English Af-Soomaali Français عربي Ambulo www.xawaash.com My most memorable meal was not the one that I had at a fancy restaurant. It was a plate of beans and rice that I had in Mareer Gur, Somalia. It was the most satisfying meal ever! Somalis call it “federation”, a federation of grains. In the early hours…
There are many reasons for baking your own bread. It tastes much better than store bought bread, has no preservatives, and the smell of freshly baked bread is priceless. You have full control of what goes into your bread: the amount of salt, sugar (if any), type of flour, etc… In Somalia, bread was…
This flat bread is very popular as a breakfast item that is usually served during the Eid. It is similar to Anjero but it has additional ingredients that make it different. Ambabur has different spices added to the batter that give it a special taste. The types of spices added can vary from one…
Mashmash (rhymes with hush-hush) is a classic Somali snack that is usually paired with samosas. It is on the greasy side but in Somalia, greasy was not always associated with bad. There was a time when oily meant nutritious. We remember seeing construction workers in Mogadishu using mashmash as a sandwich filling. At the time…
What is round, goes around, comes around. To us, that sums the story of the Somali Malawah (Malawax). We wish to think that the crepe originated in the Horn of Africa. The Horn is the home of the Ethiopian Injera, the Eritrean Injera, Somali Anjero or Lahoh, Malawah, and Ambaabur. It is not clear…
Oodkac or Muqmad is what Somalis prepare whenever they want to preserve meat. During times of plenty, that is the rainy days, the nomads save for a dry day. Rainy days bring abundance (barwaaqo), when the milk from the herd is flowing and meat becomes available. The preserved meat was sometimes the only food…
For Middle Eastern recipes, we owe a lot to Jeddah where we lived for several years. With so many expatriate friends as well as all the different types of restaurants, it was very easy to fall in love with Middle Eastern cooking. Leila was not working at the time (just like most of the…
Sorghum porridge is one of those traditional dishes that are very popular in many parts of Somalia. With the addition of buttermilk, sugar, and ghee, it is considered a very nutritious meal. That is why it is one of the essential Ramadan dishes for iftar (breaking the fast). Porridge (mishaari), whether made from wheat…
Hareesa is one of those dishes that remind us of Eid. No Eid is complete without a piping hot dish of Hareesa served with sugar and browned butter. Hareesa originated in Yemen and it is made of barley and meat (usually lamb) that are cooked until the fibres break down and it becomes almost like…
We usually cook this recipe on weekends, on those days that we wake up a bit later than usual. Yes, we do sleep in on weekends! It’s true that it makes it harder to wake-up on Monday mornings, but we do it anyhow, particularly on Saturdays. We need to recharge and relax… Brunch. We coined…
