Mixed Vegetables (Qudaar) Légumes mélangés

Mixed Vegetables (Qudaar) Légumes mélangés

Somalis have very few vegetarian dishes. In the southern part of Somalia, where most of the agriculture is concentrated, more vegetables are consumed. For most Somalis, vegetables are added to meat dishes. Potatoes, carrots, green peppers, pumpkins, and plantains are popular. The following is a [Click for Full Recipe]

Thin-sliced Beef Steak (Bisteeki Hilib) Steak de Boeuf tranché très fin

Thin-sliced Beef Steak (Bisteeki Hilib) Steak de Boeuf tranché très fin

The Japanese sukiyaki beef has a lot of history, but this sukiyaki-cut beef steak has a simple story. When you can’t afford expensive cuts of beef and you can’t be without steak, what is the solution? Well, you take a cheap cut of ungraded beef [Click for Full Recipe]

Somali Pasta Sauce (Suugo Suqaar) Sauce Somali pour les pâtes

Somali Pasta Sauce (Suugo Suqaar) Sauce Somali pour les pâtes

The traditional Somali Pasta Sauce is prepared with beef cut into very small cubes instead of ground beef. There were two main reasons for this. First and foremost, it was because of home economics. When the family members are served pasta with a meat sauce [Click for Full Recipe]

Beef Cubes with Vegetables (Suqaar) Cubes de Boeuf aux Légumes

Beef Cubes with Vegetables (Suqaar) Cubes de Boeuf aux Légumes

The Somali name for this dish is Hilib Suqaar Ah or just Suqaar for short. The word suqaar comes from the Arabic word (صغار) which means “small ones.” The small ones referred to here are of course the very small cubes of beef. There is [Click for Full Recipe]

Grilled Boneless Lamb Shoulder (Cad iyo Caano) Épaule d’Agneau Désossée Grillée

Grilled Boneless Lamb Shoulder (Cad iyo Caano) Épaule d’Agneau Désossée Grillée

If there is a food that represents Somalia, it is Cad iyo Caano. It is the closest thing to a national dish. Cad iyo Caano is Somali for “A Chunk of Meat and Camel Milk,” or simply “Meat and Milk.” You can argue that some [Click for Full Recipe]

Grits with Beef Stew (Soor iyo Maraq) Gruau au Pot-au-Feu de Boeuf

Grits with Beef Stew (Soor iyo Maraq) Gruau au Pot-au-Feu de Boeuf

This is the ultimate comfort food. Forget about those fancy mancy foods that make you looking for something to eat not long after your meal. This is both filling and fulfilling. Nothing triggers memories like this dish. Make sure you’re happy when you first eat [Click for Full Recipe]

Fried Shark with Caramelized Onions (Malaay La Shiilay) Mpaampa

Fried Shark with Caramelized Onions (Malaay La Shiilay) Mpaampa

Nowadays, sharks are under tremendous threat from commercial over-fishing and the cruel practice of harvesting their prized fins (shark finning).  With shark finning, the shark is discarded after its dorsal fin is cut off and it is left to die.  These practices have to be [Click for Full Recipe]

Milk-fed Baby Goat (Dhaylo) Chevreau de Lait

Milk-fed Baby Goat (Dhaylo) Chevreau de Lait

Somalis love their meat.  With the country predominantly nomadic, and with livestock as one of its main exports, it’s only natural that meat is an important component of the Somali diet.  Yet Somalis (in Somalia) are generally known to be quite lean.  The main reason [Click for Full Recipe]

Kingfish (Taraaqad) Thazard (Nguurhu)

Kingfish (Taraaqad) Thazard (Nguurhu)

When a society has many names for something, it shows the value they attach to it. The Bravanese have more than 200 names for fish, and this attests to its importance in their daily lives.  Fish plays a central role in the Bravanese diet. It [Click for Full Recipe]

Handmade Pasta (Kalaamuddo) Pâtes Fraîches Maison (Galaamuddo)

Handmade Pasta (Kalaamuddo) Pâtes Fraîches Maison (Galaamuddo)

The Chinese have their noodles, the Italians have their pasta, and while they argue about who came up with the idea first, let me tell you about Galaamuddo or Kalaamuddo as some call it. Galaamuddo is somewhat reminiscent of the Italian pasta known as Pici, [Click for Full Recipe]