it is important to expose them to different foods. She wishes she
could include more fresh fruits and vegetables, but that’s not always
possible when she has to shop with a limited budget.
Lunch is at 11:30 a.m. It’s often a soup, pasta or rice dish,
frequently served with vegetables. At 3:30 p.m., the girls and boys
get an afternoon snack with tea. By 4:30 p.m., the lunch ladies have
cleaned up and are ready to head home.
Working such a long day preparing meals in such terrible and
unhealthy conditions is not easy. But Sabohat and her co-workers
make do. And knowing that the kitchen will soon be renovated
makes the long days and grim environment easier to bear as they
dream of the day when the kitchen is finally upgraded.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Members of the community are also excited about the kitchen
renovation and the other changes that Central Asia Institute
Tajikistan has made over the years. Mrs. Zarnigor is one of those
community members who has been watching the transformation
the kindergarten has undergone over the years, both good and bad.
“The earthquakes started to destroy the structure, and after the
collapse of the Soviet Union and lack of funding, [the school] got
totally destroyed,” she noted. “No one believed that one day someone
would overhaul it.”
Laughing she added, “Central Asia Institute Tajikistan
appeared suddenly like an angel and with its magic wand is
making [Kindergarten #5] better than it was before.”
Earlier this year, Mahbuba Qurbonalieva and the Central Asia
Institute Tajikistan team evaluated construction companies and put
together an action plan for tackling the kitchen repairs. In August,
construction began.
If all goes according to plan, the 300 students at Kindergarten #5,
the lunch ladies, and the community will have a brand new school
kitchen by the end of 2019. And Kindergarten #5 will once again
be a safe, healthy learning environment that is a monument to
education, restored to the glory of its heyday 30 years ago. l
What’s on the menu
in Tajikistan?
At Kindergarten #5 in Khorog, a remote
mountain town in Tajikistan’s easternmost
province, pilov—a rice dish made with
carrots, onions, and meat—is a special treat.
Oily, savory, and delicious, you can can see
the children’s faces light up when pilov is
on the menu. Here is Sabohat’s pilov recipe,
which she makes on special occasions for
300 young students:
PILOV RECIPE
(Serves 5-6 people)
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2.25 lbs meat (lamb or beef )
2.25 lbs rice
4.5 lbs carrots
2 onions
1 tablespoon cumin
1 garlic bulb
Salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
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FALL 2019
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
• Cut meat into small pieces.
• Peel and cut onions in half, thinly
slicing crosswise.
• Peel and cut carrots into juliennes
(long thin strips).
• Put vegetable oil into a large pan.
• Add meat and fry until it turns golden
brown, then do the same for the onions.
• Add carrots and simmer for 5-7 minutes
(do not cover).
• Add cumin and salt.
• Add water so the meat and carrots
are submerged.
• Cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes
on medium heat.
• Wash rice 2-3 times in cold water.
• Add rice to the pan, smoothing it over
the meat.
• Pour hot water over the rice so it is
submerged by 3/4 inches of water,
then add salt to taste.
• Cook until rice has absorbed the water.
• Put whole, peeled garlic bulb in the
middle of the pan and press into the rice.
• To steam, make holes in the rice using
a wooden stick.
• Cover and cook on low heat for
45 minutes.
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JOURNEY OF HOPE | 21