Easy Somali Recipes
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 [Click for Full Recipe]
This flatbread is different from the Indian chapati and is more like a paratha. The Somali chapati (sabaayad) is crispy on the outside and flaky and tender inside. It is slightly sweet, and it is cooked to a golden colour with a little oil. This [Click for Full Recipe]
Zijjo zaa Gelle (Corn Grits) is a staple in Brava, Somalia. The Bravanese are known for maanda or muufo Baraawe (Bravanese bread), but this is the main dish served for the midday meal. Unlike soor (polenta-style grits) that is popular in other parts of Somalia, [Click for Full Recipe]
When my mother’s maternal grandfather moved to Mogadishu, he stayed at his daughter’s house. All his life he was a pastoralist but as he became old and feeble, he decided to settle down. City life was new to him and he had to learn a [Click for Full Recipe]
For Somalis, Halwa (Xalwo) is synonymous with festive occasions, particularly weddings. When a Somali says, “Xalwaddeeda ma-cunin,” (lit. “I didn’t eat her halwa”) it means “I didn’t attend her wedding.” Made mainly of butter/oil and sugar, halwa is laden with calories. However, it was [Click for Full Recipe]
We have received so many requests to make this dish that we moved it up in the list of recipes that we want to post. It is quite understandable though why so many wanted us to post it. This one-pot rice dish can be very [Click for Full Recipe]
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 [Click for Full Recipe]
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]
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]
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]