Sweet Potatoes (Bataato Macaan) Patates Douces

Sweet Potatoes (Bataato Macaan) Patates Douces

If you are going to have a dessert that has butter and sugar, you might as well have this dessert. At least the other half of the dessert (the sweet potato) is nutritious. Sweet potatoes pack more nutrition than most other vegetables. They are high [Click for Full Recipe]

Samosas (Sambuus)

Samosas (Sambuus)

It’s crispy, beefy, spicy, and moreish. That is the description of the Somali samosa. We have yet to come across someone who didn’t fall in love with it at first bite. Somalis love their samosas and it is the cornerstone of the asariye (Somali afternoon tea). [Click for Full Recipe]

Somali Salad (Insalaaddo) Salade Somali

Somali Salad (Insalaaddo) Salade Somali

Somali salad is very simple: lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, radishes, and a fresh, homemade dressing. The dressing is made of olive oil, lemon juice, white vinegar, salt, black pepper, and minced garlic. The garlic is optional but it enhances the taste quite a bit. The [Click for Full Recipe]

Papaya (Babbaay) Papaye

Papaya (Babbaay) Papaye

  Some people eat a papaya because of its health benefits: for aiding digestion, for balancing stomach acid, for helping prevent colon cancer, and for being a good laxative. We love eating papayas because they are delicious. If anything can embody the tropics, it is [Click for Full Recipe]

Bajiya (Bajiyo)

Bajiya (Bajiyo)

  Ahh! Bajiya! We just love them. How can you not? Eat them fresh and you will become addicted. Bajiyas, are a regular fixture on iftar tables (breaking the fast in Ramadan), they are part of the Asariyo Quartet (one of the four essential elements [Click for Full Recipe]

Somali Style Lamb Liver, Heart, & Kidneys (Beer iyo Kilyo La Solay)

Somali Style Lamb Liver, Heart, & Kidneys (Beer iyo Kilyo La Solay)

It’s not uncommon for a Somali to start a letter as follows: Waxaan kuusoo diraayaa salaan kasoo go’day beerka iyo wadnaha.   Literal translation: I am sending you greetings that have emanated from my liver and heart! Actual translation: Greetings from the depths of my [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]

Somali Champagne -Simulated Camel Milk (Caano Geel) Champagne Somali

Somali Champagne -Simulated Camel Milk (Caano Geel) Champagne Somali

  The Horn of Africa boasts the largest number of camels in the world.  Camels have been domesticated in Somalia for more than 2000 years.  In an article in Aramco World, the Somali camel has been described as follows: “The Somali camels seem by far [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]