Afghan Dried Plums (Alubukhara)

Alubukhara are whole dried plums from Afghanistan with a soft, chewy flesh and a bright sweet and sour flavour. Each fruit is wrinkled and glossy, ranging from warm amber to deep reddish brown, and the taste opens sweet before finishing with a clean, fruity tang that lifts rich rice and meat dishes.

They are dried whole with the stone left in, the way alubukhara are traditionally sold across Afghan, Pakistani and Indian kitchens. Sizes and shades vary through the bag, which is what a real harvest looks like when the fruit is dried whole rather than sorted down to a single machine grade.

How to use them

Tuck a few whole into the layers of a biryani, where they soften in the steam and leave pockets of sweet and sour through the rice. Simmer them into Afghan qormas with lamb or chicken, and into kormas, dal and Middle Eastern rice and stew dishes that call for a fruity tang. Cook them down with sugar, ginger and chili into alu bukhara chutney for samosas and pakoras, or soak and blend them for a chilled plum sharbat. They are also enjoyed on their own with tea, nuts and other dried fruit. Technique tip: soak them in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes to soften, then press the flesh off the stone for chutneys and sauces, and leave them whole for rice and stews.

Details

Also known as

Alubukhara, Aloo Bukhara, Alu Bukhara, Aloo Bokhara, Bukhara Plums, Afghan Dried Plums, Dried Plums with Stone, آلو بخارا (Dari), آلو بخارا (Urdu), आलूबुखारा (Hindi), برقوق مجفف (Arabic), Kuru erik (Turkish), Prunes séchées (French), Ciruelas secas (Spanish), Сушёная слива (Russian)