albanian/Kosovan restaurants in London. It's the one recommended on the Albanian embassy's website (although it's Kosovan). As with Afghan Khayber it seems like the centre of the community for local Albanians/Kosovans, the owners have been there since 1993. There was a nice family feel to it and they seemed delighted by our interest in their food, proud of their burgers they also showed us how they smoke the home made Sudjuk sausages over the grill. The menu seems limited to the mixed grill (and a full English) but they do it fairly well. The prices are reasonable too, for three of us with a few beers it came to £48, though they don't seem to take card, be wary also of the card swallowing machine opposite.

In deference to my Kosovan experience, I am willing to add any country still seeking recognition and represented by a community in London to my original list of 193 countries (even Wales!). Ban Ki-Moon and his UN goons won't stand in the way of my fork.

Alba, 5 Malvern Road, Kilburn, NW6
Tel: 020 76258932

Afghanistan: Afghan Khayber

There's an old Pashtun saying that 'Every anguish passes except the anguish of hunger'. Gripped by such an anguish one Friday I decided to make the perilous journey to Hanwell, and carried on up to the 'Afghan Khayber'.

There's estimated to be around 50,000 Afghans in London, and Hanwell with two Afghan restaurants seems to have quite a large community. Despite the restaurant being empty apart from a young couple, there was a constant stream of locals, largely Afghan families buying carrierbags of steaming naan straight from the tandoor. The place feels quite authentic (or at least what I'd imagine a Kabul chow house to be like). The walls are white washed and decorated with rugs and ornate weavings, the ubiquitous giant teapot sits expectantly in the window, hoping one day it'll get its chance. There's also a large recliner with a low table should you wish a more authentic experience, much to my relief the five of us didn't fit.

On ordering we found that much of the menu was unavailable. Admirably the owners are narrowing it down to strictly Afghan dishes and jettisoning so called Iranian impostors such as Jujeh Kebab and Spinach Ba Sibzamini. To start we went for Borani Banjan, aubergine slices fried with garlic and tomatos and topped with yoghurt, and Borani Sabzi, sauteed spinach with yoghurt. Both were simple and delicious mopped up with a 2ft naan.

This was followed by two pasta dishes (an Uzbek contribution to Afghan cuisine I'm told). Mantu, rich, steamed parcels of minced lamb and onions flavoured with chili and coriander, coated in yoghurt and a tomato and split pea sauce; and Ashak, leek filled ravioli, sweet and salty. It was washed down with Dogh (pronounced a flem summoning Dohhhk) a traditional drink of yoghurt, mint and cucumber similar in taste to raita. It's tasty and the perfect antidote to a hot Kabul summer I'm sure, but I soon opted for a beer.

It's BYOB so I popped a few doors up to a Russian shop 'Pogrebok'. It felt like I was in Novosibirsk, everything was written in Cyrrilic. Walking back I wondered if there was any animosity between Afghan Khayber and their Russian neighbours given the events of the 1980s. My questions were soon answered when we opened a Baltika and it cannoned a jet of beer across the table, drenching a fellow diner. An embarassing incident in a dry Muslim restaurant, typical KGB inventiveness.

For our main courses we ordered a selection of kebabs; Shami, coarsely minced lamb sausage shaped kebabs flavoured with garlic, cumin and chili, moist with the right amount of fat, and Kofta Chalau, finely minced lamb patties with a hint of cardamon. The latter came in a rich tomato sauce, supposed to be with chickpeas (which were dually omitted). Delicious as the Kofta were, the sauce was far too oily for my liking, It may be more suited to Afghan tastes (and winters).

We encountered the same problem with the other Qormas (Curries) we ordered. A lamb Kahari was deep with slowly cooked onions but was oily and the meat used, perhaps too lean, had shrunk and dried up a bit. The chicken Qorma was sweet and sour with a nice tang, but would have been more succulent with thigh meat as opposed to breast. These were accompanied by Chalow; basmati rice boiled until almost cooked and then finished in the oven with oil and butter, which was excellent, as were the 70p giant naans which were drawing in the regulars. Chatney, a fresh relish of vinegar, tomato, chili and coriander cut nicely through the fat of the kebabs.

Our final plate was Qabuli Palao, Afghanistan's national dish of rice cooked with a lamb shank and stock, topped with carrots, raisins and almonds. The portion was intimidating, it was nice enough but the rice lacked the lambiness I'd hoped for. The key perhaps is to render enough lamb/mutton fat at the start of cooking. The meat itself was flavoursome but again was a touch too dry.

I'd certainly recommend Afghan Khayber if you can make it out to Hanwell, it was a really genuine place with no pretensions and seems like an important part of the community. As my first real Afghan experience I'm unqualified to speak about it with any authority. We had a satisfying meal which could have been better. The highlight was certainly the pasta, the Mantu and the Ashak, and it was great to see the owners take a real pride in it. The price was very reasonable, five of us ate, starters and mains for just over £50. Afghan food is something I really want to come back to, hopefully one day in its birthplace, which seems like a fascinating and enigmatic country.

Afghan Khayber, 203-205 Uxbridge Road, London, W7 3TH

Tel: 020 8579 5111

Next stop Albania........

Kabulawayo?

So here's the rub, London is arguably the most multicultural city in the world. Amongst it's 7 million inhabitants there are communities representing well over 100 different countries and speaking around 300 different languages. What fascinates me most is the food that centuries of migration have brought the Capital. There's such diversity from the Brick lane bagels/beigels of 19th century Jewish immigrants, to the feijoada and churrasco of Brazil's recent arrivals.

I'm obsessed by ethnic food and I love travelling, ideally I'd be meandering around the world from kitchen to kitchen; however as an indebted graduate currently struggling to find gainful employment, I'm boracic. Instead I've decided to explore what's on my doorstep, I want to see just how multicultural London's food is, so I've set myself a challenge.

There are currently 193 sovereign states (countries) in the world, I'm going to try and eat a meal from each of them in London. Ideally I'll find a restaurant for each cuisine, but accepting that this might prove difficult (Vatican City?) and having exhausted all avenues, I'll try and cook it myself. The plan is to attempt it alphabetically, from Afghanistan all the way through to Zimbabwe. Though if the opportunity arises to eat a Vanuatuan early on, this may go out the window. All in all I'm expecting this to take a couple of years but I'm really looking forward to it, and please if you are from any nation under represented in London (eg. Benin, Bhutan, Turkmenistan) do get in touch.