There are days when you want to avoid spicy dishes or tomato-based stews, and you want just a simple and flavourful dish. This dish is perfect for those days. In Brava, Somalia, this is what is normally served with grits for the midday meal. It is accompanied by yoghurt or buttermilk, maankale (a type… Continue reading Plain Goat Stew (Hilib Ari oo Cad) Ragoût de chèvre simple
Tag: African
Fried Sweet Dumplings (Skaramati/Burka Macaan) Petits Beignets au Sucre (Pets de Nonne)
If you don’t like sweets then you met your match! Beware, if you try these dumplings you will become addicted. Seriously addicted. They are sweet, crunchy, yeasty, and ‘dare-you-to-stop-at-one’ goodies. We cannot imagine iftar without these dumplings. They are known as skaramati in Brava, Somalia. In Swahili, they are called kaimati which sounds very similar… Continue reading Fried Sweet Dumplings (Skaramati/Burka Macaan) Petits Beignets au Sucre (Pets de Nonne)
Butter & Yoghurt Cake (Doolshe Buuro 2) Gâteau au Beurre et au Yaourt
English Af-Soomaali Français عربي Butter & Yoghurt Cake www.xawaash.com In Somalia, this was the closest thing we had to a fruitcake. Raisins were always special and were reserved for decorating and topping the festive rice as well adding to cakes. Apart from this cake, the only other cake we remember that had fruits was Panettone,… Continue reading Butter & Yoghurt Cake (Doolshe Buuro 2) Gâteau au Beurre et au Yaourt
Spinach, Carrots, & Potatoes (Mbogga/Isbinaasho) Epinards, Carottes, Pommes de Terre
This is a healthy and great-tasting vegetable dish made of spinach and chunky mashed potatoes and carrots. You can serve it as a side dish or you can eat it with bread, muufo, anjero, rice, or you can even toss it with fresh pasta. It is an easy dish and is nutritious at the… Continue reading Spinach, Carrots, & Potatoes (Mbogga/Isbinaasho) Epinards, Carottes, Pommes de Terre
One-Pot Pasta & Beef Ribs (Makarooni Isku-Karis) Poêlée de pâtes et côtes de boeuf
One of the things we miss about Somalia is the way the whole family used to eat the midday meal together. In Mogadishu, civil servants used to finish work at 2:00 pm, which was also the end of the school day. By 3:00 pm, the hustle and bustle of city life would wind down and… Continue reading One-Pot Pasta & Beef Ribs (Makarooni Isku-Karis) Poêlée de pâtes et côtes de boeuf
Yemeni Hareesa (Hariiso) Hareesa Yemeni الهريسة اليمنية
English Af-Somaali Français عربي Yemeni Hareesa www.xawaash.com 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… Continue reading Yemeni Hareesa (Hariiso) Hareesa Yemeni الهريسة اليمنية
Pound Cake (Doolshe Buuro) Quatre-Quarts باوند كيك
English Af-Soomaali Français عربي Pound Cake www.xawaash.com Pound cakes were some of the few cakes that were popular in Somalia. They were second in popularity to sponge cakes. Pound cakes were sold in teashops but they were not baked there. They were sold to the teashops by ladies who baked them at home and the… Continue reading Pound Cake (Doolshe Buuro) Quatre-Quarts باوند كيك
Eid Cookies (Buskud) Biscuits de l’Eid
We call these Eid cookies because my mother (Abdullahi’s) used to bake them every Eid back home in Mogadishu, Somalia. On the night before Eid, we would be sent to the neighbourhood bakery to bring a dozen or so cookie sheets. My mother would mix the cookie dough and we would help pressing the… Continue reading Eid Cookies (Buskud) Biscuits de l’Eid
Chicken Stew (Maraq Digaag) Poulet Mijoté
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… Continue reading Chicken Stew (Maraq Digaag) Poulet Mijoté
Swahili Fish Curry (Malaay Qumbe) (Mchuzi Wa Samaki) Curry de Poisson Swahili سمك بصلصة الكاري
English Af-Soomaali Français عربي Swahili Fish Curry www.xawaash.com When we started this blog, one of our objectives was to feature recipes from neighbouring countries. This is one such recipe that is popular among the Swahili-speaking peoples of East Africa. We added a few touches of our own and we simplified the recipe. This dish is… Continue reading Swahili Fish Curry (Malaay Qumbe) (Mchuzi Wa Samaki) Curry de Poisson Swahili سمك بصلصة الكاري