- [Yia] A single ingredient tells a story - This is beautiful.

- [Yia] about a person, - My dad used to make this.

- [Yia] a place, - Smells like home.

- [Yia] a culture.

- So if we lose these then we lose everything.

- I'm chef Yia Vang.

- That's awesome.

- I just want to impress my Puerto Rican auntie, you know?

Step into the kitchen with local chefs.

Oh my gosh.

As we relish the cuisine and culture of our neighbors.

In this episode, it's a family affair as Masooda Sherzad and her daughter Mashal make Do Piyaza, a traditional Afghan dish.

We visit Nettie Colón's amazing backyard kitchen as she makes her grandmother's Puerto Rican Fricasé de Pollo.

But first, we're going to meet up with Karyn Tomlinson here at the Linney Studio in Lynhall.

[Yia] Karyn!

- Hi.

- [Yia] Hey, what are we getting into today?

- We are getting into pot roast.

- There's nothing like the smell of a good pot roast in the oven, I think.

- The smell hits you, it's almost like a warm hug you get.

- Exactly!

Like down to your soul.

- What are some of the first steps?

- We got the Chuck Roast and I'm just going to sear it with a tiny bit of oil, salt and pepper, super basic.

- [Yia] What are some memories of this dish that you have?

- I grew up having it every time I'd go out to my grandparents' house, in the town of Dassel, a little Swedish immigrant farm town in Minnesota.

The way that my grandmother wrote the recipe, years ago she just called it her "forgotten roast".

And it's just the easy thing to throw in the oven.

She used to make it before leaving for church.

And then if my grandpa would want to invite people over she would have a meal ready.

So literally just keep it in a big piece.

All the flavors kind of, you know, sit together throughout that whole time, cook it low and slow.

And I just think it's magical.

You let the meat speak for itself.

- And I believe that when you leave in that big piece like you can't really overcook it, you know what I'm saying?

Like, cause yeah.

- It's very forgiving.

- Yeah, it's definitely forgiving.

I mean, if you're 15 minutes off, it's like, hey.

- I've been like an hour off on this before and it gets better, so yeah.

As long as you cut it at the right temperature So, this was my grandma's meat fork.

- I was just gonna say.

Every chef needs the grandma meat fork.

- And when you're searing this, Karyn, what are you looking for?

- A really nice brown crust on each side, not worrying about cooking it 'cause of course, it's going to cook in the oven.

- Yeah.

And this is like the part where you can go pour yourself a drink or something, you know?

- Exactly.

- The pot roast that you do, is it pretty aligned with your grandma's recipe or do you take some artistic liberties in there?

- I think it embodies the spirit, the essence of my mom's recipe and my grandmother's.

However, I don't use anything from a packet.

- Oh, okay.

Oh, that looks beautiful.

I know that for a lot of people who make pot roast they just put it all in a pot like that and they don't get a sear and it's almost just a steaming, you know?

- Yeah.

Definitely different approaches.

But the sear, I will, I will die on that hill.

- I'll die with you on that.

- Alright, perfect.

We'll go down together.

Alright, I'm going to cut the heat on this.

Now we are going to get our aromatics ready, which is onion, garlic, and some mushrooms.

- So Karyn, could you go into depth a little bit about how food was a part of your life growing up?

- Yeah, I saw as a young kid how food can really bring people together.

My parents were hospitable and same with my grandparents when I would spend time with them in Dassel.

I just saw that that was a part of life.

Not only for them, but for everyone in the community and someone died, then you'd see someone walk across the back 40 with a casserole in their hand.

I think it's that kind of farming community where I saw that really valued and it was really influential to me.

And even the way that I cook and and do hospitality.

- Awesome.

The pan where we seared off the beef, you got that beautiful fond in there.

- Yes.

Fond, those brown crusty bits, in layman terms.

So we're going to use these vegetables and the moisture from the vegetables will help to start to release some of the fond.

And I'm also gonna throw in some herbs.

I like using thyme.

Actually, I have a little bit of marjoram today too, but just something to give it a bit of the green flavor - And thyme is one of those things where it's a hard herb.

So it could take stewing and brazing and you know and what we're going to be doing is you take it really well.

- Exactly, yes.

And then it's like this little stick that you can easily remove.

- Yeah.

It's easy, yep.

- Sometimes I like to put a splash of wine in this, but in honor of my grandma, who, the strongest thing she had in her house was NyQuil.

I just, but still it's good without it.

Now we can peel some carrots.

Sometimes growing up, my mom would give me a choice for what to make on my birthday.

Pot roast, in my mind it was like the fanciest, nicest meal.

And, but it just, it felt like family and that made it special to me.

- [Yia] Oh, dang.

You really nuzzle those in there.

- [Karyn] Oh yeah.

- [Yia] Oh, and you just go whole with the potatoes?

- Whole potatoes.

- [Yia] Okay.

Why use Yukon Gold?

- Well, it's not as big of a commitment as a russet.

- [Yia] You don't add any more moisture in it or more liquids in it.

So like all the moisture from all the vegetables that comes out, that becomes your gravy.

- Exactly.

- That's incredible.

- And it actually is really good to not have much airspace around it because then the vegetables will soak up the flavor.

It'll be, it'll keep more moisture in.

It won't just evaporate as it's cooking.

You'd be surprised how many carrots you can fit in here.

Get one more right there.

Now we put it in the oven and wait for about five or six hours until it's done.

(cards shuffling) (idle music playing) - Rummy.

- Think mine could have steeped a little longer.

- Cream?

- Yes, please.

- Oh, look at these happy little trees.

Wow.

Karyn, this looks delicious.

- I'm excited for you to try it.

- So awesome.

I feel so American eating this.

- Could've just come from the fields ready for a late lunch.

- Oh, this is so good, Karyn.

Especially on like a cold day.

- This kind of a stick to your ribs.

Not even kind of, it is a stick to your ribs meal.

- Do you know we have recipes for all the dishes featured on Relish?

Check them out on TBToriginals.org/relish.

I'm really, really excited to learn something new today.

- Do Piyaza is a Persian word meaning two onions.

We use a lot of onions cooked with this dish.

And then also at the end, we garnish it with marinated onions.

Onions are like the base for a lot of dishes in our cuisine.

Afghan cuisine.

- So do you want me to start cutting?

- What you want to do, Sweetheart, just help me peel with this, just peel.

- This one?

- Yeah.

- How do you want me to- - You will just cut, you know, this part.

Watch your fingers.

Make sure you hold onions firmly.

- [Yia] So, Mashal are you still learning to cook?

- I am.

I'm still clearly learning how to cook, but I mean I have great guidance.

Both my parents are amazing in the kitchen but really I just eat well.

- Yeah.

- Do you want me to cut them like- How would you like me to do that?

- Oh, so we use the white onions, sorry.

(everyone laughs) - It's okay.

- We don't use the red one for- That would be for salad but okay.

- Where did you learn how to cook?

- So, I actually learned cooking when I came to America.

- [Yia] Okay.

- I grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan.

And when you watch people cooking, you know, you learn.

But once I moved to USA, just for the past 30 years or so, I learned how to cook when I came here.

With anything, you know, cooking is just like you learn, and then you get better and better.

- We have the onions cut up.

What's the next step we're doing?

- Okay.

Pour some oil, like half a cup or maybe a little more, you know, you just put the onions there.

- I love the smell of like onions right in the oil.

- [Mashal] Yeah.

- So we just stir it.

I'm going to turn this off because you know, we want to have the lamb to put on top of this.

- [Mashal] And these are the lamb shanks.

These are beautiful, just- - [Yia] You can just trim up, trim it up a little bit.

- Yeah.

If there's any like fat that you don't like you want to get rid of that.

- I think sometimes lamb shank, people are really afraid to use it.

It's not something that a lot of households are familiar with it.

I love lamb shank.

I think it's one of the most delicious, just 'cause it's on that bone right in the middle there.

- [Masooda] Bone, yeah.

And that's where all the flavor is.

- The broth just that, it's just amazing.

- I'm a huge, huge fan.

- I think this much is good.

Add the meat here.

- We're going to throw some garlic in.

- Yes.

- Yep.

- Let's just add four to five cloves for now.

- I mean, we could smell that garlic, that onion and even that lamb searing.

Smells so delicious.

- Yeah.

Our house growing up, was very fragrant.

- Yeah.

- Every day we came home from school and I knew exactly what was on the stove.

- [Yia] Yeah.

- Based on how it smelled.

- [Yia] Yeah.

Definitely.

Everything you're saying is just like my childhood is, I guess, in my head too.

And I'm like, oh yeah.

Sometimes you'd be embarrassed to have friends over Because you're like, "They might think it's the weird."

- Yeah.

- You know?

- I definitely can relate to that.

Growing up a little bit though, then it's like, Oh, I have this amazing facet of my culture.

And that is like, I didn't eat mac and cheese growing up.

I really didn't.

- Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches after school.

Yeah.

Now you're going to throw in some spices.

- Yeah.

We start with salt.

- [Yia] Okay.

Salt is like something that you keep adding and you taste, you know, the salt.

There's not that exact amount that you should put.

One spoon or two spoons.

This is a ground coriander.

It just adds so much flavor.

Black pepper.

- Yep.

- Just a little bit.

The cayenne is just optional.

You do not wanna put a lot.

Just a tiny bit.

So, you wanna turn the heat a little bit up.

You see all of the spices kind of begins to smell the aroma.

- It's like toasting it.

- Yeah yeah.

Toasting.

- And then also we're browning that shank too.

We're creating that sear, which has all that flavor in it.

- Yeah yeah.

You want to get rid of that, you know, that smell.

- She calls it the lamb smell.

- Yeah.

No, I love that!

- chicken smell and chicken has it.

- Yeah.

Chicken, pork, you know.

They all have a different smell.

The lamb smell.

I love that, yeah.

- Now, like the next step is to just add water.

Turmeric, this adds color.

So I'm going to add a little more, 'cause you want the color to be vibrant and alert, deep yellow.

You always keep adding, you know, spices or anything that you feel like can add.

- Anything that you're braising or stewing, I've always learned that you have to keep tasting as it goes, because when it's braising, it's doing, the flavor changes, you know?

- Exactly.

- So, I'm gonna, you know, taste a little bit - And I think this is what makes this kind of cooking so beautiful.

It's like, it's very interactive.

You know, you can't just set it and forget it and kind of go on.

I call it soul food.

It's very soulful 'cause you tend to it.

Open the dish, you stir it and you smell it.

You can add more spices if you need to.

So, then we're going to close the pot and we let this to basically cook.

So while this gets ready, we can boil the split peas, make the salad.

- And we are going to chop some cilantro to put on top of everything at the end.

And we also are going to make the marinated onions that go on top of the dish as a garnish.

And for the marinated onions, all you really need is the white vinegar and salt.

- In Afghan culture, is it a communal event when it comes to cooking?

- It's a big thing cooking, you know?

It bring people together and so you're sharing stories and you're having basically fun.

It's not like a, "Oh my gosh, I have to go cook."

You know?

- Yep.

- So that's why it makes it so much, so much fun.

- Yeah.

- Afghan cooking is vibrant, it's loud.

It's a lot of activity.

It's never like a lull.

It's never like calmly waiting for like a crock-pot.

It's very hands-on.

- So, we add the split yellow peas.

- When you add the yellow peas in there, is it going to keep cooking a little bit too?

- Oh, we're going to just leave it for a few minutes.

So to get the flavors from the broth.

Now, just final taste as far as the seasoning and especially the salt.

It's great.

All done, and we put the cover so it stays warm.

We make the salad.

- What is the role of food in your family - It bring, you know, people together.

- My partner and I will come every Sunday night to come break bread.

The focal point of that gathering is the food.

And it's, you know, every week it's something different.

It's my mom cooks or dad cooks, you know and not to pit them against one another, but my partner- - Oh no, I love his cooking.

- But my partner loves when my mom cooks because she brings these flavors that my partner is so unfamiliar with.

And it's like, the way she cooks- - Yeah.

- is different.

You can tell that it came from the homeland, from the motherland.

You should see my dad when he takes one bite out of a meal that she's prepared.

And it's just like, they look at each other across the table and he's just like, you know, that praise and that love and the appreciation.

- So this next part, you're going to put the marinaded- - [Masooda] Marinaded onions.

- [Yia] and you just put it right on top?

- [Masooda] And we keeps some for the garnish.

- [Yia] That looks so delicious.

- The Do Piyaza is ready, so, now we're gonna dish it out.

The bread first, this is Afghani bread.

So we have the lamb shanks and the Afghani salad and we have the marinated onions.

- [Yia] This is so, so amazing.

That's so delicious.

It's so tender.

Like it just kind of breaks apart.

- That's how you want it to just kind of the meat to just detach from there, from the bone.

- And that onion really cuts through it, you know?

I think one of the greatest testament to what you guys are doing is having a restaurant for 32 years is unheard of.

Like that- - That is a long time.

I mean, I can't believe it myself.

- What does it mean for you to share your food and your culture?

- It's been a beautiful journey, you know, to run a restaurant is not easy, but totally worth it because you, like give them something that you cook with lots of love.

And you share that with everybody that come at your place.

That's very satisfying.

- Yeah.

The food is important and it's on me really to like pursue that learning process because it's something I want to be able to pass it down to my kids someday, too.

- Whenever I cook at home, all right, then just call on Mashal over.

Just look, you know, this is very easy.

You just do it this way or these are the steps and I want them to- - Carry on the legacy?

- Yeah.

Connect with us on social media.

- Yia, my friend, welcome!

- So excited to be here.

- Come on in.

- This is a beautiful backyard here.

- Oh, thank you.

You know, I'm just trying to bring a little bit of the island vibe.

- [Yia] So let's get started.

- So today what we're going to make is Fricasé de Pollo.

- Okay.

- or Chicken Fricassee.

It is a very popular island dish, that is made, and the reason why it's popular is because back in the day when you had to feed many, many people, it was the dish that you could sort of make grow with very little chicken.

- Yeah.

- So it is comfort food at its best and then you serve that over white rice and you can't go wrong.

- What's our first step here?

- Alright.

So our first step that we have to do, we have to butcher the chicken and we have to take the skin off.

The reason being is because the skin will impart a little too much fat in it.

And some people are chicken skin people, some people are not, I am one of those, not.

- Oh really?

- So, yeah.

- I'm one of those, am.

- Yeah, if it was crispy, it would be a different story.

But the fact that it's going to be kind of like in there, no.

And then also leave the bones in 'cause that adds so much flavor to it.

I'll start cutting the ham.

- Awesome.

Nettie, I will love to hear a little bit more about your story.

- So, I was born in New York, raised in Puerto Rico.

We did the reverse of "West Side Story."

- Yeah.

My maternal grandmother's from the center of the island of Puerto Rico.

My grandmother didn't have much at all.

She basically didn't have any schooling.

She raised eight kids, right?

She had 48 grandchildren.

So we used to go up there and- - 48 Grandchildren?

- Oh yeah.

- Yeah.

It sounds like a Hmong family.

- Absolutely.

We were so like amazed by how different our lives were from the city going to the farm.

And she would just teach us how to like raise chickens, how to butcher chickens, butcher pigs, you know rose coffee and all of that.

There was so much happiness and so much abundance.

I'm going to start on the sofrito, - Awesome.

- which is the total basis of everything delicious.

So take an onion and what we're going to do, we're just going to dice it small enough so that it fits into the pilón.

Which is what we call this baby right here.

I think you, you use one too, don't you?

- Yeah.

I love using them.

It's a different kind on texture, yeah.

- Yeah.

It releases the oils in a totally different way.

- Yup.

- [Nettie] Yeah.

In Puerto Rico you have a pilón, and that's like, you love that more than your own kids, to tell the truth, you know, seriously.

Now that we have everything cut, we'll do the garlic, you know, and like never be afraid of garlic.

- With some of the recipes we do.

We're pushing like four or five.

- Yeah, exactly.

You know, and the thing is, that we're also cooking for a lot of people.

- Yeah.

- Right?

- Yeah.

- In Puerto Rican culture, your friends always show up or your family members with a bunch of other people.

- Yes, I love that 'cause I see that reflecting Hmong culture.

Because like you never go, "oh, we're having four people over.

We're going to make enough food for four people."

- Yeah, no.

- It's like, no, no, no, no, no.

You make food for eight and if four shows, sure, take some home.

- Exactly.

- Exactly, and I love that.

- So, all right.

So I'm going to put this in here.

In there, I've put a little bit of salt because that helps with the garlic to not stick.

So you just go at it and I'll start cutting the pumpkin.

I mean, you can just smell it.

You know what I mean?

- Oh my gosh, yes.

- Oh, you're doing, that's awesome.

- I just want to impress my Puerto Rican auntie, you know?

- Your Puerto Rican auntie is very proud of you.

When you are done with it, you don't wash them.

You just wipe them clean because that's how you season it.

So my mom has one that is, I think it was before I was born.

So yeah.

That was given to her by- - 27 years ago?

Yeah.

Right, times two.

(Nettie and Yia laughing) So yeah, now I think we can head down to the fire, get it set up and start cooking.

(upbeat funky music) - [Yia] Nettie.

I love this grill.

- So, what it is, is a Argentinian-style parilla or grill.

The wheel and the mechanized, so you can control how you cook.

Instead of controlling the fire, you're controlling more of like what the meat is, so there's grates that go on there.

I got this dropped-in box and then this we had it build.

So we could just put it in there.

So we're never moving from this house.

- Yeah.

- This backyard, you know?

So this is a very important in Spanish cuisine.

I would say these two are the two things that every household has, - Yeah, yup.

- This is a caldero and a caldero stays in the family or it's used for like years.

And this actually is quite new.

So it's not something that I would sort of brag about this kind of, because technically it should be like dark like pretty much like black pot.

You know what I mean?

So we're going to put everything in here, in layers.

- And you just throw that right on the coal.

- I'm just going to throw that right on the coals, right?

Once we start getting everything in, we'll just bury it even more.

We have here a little bit, again, pork lard, that you know, any household in Puerto Rico would have it laying around from the meal before, or just because and then we're going to throw in our ham.

- And this is what I love about Puerto Rican food is that even though this is a chicken dish, you start with pork.

- Oh, yeah.

It's everything about adding flavor to it.

Then we're just going to add a little bit of oregano.

And then if you want to dump in the sofrito.

- Oh, that, that smell.

Oh my gosh.

- [Nettie] This is like the textbook combination of a Puerto Rican braise, if you will.

You have the sofrito.

You have a little bit of the pork lard, the ham, and then a little bit of the dry herb.

Alright.

So if you wanna place the chicken.

- Yep.

- Now notice that one thing that we're doing differently from braising, is that we're not searing the chicken.

- [Yia] Yeah.

We're just basically placing it strategically right on top.

- Nettie, could you tell me a little bit more about Puerto Rican flavors?

- Yeah.

Puerto Rican flavors are bold flavors that are just very like beautiful, comforting.

They're flavors from Africa, they're flavors from Spain and they're flavors from the Caribbean Indians.

You have a combination of sweet, salty, savory, and it's just, they're meant to comfort you and they're meant to feed your soul.

- And you know what I love about this, is there's so many flavors in this.

- Each family does this dish a little bit differently.

So I was taught by my grandmother, so that's the flavors that I have.

And then we're just going to cover it now and then wedge that in deeper.

- [Yia] Okay.

- [Nettie] Yeah.

And now we wait for it to cook.

- And how long does this usually take?

- Depending on how big your chicken pieces are, It'll be about 40 minutes.

When you're cooking on the coals that is a pretty intense heat even though it doesn't look like it.

And then the end, right before we remove it, we'll add the peas and the butter.

Because you gotta have butter, more fat, right?

And so like, yeah, you gotta have butter, right?

We'll take the lid off.

Let it cook, let it reduce.

And then we'll have dinner.

- [Yia] That sounded delicious - Ready to eat.

And here we are my friend.

- Oh my gosh.

- Fricasé de Pollo, Puerto Rican-style.

- [Yia] It smells so delicious.

- And to go with that, a little white rice.

- Oh yes.

- Buon appetito.

- Oh my gosh.

This is so delicious.

Like, I love that you put the peas in right at the end, so they don't get mushy.

They're still, they have texture.

There's still a fresh crunch.

But you, that vinegar, and those capers really help cut through just like the fattiness.

And that's like so key in here.

- And remember that, you know this right here, this pot right here would feed 20 people.

- [Yia] Yeah.

- I come from an island of 35 miles wide by a hundred long right?

There is poverty.

And there still is, but no one goes without food because what you have, you share.

So if I have a loaf of bread and you don't have any, then we both have half because I will give you half.

And so for me, when I cook, for me, I cook with my grandmother on my shoulder, you know?

And everything that I do when it comes to food, I have her.

you know, it's sort of like it's, I remember her and it's just like, that's where I come from.

That's who I am.

(funky upbeat music) - I'm telling you the rice makes it.

- I know.

- This dish without the rice, It's not the same.

My grandfather would pray and he would leave so many pauses between sentences that we'd wonder if he was like falling asleep.

And there's like this delicious food on the table.