Ziba Came on a Boat by Liz Lofthouse and illustrated by Robert Ingpen is a story of a young girl who escapes from war-torn Afghanistan on a refugee boat. As they travel, thoughts of home “washed over Ziba like the surge of the sea washing over the deck.” She remembers playing in the cold mountain air with her cousins, her mother weaving a rug, and her father telling stories.

As the boat tosses and turns, Ziba thinks about the fighting in her village and how she and her mother left running through the night. Falling asleep, she dreams about the smiling faces that will welcome them to a land without fear and with freedom.

The book is based on stories the author heard from Afghan refugees she works with in Perth, Washington. Kane/Miller Publishing recommends Ziba Came on a Boat for ages 5 to 9.

During Ziba’s journey, she looks back at she and her aunts preparing a meal, flatbread cooked in a tandur. But you can make flatbread, called noni, in a conventional oven, too.

Noni Afghani (Afghan Bread)

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cup warm water
2. 1 package (1/4 oz, 7 grams) dry yeast
3. 1 tablespoon sugar
4. 4 cups flour
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1/4 cup corn oil
7. 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon water
8. 1 tablespoon black cumin seed

Directions:

These small oval breads are baked in a Tandoor, the stove of the region. The Afghan oven is above ground and is made of rounded bricks, which are heated. Noni are shaped and put on the hot bricks for fast baking.

1. Mix 1/2 cup of warm water, yeast, and sugar together and let it proof for 10 min. When froth appears, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of flour on top. Let it continue to proof for 5 min more. The froth will rise quickly.
2. Put flour in a large mixing bowl & sprinkle salt over it. Make a well in middle of flour. Add oil and yeast mixture. Stir this in and add small amounts of water until you have produced a soft, moist dough that can be handled.
3. Knead well for 5 minutes. Then put dough ball back in bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 1-1/2 hours. Punch down dough.
4. Divide dough into 8 equal parts and roll each part into a ball. Roll each ball into a oval shape 6 to 7 inches long and1/2 inch thick. Draw tines of a fork in 3 lines along length of each noni for a decorative design.
5. Paint each noni w/egg mixture and sprinkle with1/2 teaspoon black cumin seeds. (Caraway seeds may be substituted if black cumin seed is unobtainable.)
6. Put noni on an ungreased cookie sheet or pizza stone. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the tops are brown.

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