Somali Malawah (Malawax) Malawah الملوًّح الصومالي

Somali Malawah (Malawax) Malawah الملوًّح الصومالي

  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 [Click for Full Recipe]

Jerky-Style Beef Cubes (Oodkac/Muqmad) Cubes de Boeuf Façon Viande Séchée لحم بقري مجفف

Jerky-Style Beef Cubes (Oodkac/Muqmad) Cubes de Boeuf Façon Viande Séchée لحم بقري مجفف

  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 [Click for Full Recipe]

Chicken Parmesan (Kutuleeti Digaag) Escalope de Poulet Panée au Parmesan دجاج بجبن البارميزان

Chicken Parmesan (Kutuleeti Digaag) Escalope de Poulet Panée au Parmesan دجاج بجبن البارميزان

  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 [Click for Full Recipe]

Beef & Lamb Fatayer (Fataa’ir) Chaussons au Boeuf et a l’Agneau فطائر باللحم

Beef & Lamb Fatayer (Fataa’ir) Chaussons au Boeuf et a l’Agneau فطائر باللحم

  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 [Click for Full Recipe]

Kalkals (Shushumoow – Zinanaande) Kalkal كلكل

Kalkals (Shushumoow – Zinanaande) Kalkal كلكل

  There are sweets that you eat because they taste good; then there are those that go a step further by bringing back memories of your childhood, a way of life long gone, of places fondly missed. That is what shushumoow (kalkals) does for us. [Click for Full Recipe]

Refreshing Salad (Insalaaddo) Salade Rafraîchissante سلطة منعشة

Refreshing Salad (Insalaaddo) Salade Rafraîchissante سلطة منعشة

  This cool, refreshing salad says summer to us but it is great all year round. The refreshing feeling comes from the moisture-laden cucumbers and tomatoes, and the mild onion flavour from the green onions.  The salad also has a wonderful texture with different levels [Click for Full Recipe]

Oat & Meat Soup (Shurbad) Soupe à l’Avoine et à la Viande شوربة الشوفان باللحم

Oat & Meat Soup (Shurbad) Soupe à l’Avoine et à la Viande شوربة الشوفان باللحم

  There are foods we associate with certain occasions, and this soup is one such dish. Shurbad is synonymous with Ramadan (the month of fasting for Muslims). For breaking the fast, you need a highly nutritious dish that will catapult you from the world of the [Click for Full Recipe]

Beef Samosas (Sambuus) سمبوسه

Beef Samosas (Sambuus) سمبوسه

In the early seventies, an informal survey was conducted in some of Mogadishu’s teashops. The question was: “According to you, what is the most enjoyable thing in the world?” The top answer was: “To sit outside a teashop where the sand has been sprayed with [Click for Full Recipe]

Samosa Pastry (Burka Sambuuska) Pâte à Samosa عجينة السمبوسه

Samosa Pastry (Burka Sambuuska) Pâte à Samosa عجينة السمبوسه

Unless you are hard pressed for time, making samosa pastry from scratch is well worth the effort and time. Homemade samosa pastry tastes much better than any store bought variety. Apart from the taste, you have full control over the texture of the pastry, the [Click for Full Recipe]

Coconut Burfi (Qumbe – Zinoolo za Naazi) Burfi à la Noix de Coco حلاوة النارجيل

Coconut Burfi (Qumbe – Zinoolo za Naazi) Burfi à la Noix de Coco حلاوة النارجيل

These coconut sweets are a cross between milk fudge (Peera or Caana Baraawe in Somali) and the White Coconut Sweets (Qumbe Cad). They were one of our favourite sweets in Brava, Somalia. Making these sweets used to be time-consuming since it required that milk be reduced significantly. [Click for Full Recipe]