English Af-Soomaali Français عربي Cubed Chicken www.xawaash.com We first had cubed chicken at Hamdi Restaurant. It is a Somali restaurant in Toronto that is quite popular. Whenever we go to Somali restaurants, we never order individual dishes. We choose the large platters of rice served with different types of meat dishes: roasted goat meat, goat…
English Af-Soomaali Français عربي I was in my second year of high school when the Somali government at the time decided to close all the schools for one academic year. All high school students were sent to the rural areas to participate in a literacy campaign (Rural Development Campaign). I was sent to Go’doon, a…
We know how kids love finger foods, especially out of the ordinary foods like chicken lollipops. We also know that most kids do not like eating vegetables. Our solution is to use the carrot and stick approach. Never mind those studies that tell you it is the wrong approach, because ours is a totally…
East African curries are influenced by Indian as well as Middle Eastern cuisines, so any similarities are not coincidental. This curry contains coconut milk which features prominently in Swahili cooking and it is one of the ingredients that makes the food really delicious. This recipe is a family favourite and is one of the…
When we roasted these chicken drumsticks, we took them to a gathering at a friend’s house. One of her guests tried them and she said to us, “I have never had chicken this good in my WHOLE LIFE! I am a chef and I know what I am talking about.” Wow! What an amazing…
In this recipe, we did not follow the traditional method of preparing chicken parmesan. We asked ourselves, “Why prepare crispy chicken parmesan, then make it soggy with marinara sauce?” Fresh mozzarella is also always best fresh. In our version, all the components are on the plate, with the marinara sauce served on top of…
This is a simple chicken stew that goes well with the Somali Chapati (Sabaayad), the Potato & Cumin Rice (Pilau), or Maanda (Muufo). It’s a typical Somali stew flavoured with Xawaash (Somali spice mix). Growing up in Somalia, the chicken we had there were all free range. The meat was tougher and required a much…
This is an easy and very quick dish that is useful to have in your repertoire. It’s fantastic when you get unannounced visitors who need to be fed in no time. Somalis, or at least first generation immigrant Somalis, are known to just show up without calling ahead. Please don’t misunderstand us, ’cause we’re not…
