Cardamom, fennel, cumin and coriander are all frequently used spices in Tamana Ashor’s kitchen cabinet. She carried those spices with her to Eugene to preserve her Afghan roots and share with her family.
After receiving refugee status, she moved to the U.S. from Takhar province, Afghanistan with her husband, Fazal-Ahmad Ashor, and their daughters. Fazal-Ahmad worked alongside the U.S. Armed Forces during the 20-year U.S. occupation of Afghanistan to prevent Taliban rule. Once the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021, those like Fazal-Ahmad who worked with the U.S. were actively persecuted.
“During the last 20 years, the Afghanistan republic was horrible; every day there were explosions in each city,” Fazal-Ahmad says. “Sometimes people want to go outside, and they say goodbye to their family — maybe they will come back to the house, or maybe they will die.”
Tamana was also facing active threats from the Taliban after they found her business venture as a makeup artist and event planner. Women are now forbidden from participating in employment, appearing in public without a male escort and going to public spaces such as parks, gyms, schools and beauty salons. Tamana continued her business regardless.
“But I do [it] in my house. I have space and I do bride makeup, and makeup for birthdays and for parties,” Tamana says. “I just want to be a good businesswoman.”
Tamana started an event-planning and catering business in Eugene, where she helps plan birthdays, baby showers and other celebrations. She provides catering services, preparing Afghan food for her clients.
Tamana and Fazal-Ahmad currently attend Lane Community College to better their English-speaking skills. Both Tamana and Fazal-Ahmad speak two other languages besides English: Afghan Uzbek and Dari. Tamana is also taking computer classes to advance her business pursuits.
“I don’t have an opportunity in my country because [after] high school I married, and had my oldest daughter and had to stay home,” Tamana says. “I never go outside.” She says that the Taliban came to her house twice and threatened her, saying “it’s not allowed for me to be a makeup artist and to own a business.”
She says that the Taliban knew everything that was happening in the community, especially activities related to women’s business ventures.
Tamana says that her younger sister used to take English classes at a local university in Kabul before the harsh restrictions were placed on women’s education in 2021. One day while she was studying, her university was bombed, killing 20 students. “She comes back and she is crying, and she couldn’t sleep for a month,” Tamana says.
She says she tried to leave “because my daughter is ready to go to school and she cannot go to school. Everything is so dangerous for people,” Tamana says.
The Ashors’ visa was first processed and approved in 2023, and they moved to Doha, Qatar, where they stayed in a refugee camp for 40 days. They moved to Seattle, Washington, in October 2024, and then to Eugene on Feb. 20.
Tamana and Fazal-Ahmad try to keep the love for Afghan culture alive for their daughters. One of the main ways is through Afghan food.
Tamana makes dishes, such as firni, halwa, eggplant biryani and palau. Tamana shares her family recipe for firni, a dish she used to make growing up in Kabul and made for her guests in Takhar. Firni is an Afghan dessert custard and is commonly served with rose petals and cardamom.
Tamana learned to cook it “from my mother and mother-in-law. We make it all the time, especially when we had guests over; we would make it,” shea says. Tamana continues to cater events through her company, Tamana Celebrations.
One of the business practices she hopes to continue from her makeup business in Takhar is her ability to donate money to Afghan women in need. “I found some money, and I helped them because they have no older son or husband. They cannot go outside to work or to shop, and sometimes they have like three daughters, four daughters, six daughters,” Tamana says. “They cannot go and I help them. It’s not too much, but I can buy them some soap, some sugar, some flour, for basic things so they can eat.”
She says, “I use this opportunity to arrive at a good place and do what I can.”
Tamana’s Firni Recipe
2 cups cold whole milk
1/3 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
Vanilla extract or saffron (optional)
Pistachios and chopped walnuts for garnish
Pour 1 1/2 cups of whole milk into a saucepan. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of whole milk with 1/3 cup of cornstarch.
Add cornstarch mixture to the saucepan with the rest of the milk.
Turn mixture to medium to high heat. Make sure to stir constantly to avoid the milk from sticking.
Add sugar, ground cardamom and vanilla extract/saffron into the milk mixture. Continue stirring in ingredients until the mixture begins to bubble and thickens to a cream.
Let the mixture cool at room temperature for 30 minutes and then put it into the refrigerator overnight to cool.
Garnish with chopped walnuts or pistachios when ready to serve.
To contact Tamana Celebrations for event planning and catering, reach out toTamanaAshor@gmail.com.