Manto @ Watan Pure Afghan Cuisine
453 Smithdown Rd, Wavertree, Liverpool, L15 3JL
Opened just last year in the spot once occupied by Reyhoon Persian restaurant, Watan is not somewhere to come if you’re short on time. The welcome is warm, the atmosphere relaxed and all the food cooked fresh to order.
Take a book or a paper, settle in for a long conversation or turn your attention to the huge TV on the wall showing drone footage of the Hindu Kush mountains, because you can’t be in a hurry. This is especially true when ordering the manto.
Manto — an Afghan variation on the spiced meat dumplings found across Central and West Asia, the Caucasus and the Balkans — are traditionally made with raw minced lamb and onion which means the parcels have to be steamed for around half an hour rather than the usual three or four minutes.
The slower cook means the filling of the manto is incredibly tender. The tart strained yoghurt, tomato-chilli sauce and earthy kidney beans served alongside them perfectly offsetting the sweet-savouriness of the meat. Delicious.
Also on the menu at Watan are a selection of kebabs, including excellent crispy-fried chapli — round patties of coarse, spiced lamb sometimes called Kabuli hamburgers.
I’ve yet to visit early enough but they also serve breakfast — a full English and a couple of Afghan options, including fried liver with fresh tomato on a baked naan.
