Dal Makhani and Jalfrezi vegan

I decide the most simple, relevant and delicious things I could cook for my Afghan friends are Makhani dal and Jalfrezi, although Shakila falls about screaming at the jalfrezi which ‘…can’t be jalfrezi without chicken!’ Yup, we find a night that works and gather round the table, Akbar arriving too, the languages and laughter dashing continuously through Farsi, German and English. I have no real experience of that part of the world including it’s geography, and galled to realise that I didn’t even know that Farsi is the Persian language that everyone also speaks in Iran (though with many different dialects) everywhere. With the food and the chat we relax. I think Akbar is happy to be amongst new friends too and he gets out his dombrya and plays and sings and we cheer and clap and sing-along and call for more and it’s another fine meeting of hearts.