Gholor Torush
Gholor Torush is one of the famous local dishes of Herat province. It consists of wheat flour, home-made yeast, tomato, red chilli powder, cumin powder, yoghurt, turmeric powder and other medicinal/aromatic plants.
This food has a yellow colour and a sour and spicy taste, due to the diversity of spices and aromas contained. The smell of this product is similar to that of sourdough before cooking, but after cooking it acquires a spicy flavour and complex aroma.
It is a special food, usually cooked with onion and dried meat. It is mostly eaten in winter, especially on cold days. Most village families cook and eat this dish before noon because it is very nutritious. Gholor Torush is also occasionally cooked for special guests.
Gholor Torush is one of the indigenous products of the Heart City and is not well known in other parts of the country.
This food has been considered one of Herat’s traditional and indigenous foods for hundreds of years, and has a special place among other traditional foods in the community’s food culture as well.
In the past, this product was prepared by locals only for their own consumption. However, in 2016, the Faculty of Agriculture (Fag) and the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL), together with the Herat Association of Hoteliers (HA), promoted an exhibition on traditional foods. Following this event, the DAIL and Fag suggested adding some traditional foods to the menu of local restaurants. In addition, one of the local restaurants in Herat opened a super market to sell these processed traditional foods. Currently, it also exports these products to Europe and the United States to meet the demand of Afghan communities in these countries. Two famous restaurants in the city of Herat, Gholor Kadah and Bach-e- Malang, have also added this food to their menus.
Due to the introduction of fast food in recent years in the country and changes in lifestyle, especially in eating habits, most of the younger generation does not appreciate traditional food such as Gholor Torush. In big cities such as the heartland, many people have become more interested in fast food, because they lead hectic lives and do not have time to prepare their own food.
It is important for local food actors to introduce and sell this traditional processed food, given its potentially crucial role in supporting rural food producers and sustaining and preserving traditional products as part of Afghanistan’s food and cultural heritage.
