Nasrollah Mohammadi was a young child when he left Afghanistan to flee the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s. At the end of last year, Mohammadi and his wife, Samira, opened Emran Restaurant & Market on Division Street, just south of Indiana Avenue. The unassuming spot is now the first Afghan restaurant in Spokane.
Just as food helped Mohammadi learn about the people he encountered growing up, he and his family are offering their favorite dishes to Spokane and inviting the city into a deeper understanding and appreciation of Afghan and broader Persian culture.
EMRAN RESTAURANT & MARKET
1817 N. Division St.
Open daily 10 am-10 pm
"When people want to understand the culture of some people, I think that starts with food," Mohammadi says.
Every day, Samira hand folds countless manto, Afghan dumplings stuffed with beef and spices, garnished with green herbs and bright orange lentils, and drenched in a garlicky yogurt sauce. She rolls bolani, a flakey flatbread filled with savory potatoes and leeks. And she prepares platters of pulau, a rice pilaf dish with a tender shank of lamb buried under piles of basmati rice, golden with curry and turmeric and sweetened with carrots and raisins.
Emran also offers chicken, lamb and beef kebabs, plus sweets like jalebi, spiraled dough fried in sweet saffron syrup, and coconut cookies sprinkled with pistachios. Mohammadi hopes to add Turkish and Iranian dishes to the menu as he figures out what Spokanites like to eat.
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