One-Pot Pasta & Beef Ribs
- Soomaali
- Makarooni Isku-Karis
- Français
- Poêlée de pâtes et côtes de boeuf
- العربية
- not translated yet
By Leila & Abdullahi · ·
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 the busy streets would be semi-deserted. It was time for the main meal of the day, soon to be followed by the cherished afternoon siesta. No, it wasn’t a brief respite from work. The workday was over.
Lunch was usually an outdoor affair. The midday heat made this almost mandatory and we would sit under the shade of the trees in our yard. Pasta, bananas, salad, a pitcher of grapefruit juice, ripe papayas, chatter, lots of chatter. It was as if all the city activity moved into peoples’ yards.
Then the yard would be quickly vacated and the last few occupants (the children), forcefully evicted. We remember being forced to bed so as not to disturb our father. The only sound was that of cats arguing. Until life resumed again an hour or so later, for the Asr prayer and Asariye (Somali afternoon tea).
This pasta dish brings back those memories of Mogadishu. It is easy just like Mogadishu was, and fulfilling just like life was…
Watch
Ingredients
1 cup = 237 mL · 1 Tbsp = 15 mL · 1 tsp = 5 mL. All are level measurements.
Method
Tap a step to mark it done.
Using a blender, puree four of the tomatoes.
In a pan set on high heat, sauté the onions in the oil for 3 minutes, then add the garlic, vegetable seasoning and Xawaash, and cook for one more minute.
Add the beef ribs, and brown for five minutes on high heat. Add the blended fresh tomatoes, then cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
Add one litre of water, then cover and cook on medium heat for one and half hours until the meat becomes fork tender.
Peel and seed the tomatoes
In a separate pot boil about 4 cups water. Score the base of the tomatoes, then drop them in boiling water for 20 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and let them cool. You don’t need an ice bath if the tomatoes are firm.
Core the tomatoes as shown in the picture and remove the seeds, then dice the tomatoes and set aside.
Make the hot sauce
In a food processor combine 3 jalapeno peppers, ½ cup chopped cilantro, 2 garlic cloves, 1 peeled and seeded tomato, 1 teaspoon olive oil, the juice of a lemon, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and 3 tablespoons white vinegar. Blend for 1 minute.
Cook the pasta
Bring 5 litres of water to a boil, then add 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta shells to the boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes. Make sure the pasta is a little undercooked as it will finish cooking in the meat sauce.
While the pasta is cooking, add the diced yellow pepper and cilantro to the stew and mix well. Then add the diced tomatoes.
Combine the slightly undercooked pasta with the stew, add 1 cup of the pasta water, then add 2 tablespoons of the spicy sauce. You can adjust it to your taste.
Stir well, then cover and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Serve hot.
Comments
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xawaash.com waa xalkii nolosha loo helay hadaanunahay umada soomaaliyeed aad ayaan oogu mahad naqeenaa walaalaha aasaasay page-kani
Adigaa mahadda mudan walaal. Waan ku faraxnay faalladaada.
First, I would like to thank you so much for this amazing website! So informative, beautifully photographed and above all else DELICIOUS! I was wondering, if when you have time, you would be willing to lend your expertise! When I made this dish, despite letting the meat/pureed tomato/water mix simmer on medium heat for about an hour and 45 minutes, the liquid did not evaporate as it has in your version. What did I do wrong?? I used a large enameled pot with a lid (perhaps it fit too tightly?) Would it be ok to remove the liquid to a separate pan and reduce it that way? Any ideas you could share would be very much appreciated!
Thanks again!
Thank you very much for your wonderful comment. First, we would like to ask you if you cooked the meat for 5 minutes (that reduces the moisture). Second, did you cook it for a further 10 minutes after adding the pureed tomatoes? If you followed those two steps, then there are two other possibilities: 1) Ours is a gas stove and the BTUs on the medium setting could be higher than an electric stove. 2) If the lid fits too tightly on the pot, the liquid will not reduce as much, so you would need to use less liquid than we did.
mashaa’allah cunta karintiina aad ayaan ugu halay walaalayaa alle ha idiin barakeeyo, ajar iyo xasanaadna ha idinka siiyo abaalkaad gabdhaha u gasheen.
Mahadsaniid
Waan ku faraxnay inaad ka heshay. Waa ku mahadsan tahay faallada fiican.
How big should I cut or have the beef rib pieces cut? 1 inch? Also, should they be boneless?
We used beef ribs with bones. You can cut into 1.5 inch cubes.
Hi. I just wanted to say that this recipe looks very good, and I’m hoping to make it sometime soon. However, I noticed that in the ingredient list at the top, it doesn’t mention yellow pepper. How much should I put in? 1/2? 1 whole pepper? Also, in the part of the instructions which tell how to make the hot sauce for the Isukaris, the cilantro wasn’t mentioned. Should I still put it in?
Thank you for pointing out the ingredient that was missing from the list. We have corrected it. We used one yellow pepper as mentioned in the video.
Even though the cilantro wasn’t mentioned in the instructions, but it is shown in the video. It is a good idea to watch the videos first. Thanks.