One of Brooklyn’s only Afghan restaurants is slinging lots of kabab In Kensington

By Scott Lynch

Dunya Kabab House (Scott Lynch)

Mohammed Ghiasi, the owner and operator of Dunya Kabab House, which is one of Brooklyn’s few Afghan restaurant (if not the only one, as Ghiasi claims), wasn’t planning on getting into the hospitality business. “I was working a corporate job in real estate finance,” he says. “It was good money. I can’t complain.” 

Not that he was unfamiliar with the restaurant world. Ghiasi’s family has been in the business for more than 30 years, running places like the Crown and Kennedy Fried Chicken chains throughout Brooklyn. 

But when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Ghiasi’s whole world shifted. “The country that my family originated from, it literally doesn’t exist anymore,” he says. “There’s no country right now, it’s ruled by a bunch of terrorists, so how can I help keep the culture alive? And the best way I know is through food. I left the corporate world, and since there’s no Afghan restaurants in all of Brooklyn that I know of, I opened Dunya Kabab.” 

The menu here is packed with Afghan classics. “This is food we eat ourselves. Simple as that,” Ghiasi says. “It’s the stuff we eat at home, the stuff we cook for ourselves. This is the food I’ve been eating since I was a kid.” 

You’ll want to start with a platter of Dunya’s very good mantu, six plump, steamed Afghan dumplings bursting with seasoned ground beef, onion, and cilantro.

Mantu, $6.99 (Scott Lynch)

The bolani, which are flat, chewy pockets of fried dough filled with a thin layer of potato, mashed pumpkin, or scallions, are also first-rate. The borani banjan, or Afghan-style fried eggplant, is also great.    

bolani kachalu, $6.99 (Scott Lynch)

With many of the dishes here, you are encouraged to enjoy the restaurant’s sauces with abandon. There’s a homemade garlic yogurt sauce, a more fiery red pepper sauce, and a cilantro-based green sauce that’s even livelier still. They all stand at the ready in containers on every table. 

Borani banjan, $6 (Scott Lynch)

There’s a lengthy list of kababs available, all fired to order and served with a mountain of excellent Afghan rice. We opted for the “mixed” variety and received three cylindrical beef kofta patties (well seasoned and juicy), two hunks of lamb (tender and nicely funky), and a pair of chicken breast chunks (dry, but also totally fine with those three great sauces close at hand). 

Mixed Afghan kabab, with beef kofta, lamb tikka, and chicken breast; $18.99 (Scott Lynch)

Other entree-sized offerings include more chicken, several lamb dishes (a stew, a shank, some chops), and a couple of steaks. Salmon and shrimp make an appearance in the kabab section as well.       

It’s a lot of meat, but vegetables get plenty of love, and seasoning, at Dunya, too. The mixed vegetarian platter offers heaping portions of sabzi, a hearty, almost-creamed spinach dish with onions and spices; bamia, which are whole okra stewed to a pleasant softness in tomato sauce; and some off-menu cauliflower.  

Mixed vegetarian plate, with sabzi, cauliflower, and bamia; $14.99 (Scott Lynch)

For dessert we had the firnee, a sweet-milk custard infused with cardamom, cinnamon, and rose water. It totally hit the spot.   

Firnee, $5 (Scott Lynch)

This stretch of Coney Island Avenue is pretty grim, at least for pedestrians, but it’s only about a block away from the far-friendlier Cortelyou Road, so don’t get deterred. For Ghiasi, the location is pretty ideal. 

“This area is known as Little Pakistan, behind us on McDonald Avenue is Little Bangladesh, and since our most obvious customers are people who eat halal food, it’s a good fit. Plus the Cortelyou crowd, they love trying different cuisines, so they’re been very receptive too.”

Dunya Kabab House is located at 696 Coney Island Avenue, between Cortelyou and Avenue C, and is currently open daily from  noon. to 10 p.m. (718-483-8451)