Cuisine of Somalia
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Cuisine of Somalia varies from region to region and it encompasses different styles of cooking. One thing that unites the Somali food is it's being Halal. Therefore, there are no pork dishes; alcohol is not served, nothing that died on its own is eaten and no blood is incorporated. The cuisine is also closely related or the same as the Cuisine of Somaliland.
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[edit] Breakfast
quraac or breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day in Somalia. As Muslims, Somalis are awakened by the adhan, or the call to prayer by the Masjid.
In the south, people start with many styles of shaax, a Somali Chai. The number one dish for breakfast, however, is the Canjeero -- a Somali version of the Ethiopian injera. Unlike the Ethiopian type, it is smaller and thinner. As such, one will eat quite a few of them.
There are many ways to eat the canjeero. You can break it into small amounts and add subag or a Somali butter, sugar and black tea. Or you can eat it with shakshuka -- an Egyptian dish made of eggs that are cooked with onions and tomatoes. Others eat it with beer or liver, most desired kind being that of the goat. Others serve it with suqaar, a beef cut in small and cooked in a bed of soup.
Boorish or mishaari (Porridge) is very popular in Mogadishu. It is the same as that of Italy, but with added butter and sugar.
In the north, rooti or regular bread is popular. And a more sweetened, and oily version of the canjeero, called malawax, is served throughout the country. In parts of lower Jubba, a Tanzanian-Kenyan dish of Githeri, sauteed beans eaten with a loaf of bread, is enjoyed by some.
[edit] Lunch
Qado or lunch is the most magnificent meal of the day. It is often eloborate, and here is where you find most exotic dishes. Varieties of bariis (rice), most popular being the basmati, are probably most used dish for lunch. Spices such as cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and sage are used to aromatize the different rice dishes.
In the south, a mixed rice and vegetable (and sometimes even meat) called Iskudhexkaris is widespread. Aside from the many different styles of maraq (stew), it is also served with meat on the side. In Mogadishu, buskeeti (steak) and kaluun (fish) are well consumed.
Soor (cornmeal) is very popular. Unlike the Ugali of Kenya, the Somalis have a softer cornmeal mashed with fresh milk, butter and sugar. Or, a hole is made and in it filled with a maraq.
Then there is the sabaayad, a variation of the Indian chapati. Like the rice, it is served with maraq and meat on the side. The sabaayad of Somalia is often a little bit sweet, and is cooked with a little bit of oil.
Baasto (Pasta) is extremely popular in the south. To Africanize this European dish, Somalis serve it with stew instead of pasta sauce. And to make it even more exotic, it is served with a banana.
The most popular drinks for lunch are balbeelmo (grapefruit), raqey (tamarind) and isbarmuunto (lemonade). In Mogadishu, cambe (mango), seytuun (guava) and laas (Lassi) are popular as well. In Hargeysa, the preferred drinks are fiimto (Vimto) and tufaax (apple).
[edit] Dinner
Somali people serve dinner as late as 9 pm. During Ramadan, it is often eaten after Tarawih prayers -- sometimes as late as 11 pm. Cambuulo is one of the most dishes that is liked throughout the country as a dinner. The dish is made out of well-cooked azuki beans, mixed with butter and sugar. The beans, which by itself is called digir, are often left on the stove for as many as five hours, on low heat to reach the most desired taste.
In 1988, the Somali newspaper Xidigta Oktober conducted a survey in which it determined 83% of the Mogadishu residents preferred cambuulo as their dinner. It was a startling discovery as the dish is considered of the "low class", because of its gaseous after-effects caused by the natural sugars known as oligosaccharides in the beans.
Likewise, qamadi (wheat) is used. Cracked or uncracked, it is cooked and served just like the Azuki beans.
Rooti iyo xalwo, slices of bread and Somali jelly, is another form of popular dinner.
Muufo, a variation of cornbread, this is a dish made of maize and is baked in foorno (clay oven). It is eaten by cutting it into small pieces, adding macsaro (Sesame oil), sugar and mashing it with black tea.
And before bed, one often takes a glass of milk (spiced with cardamom)
[edit] Snacks
Snacking is a past-time in Somalia. People snack all the time.
Sambuus, a Somali version of the South Asian samosa, is probably the most popular form of a snack in Somalia. It is especially popular during Ramadan as it is the dish of the afur (iftar). The Somali version is spiced with hot green pepper, and often the main ingredient is ground meat.
Bajiye, a variation of the Indian pakora, is a popular snack in southern Somalia. The Somali version is a mixture of maize, vegetables, meat, spices and is then deep fried. It's eaten by dipping in bisbaas, a hot sauce.
Kabaab, Kebab similar to that of Persia is not that widespread, but few Somalis in diaspore eat it.
Fruits like mango, guava, banana, grapefruit and others are used as snacks throughout the country.
[edit] Sweets
By far, xalwo, a sweet hardened Somali jelly, is the most popular of sweets. It is a delicasy in the south, where it is favored as the dish of the wedding. Xalwadii waad qarsatey! (You hid your xalwo!) is the phrase that follows a person who has eloped or had a private, small wedding.
Gashaato or qumbe, made of coconut, oils and sugar, and spiced with cadammom, is a popular sweet. The sugar is brought to boil with a bit water, then the cardamom is added followed by shreded coconut.
Loos iyo sisin is a favorite sweet in the south made of a mixture of peanuts (loos) and sesame seeds (sisin) in a bed of caramel. It sticks together to form a delicious bar.
Jalaato, similar to the American popsicle, is made by freezing naturally sweet fruits with a stick in the middle. In the later years in Mogadishu, it has grown to include caano/milk jalaato, which then requires sugaring up. The word jalaato, comes from the Italian word for frozen, gelato.
Biskut, many styles of cookies, inlcuding super soft ones called daardaar (literally: touch-touch, for its smooth delicate body.)
Doolshe, many styles of cakes.
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