It was more difficult to describe this recipe than to make it. Here's why:
By: Li Awad
This recipe is a bit of a Western take on the common recipe baasto iyo suugo (literally, pasta and sauce) because it uses some things you might not find where I’m from, or substitutes for things that aren’t easily found here. The name is so simple (or at least how my family has taught me how to refer to it) and changes depending on the city, household and what’s in your pantry.
It’s really simple to make once you have it down and you can easily adjust all of the ingredients to your liking, because one of the principles of Somali food is ditch the recipe and cook something good by eyeballing everything and using what you have. Do you have some beef you need to use up, but not enough for a meal? Leftover soup from yesterday? Just throw them together with some rice and spices and you have dinner. It’s really more of a creative set of techniques to get good food on the table. |
Now, due to this wonderful ideology of cooking, Somali “recipes” are an absolute nightmare for anyone who isn’t used to cooking without a recipe. Why do I put recipes in quotation marks? It’s so hard to decipher when your auntie or mother tells you, “a bit of babaas (pepper) only, and a dash of xawaash (spices).” And once you follow those vague instructions, they tell you, “Oh this is way too little. I said a little but not this much,” as they proceed to dump what looks like a bucket of spices into the pot.
And wanna know the worst part? They always leave out an ingredient or “forget” how much of one ingredient you need to add to the recipe. You’ll know something is missing but you won’t ever realize what it is to make you always come back to visit them so they can make it with you.
And wanna know the worst part? They always leave out an ingredient or “forget” how much of one ingredient you need to add to the recipe. You’ll know something is missing but you won’t ever realize what it is to make you always come back to visit them so they can make it with you.
The Deciphered Recipe
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Author’s Note: It’s OK if you are missing some of these ingredients. You can leave them out or substitute them with another spice/vegetable of your choice; it will probably turn out well, and don’t forget to really spice your sauce. It’s always better to overseason than underseason or the sauce might not be that flavourful. Additionally, Somali food doesn’t look visually appealing most of the time, but it smells and tastes a LOT better than what you see.
Now onto the actual cooking!
(Below are the phases your sauce should go through as you follow the instructions. Make sure to make your pasta of choice while this is cooking)
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