Afghan Kitchen 44 closes in Huntington

After two years on Gerard Street in Huntington, Afghan Kitchen 44 has closed. Naheed Mawjzada, whose family owned the restaurant, said that a constellation of factors led to “the hard decision.” Pregnant with her fourth child, the media executive was no longer able to work on weekends, which is their “prime time. And it's very hard to find help on weekends.”

Among Long Island’s Afghan restaurants, Afghan Kitchen 44 was certainly the smallest — it barely seated a dozen diners — but it boasted an impressive lineage: Mawjzada’s father-in-law, Mohammad Rouzyi, is a well-known figure whose first restaurant, Afghan Kitchen, opened in Manatthan in 1981. More satellites followed, and he is credited as the inventor of the iconic (if blandly named) “white sauce” that is the standard accompaniment for Afghan kebabs whether sold by restaurants or street carts. (A yogurt sauce seasoned with dill and mint is common in Afghanistan, but Rouzyi’s idea was to add mayonnaise, an ingredient that doesn’t exist there.)

The kitchen at Afghan Kitchen 44 was a true family affair, with, among other relatives, Mawjzada’s father, Abdul Samad, manning the grill and her cousin, Zarlasht Siddiq, preparing the Kabuli palau (the national rice dish).

Mawjzada hopes that this is a goodbye and not a farewell. Once she has given birth, she hopes to open a takeout spot.