Kabab may be in the name, but this new Afghan restaurant is all about the carbohydrates. The menu features a stunning selection of traditional dishes, many of which have a basmati rice pilaf known in Afghanistan as pulao. But it's the dumplings for which you want to travel here. 

Balkh Kabab House, which opened on Merrick Road in Valley Stream this January, is an offshoot of a longtime Astoria restaurant Balkh Shish Kabab House. The original restaurant was founded in 1997 by two business partners originally from the north of Afghanistan, Mohammad Nasim and Abdul Jabar. More recently, they realized that many of their customers were traveling to Astoria from Long Island and Valley Stream, so they decided to open a second location where they could host parties and events.    

The new restaurant has the same bright folkloric design as the original, but the sprawling space is significantly larger and has the look of a wedding venue. The tables and chairs are a sight to behold, shiny and silver and plated with glass. You'll feel like royalty just sitting on the puffy cushions. But the cooking has a much homier feel to it, and the hearty dishes paint a picture of this rural mountainous region, nestled between Central Asia and South Asia. Balkh refers to an ancient Silk Road city in the north of Afghanistan where Jabar is from, known as the "mother of cities." The 2,500-year-old landmark was part of the important international trading network that also influenced Afghan cuisine, bringing in flavors from India, Persia and Central Asian nations. 

"We have a lot of rice in the country," Nasim said. "If I don't eat rice one time in the day, I feel like I'm still hungry. The rice is culturally part of our home or kitchen. Meat also." 

When you walk into the restaurant, an employee might point you to the glass case at the front next to the kitchen. Here you'll see various meat kababs on display. But based on our initial visit, there are more interesting dishes to be had here. A lamb and onion stew called dopiaza ($18) was more succulent than the kababs we tried. Little nibbles of fatty lamb meat on the bone become even richer when baked with soft fried onions. The dish is oily and savory, but thankfully there is a carrot raisin rice to soak it up. 

Another specialty, the shola ($16), is a stickier rice dish made from short grain rice that's bulked up with lentils. Topped with stringy bulbs of curry chicken and splatters of yogurt, the hearty mix tastes like a comforting home-cooked meal. But it's definitely a little redundant because everything seems to come with rice here. 

If you order any one thing, get the aushak and mantu combo ($15). Both are dumplings, which were brought to Afghanistan from China via the Silk Road. Mantu, or manto, is the more well-known of the pair. (Or perhaps you know it from its Korean cousin mandu, or its Turkish cousin manti.) At Balkh Kabab House, the soft wrappers are filled with beef and steamed, before they're drizzled with tangy yogurt and tomato sauces. On the same plate and also covered with the sauces, flatter dumplings called aushak are stuffed with a spiced scallion mix before they're boiled to slippery tenderness. So delicate yet bursting with flavor, the dumplings are in stark contrast to the hearty meal that follows. 

Balkh Kabab House Afghan Chai Khana, 640 W. Merrick Rd., Valley Stream, 516-640-5825, afghanchaikhana.com. Open 11 a.m. to midnight daily.