Not so spicy spices

Not so spicy spices
Originally uploaded by gaikokujinkyofusho.

This was at the “restaurant” in Band-i Amir the first encounter I can recall with food condiments. I have since learned that Afghan’s (as a rule though there are plenty of exceptions) don’t particularly care for spicy stuff though the food (from the good cooks) here is not as devoid of taste/flavor as it was in parts of Eastern Europe. We were served boiled eggs, nan (afghan flat bread), tea, and if requested “Happy Cake” (a Iranian “Little Debbie” type company I guess) standard fare in Afghanistan (minus the cake). Not quite what I hoped for but I attempted to make do by garnishing my chunk of egg with some salt and pepper looking stuff. Since I like spicy stuff but not crave it I was fairly conservative in the amount of spice I used but once I tried the egg I discovered that whatever this spice was it was not particularly potent so I ended up drowning my egg in spice which, along with the happy cake and lots of tea (which when well with the happy cake) held me over for most of the day.