Around the World in 80 Dishes: Somalia

A Somali poet and scholar, Axmed Ismaaciil Diiriye Qaasim, once penned the poem, Macaan iyo Qadhaadh (Sweet and Bitter). The poem is a kind of metaphor for his homeland:

Consider the aloe - how bitter is its taste. 

Yet sometimes there wells up a sap so sweet

That it seems like honey in your mount. 

Side by side the sweet and the bitter run.

The poem goes on, but, it is the last line quoted above that caught my attention. The sweet and the bitter, side by side. While the poet may have had someone else or something else in mind, those words provide an apt description of Somalia. 

For most of its recent history, the bitterness has gotten all of the attention. Since the onset of civil war in 1991, the country has been gripped in a seemingly endless state of violence. As the central government disintegrated, various groups began to assert themselves and battle each other for control.  The costs of these battles, over the course of the past thirty years, has resulted in the death of approximately 500,000 people, the displacement of more than 2,000,000 people, the disintegration of governing institutions, and the destruction of infrastructure and public services.  If one were to reach back further in time, before the civil war, he or she would encounter a history marked by military rule and colonial conquests, both of which have their own price tags with respect to death and destruction. 

Yet, for all this bitterness, there is still the sweet. Somalia is a land of natural contrasts running along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. There is a diversity of environments, from the coastal forests and mangroves in the southwestern region (along the Indian ocean and the border with Kenya) to the bushlands and thickets of the Somalia-Acacia Commiphora Bushlands. There is also an interesting diversity of plants and animals. Somalia supposedly boasts of the largest population of camels in the world, as well as lions, Sudanese cheetahs, African bush elephants, gazelles, zebras and, of course, the Somali wild ass. 

The sweet can be found not just in the place, but also in the Somali people and their culture.  For example, there is a long literary tradition. The 19th century British explorer, Richard Francis Burton, once wrote in his book First Footsteps in Eastern Africa that the land which would become Somalia 

teems with poets ... every man has his recognized position in literature as accurately defined as though he had been reviewed in a century of magazines - the fine ear of this people causing them to take the greatest pleasure in harmonious sounds and poetic expressions .... Every chief in this country must have a panegyric to be sung by his clan, and the great patronize light literature by keeping a poet.

There are approximately thirty different forms of Somali poetry, many of which  differ in terms of the number of syllables per verse: from Gabay, with 14 to 16 syllables, to Hees Xoolad, with only 4 to 5 syllables. 

The sweet is not only found in the poetry of the Somalis, but also their music because, historically speaking, both were tied together.  Poetry would be set to music by way of a chant or a song. The words were always more important than the music. Indeed, some genres of poetry -- such as Gabay, Jiifto, or Geeraar -- were typically accompanied by the clapping of hands, without any musical instruments. Another form of poetry, Buraanmbur, which is recited at formal occasions such as weddings, is recited with the use of drums.  And, if one travels into southern Somalia, the poetry may be performed with a variety of different instruments such as drums, flutes, hand carved clappers and a lyre. 

Colonialism brought changes to Somali music, most notably the separation of music from poetry.  English, French and Italians introduced music as a stand alone concept in its modern form, which was reinforced by the radio. Somali musicians incorporated foreign genres, such as American soul, Jamaican reggae and Arabic maqaam, with their own traditional musical instruments and folk stylings. 

The literary and musical history and traditions of the Somali people are just one of the many aspects of the sweet that can be found in Somalia.  It is unfortunate that such sweetness does not prevail over the bitter, which tends to get the most attention.  

MAIN COURSE

Turning to my personal culinary challenge, I needed a main course from Somali cuisine for my personal culinary challenge.  I went through quite a few recipes before I decided to make Surbiyaan Hilib Adhi, which is dish of lamb with rice that very much resembles a biryani.

Biryani originates from the Persian word burian, which means "fried before cooking." While it may have originated in Persia, biryani became a staple of the royal kitchens of the Mughal empire. The empire ruled over a large territory that included substantial parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. As with any empire, the Mughal could not withstand time, or, for that matter, colonialism.  However, biryani - with its combination of vegetables and meats - continued to thrive throughout the subcontinent. The dish also extended its reach, especially to the east, into the Arabian peninsula.  It became known as zurbian in Saudi Arabia and zurbiyan in Yemen. Eventually, the dish crossed the Red Sea into Somalia, where it became known as surbiyaan.   

SURBIYAAN HILIB ADHI (LAMB WITH RICE)

Recipe from My Somali Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 onions, 1 sliced and 1 chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 3 cups basmati rice
• 5-6 cups water, plus 3/4 cup water
• 2 pounds lamb, medium cut
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 2-4 tablespoons of oil
• 5 cardamom seeds cracked
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Caramelize the onions. Heat the oil over medium heat, add the sliced onion and fry until brown.  Add the raisins and cook until they puff up. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

2. Soak the saffron.  In a small bowl, add the saffron and then pour 1/4 cup of hot water into the bowl.  Let it soak for up to 20 minutes.

3.  Boil the rice.   Bring 5-6 cups of water to a boil.  Add the rice and cook for a few minutes.  The rice should be cooked to half way.  You can test this by trying to break the rice in your hand.  Drain the rice in a colander and let it cool until needed.

4. Cook the lamb. In a large pot, fry the lamb with the oil until brown on all sides.  Add the chopped onions and sauté until brown. Add the cardamom, cinnamon stick, and lemon juice. Then add the garlic, tomatoes, spices and cilantro. Mix the ingredients together and then cook for 3 minutes until fragrant.  Add 1/2 cup of water.  Let simmer while covered on medium heat until boil, and then lower the heat for 10-15 minutes.  

5.  Finish the dish. Add the rice and spread it out so that the top is even.  Add the caramelized onions and raisins, followed by the saffron water.  Cover the pot and cook on medium heat until it begins to boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  The bottom of the pan will be dry and there will be no water left so make sure not to burn the bottom.  Remove the pot from the heat and serve immediately. 

DESSERT

Although I was looking forward to the lamb dish, I did a lot of research to find another dish that I could prepare as part of this challenge.  Ordinarily, I am looking for side dishes or appetizers, but, this time I came across something that could either be a breakfast or dessert. It is Malawah. It is a crepe like pancake made with ground cardamom and ginger, which, along with the sugar, provide the sweetness.

MALAWAH (SOMALI SWEET PANCAKE)

Recipe from The Spruce Eats and The Somali Kitchen

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2.5 cups milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Honey, sugar to garnish

Directions:

Whisk or blend the eggs, sugar, milk, salt and cardamom and ginger.  Then pour approximately 1/4 of a cup of the mixture the pan in a circular motion.  Once the pancake is brown, flip and cook briefly on the other side.  Repeat with the rest of the batter.  Serve immediately with honey or sugar as a garnish.

*    *    *

In the end, I think that the main course of Surbiyaan Hilib Adhi was a success.  I think my prior experience with making biryanis in the past, along with my general experience preparing plovs, pulao and polos -- all rice dishes with some form of protein -- helped with making this dish. The Malawah were also very good. However, I failed to get the circular motion down, which is why my Malawah look more like pancakes that crepes with a circular design. 

I also have to note that this challenge presents a milestone in my personal culinary challenge. It marks the first time I have completed challenges for an entire region.  The region is the Horn of Africa. I previously completed a culinary challenge for Ethiopia (#1), Eritrea (#19) and Djibouti (#30). Somalia (#39) represents the final country in region and it was a huge success. 

One last thought.  The two dishes that I made for this culinary challenge have analogues in the cuisine of a nearby country with an unfortunate history: Yemen. While the random country generator may choose my next challenges, I think I may make a stop to explore Yemeni cuisine very soon.  Until next time ...

ENJOY!

Uyghur Polo

Nadan qazangha qaraydu, tadan ochaqqa (qaraydu).

The words are spoken by Uyghurs, with a language that perhaps most closely resembles Uzbek, but also has similarities to Kazakh and Kyrgyz.  When translated, it reveals a proverb: "[t]he simple man looks at the serving dish, the cunning man at the oven."  It is related to the proverb of the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, who wrote "[g]ive a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

The similarity of a proverb cannot obscure the harsh reality that unfolds today in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. Since 2017, the Communist Chinese government has detained over one million Uyghurs in re-education camps.  The "re-education" appears to nothing more than the forced stripping of the Uyghurs of what makes them who they are, that is, their cultural identity.  Detainees are forced to declare their loyalty to the Communist government, learn Mandarin and study communist propaganda. They are also compelled to denounce their moderate form of Sunni Islam and forgo speaking their own Turkic langauge. The Chinese authorities use torture to increase the effectiveness of the reeducation program.

The Chinese government claims that these camps are a countermeasure against religious extremism and terrorism. Such claims are nothing more than a thin veil to hide the eradication of the Ugyhur identity.  As the Council of Foreign Relations has found: 

"Many aspects of Muslim life have been erased, journalists reporting from Xinjiang have found. Communist Party members have been recruited since 2014 to stay in Uighur homes and report any perceived 'extremist' behaviors, including fasting during Ramadan. Officials have destroyed mosques, claiming the buildings were shoddily constructed and unsafe for worshippers.  Uighur and other minority women have reported forced sterilizations and intrauterine device insertions, and official shave threatened to detain anyone who has too many children.  Uighur parents are banned from giving their babies certain names, including Mohammed and Medina. Halal food, which is prepared according to Islamic law, has become harder to find in Urumqi [the provincial capital] as the local government has launched a campaign against it."

As the foregoing suggets, the Chinese goverment's campaign to strip the Uyghurs of their separate identity even extends to their cuisine. 

That cuisine has been described as "very rich, very different." Uyghur cuisine features various proteins (mutton, beef, camel [bactrian], chicken and goose), along with other ingredients such as carrots, onions, peppers, eggplant and various fruits.  These proteins and ingredients are featured in dishes that are emblematic of the cuisine, such as kebabs and laghman (a noodle dish).  Many of these dishes draw influences from surrounding cultures in Central Asia.  These influences can traced to the food and dishes of the Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. 

To be sure, there are Chinese influences in Uyghur cuisine (for obvious reasons), but the Central Asian influences are unmistakeble.  This most obvious example lies with the "King" of the Ugyhur table ... Polo.  It is the Uyghur version of the Central Asian plov.  While they vary from country to country (and from region to region within a country), a plov is a rice dish that typically includes carrots and meat.  

As one would expect with "royalty," there are certain traditions that have to observed.  For instance, there are the ingredients.  A traditional polo consists of a handful of ingredients: rice, lamb, carrots, onions and oil, along with salt, sugar and cumin to provide flavor. (There are other versions of polo that include other ingredients, such as raisins, apricots or chickpeas.) There is also the preparation. The carrots must be cut in a certain way.  The onion must be sliced in a certain way. The actual steps of cooking the dish must be followed in a certain way.  Careful attention must be given to the cooking process, tasting the dish along the way to ensure not only that it tastes right, but that there is a strong taste. 

Suprisingly (or not), there are few recipes for Uyghur Polo on the Internet.  I found a video on YouTube that described the process, which I have tried my best to translate into the recipe found below. The recipe produced a dish that resembles many of the pictures of Uyghur polo online (although my carrot-cutting and onion-slicing may be met with some disdain by Ugyhur cooks and chefs).  The resulting dish was also very delicious, although I would probably have added a little more cumin to further "strengthen" the taste. 

UYGHUR POLO

Recipe adapted from Dolan Chick

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds lamb, cut into cubes
• 1pound of carrots, cut into sticks
• 1 red or yellow onion, diced
• 1 tablesppon cumin seed
• Olive oil
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
• 2 cups long grain rice

Directions:

1. Brown the lamb.   Heat the oil in a deep pan on high heat.  Add the lamb and brown on all sides, for about four to five minutes. Add the onion, cumin and salt.  Cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots to the pan. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring to mix the ingredients together and cover the carrots with the oil. 

2. Add the rice. Add enough water to cover the lamb, carrots and onions, as well as cook the rice, about 4 cups of water.  Bring to a boil.  Add the rice evenly in the pan.  Top with the raisins.  Lower the heat to low so that it is a simmer.  Cover and cook until the rice has absorbed the liquid, about 30 minutes.  Remove the cover and mix all of the ingredients and shred the lamb. 

3. Finish the dish. Spoon the rice with the carrots, lamb, onion and raisins into bowls. Serve immediate.  Serve with flatbread, yoghurt or a salad. 

ENJOY!

Carne Adovada

Several years ago, I had to make a few trips to the State of New Mexico for work. That work took me to Santa Fe, which is about an hour's drive from Albuquerque. Those trips introduced me to the Hatch chile, as well as the wonderful cuisine made from the chiles.  Each work trip involved at least one stop to The Chile Shop.  At the end of each trip, I usually came home with a pound of ground chiles, both red and green.  Over time, those ground chiles have made it into a lot of the food I prepare, including eleven dishes that have made it onto this blog. 

For New Mexicans, the ground chiles are the foundation of dishes such as Carne Adovada.  Originally, cooks would marinate cubes or strip of pork in a crock or pot with chiles and bacterial cultures used in yogurt.  This marination/fermentation process imparted a slightly sour taste to the meat, which would then be stewed with onions, garlic and, of course, more chiles.  The result is a very rich dish of fork-tender pork nestled, if not swimming, in a red chile sauce that has just a hint of sourness. The recipe provided a very tasty and needed way to preserve the various cuts of a pig after being slaughtered. 

Cooks do not need to go through the marination process anymore, because refrigeration made fermentation unnecessary.  The rest of the cooking process remains relatively unchanged and the finished dish continues to be just as delicious.  

I found a very easy recipe for making Carne Adovada in Cooks Country Eats Local.  First, the recipe allows for the use of "chile powder" or "chili powder," rather than specifying a specific type of ground chiles, such as Hatch chiles or Guajillo chiles.  While the Hatch chile would provide the best result, a small bottle of standard store-bought chile works just fine.  The recipe also provided several steps -- browning the pork, sauteeing the onions, adding flour, raisins plumped with coffee and some lime juice -- that helps to develop the flavor of the chile sauce.  

The finished dish is amazing, and brought back the memories of my trip to Santa Fe.  If only the dish did not require a couple of hours to make, I'd add this to the rotation of dishes that I could make during the week. 

CARNE ADOVADA

Recipe from Cooks Country Eats Local, pp. 260-261

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup brewed coffee

1 (4 to 5 pound) boneless pork butt roast, trimmed of excess fat

     and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 onions, chopped

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 1 tablespoon juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1.  Prepare raisin mixture.  Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine raisins and coffee in small bowl.  Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and microwave until liquid begins to boil, 1 to 3 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes until raisins are plump.

2.  Prepare pork.  Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat until just smoking.  Brown half of pork, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining pork.  

3.  Prepare sauce.  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven.  Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add flour, chili powder, oregano, chipotle and garlic raisin mixture, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to boil.  Working in 2 batches, transfer mixture to blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  Return sauce to pot.

4.  Finish the dish.  Add browned pork to sauce in pot and transfer ot oven.  Cook, covered, until pork is fork tender, about 2 hours.  Skim fat from sauce, then stir in lime zest, lime juice and pepper to taste.  Serve.  Pork can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

ENJOY!

Etruscan Chicken

As I recently opened a bottle of Birra Etrusca, a craft beer brewed based upon an ancient beer recipe of the Etruscans, I felt that it was only appropriate to prepare a dish based upon an ancient Etruscan recipe.  The goal was to produce a meal that would have been eaten by Etruscans as they would have enjoyed the beer.  To achieve this goal, I needed to do a lot of research.

The logical starting point is the Etruscan civilization itself.  The word "Etruscan" is not Etruscan at all; they referred to themselves as the Rasenna. The Romans gave them the "Etruscan" name, as well as the reputation of being heavy drinkers and eaters.  Some later Roman writers presented a more moderate view of their predecessors, with Posidonius and Diodoro Siculo writing that the Etruscans had advanced literature and science, much of which was adopted and improved by the Romans themselves.  The Etruscans also had a well developed cuisine.

Etruscan cuisine was centered in many ways around meat, both cultivated and wild. The Etruscans had domesticated cattle, goats and pigs, but they particularly favored game, such as deer, boar and even rabbits.  They also cultivated a wide range of cereals, nuts fruits and vegetables, including apples, artichokes, carrots, grapes, olives, onions, pears, pine nuts, pomegranates, and walnuts.   Of all these ingredients, the onion was perhaps one of the most important.  Archaeologists found depictions of onions on reliefs in tombs and the ingredient is present in many recipes, including those that evolved into dishes cooked in present day Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio.

I found an Etruscan recipe for rabbit, which incorporated ingredients that would have been used by the Etruscans, such as olives, onions and pine nuts.  While I enjoy rabbit, it is a little difficult to find and all of the little bones in rabbit make it a chore to eat.  Fortunately, this recipe is easily adapted for other proteins, such as chicken.  So, I decided to make this recipe with skinless, bone-in thighs.  I did encounter one obstacle to making this recipe: I thought I had pine nuts and, as it turned out, our cupboard was bare in that regard.  I made one additional substitution, using blanched almond slivers in place of pine nuts.  The substitution worked because the Etruscans cultivated not only pine nuts but also almonds.  (This substitution makes the dish much cheaper, as almonds cost a lot less than pine nuts.) 

Overall, this Etruscan Chicken recipe produced a delicious meal that reminded me of the types of dishes that I ate when I was in Tuscany.  Of course, Tuscan cuisine evolved from Etruscan cuisine, so that link seems only appropriate.  At some point, I will make this recipe with rabbit.  More to come....

ETRUSCAN CHICKEN

Recipe from Mangia, Figlie

Serves 4

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

4 ounces black olives

1 red onion, finely chopped

Rosemary and sage, finely chopped

1 cup white wine

1/4 cup pine nuts (or substitute almonds)

1/4 cup raisins

Sea salt 

Ground black pepper

Directions:

1.  Prepare the chicken.  Place the chicken thighs in a bowl of water with the vinegar. 

2.  Saute the onions.  Put 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and red onion in a large unheated frying pan.  Place over medium heat and allow the onions to saute for 10 minutes.   

3.  Brown the chicken.  Drain the chicken and add it to the pan.  when the chicken is browned on both sides, add salt and pepper to taste and the white wine.  Cook slowly for about 20 minutes covered.  

4.  Add the pine nuts and raisins.  Add the pine nuts and raisins and stir.  Cover again and allow to simmer together for 10 minutes more.

5.  Finish the dish.    Before removing from heat, add the olives, sage and rosemary, all finely chopped.  Let the dish sit for 20 minutes and serve.

ENJOY!

Seffa de Couscous

While walking the aisles of my local supermarket, I came across some bottles of rose water.  I began to think about the type of dishes that would use this ingredient. Thanks to the trusty Internet, I was able to find a handful of recipes.  One recipe stuck out from the rest ... Seffa de Couscous. 

The dish is a sweet couscous dish that is popular in Morocco and Algeria.  The ingredients for this dish -- dried apricots, figs, dates, and raisins, along with cardamom, cinnamon and rose water -- really seemed interesting.  So, I gathered all of the ingredients, headed home and began my work in the kitchen.

This is a really easy dish to make.  Most of the work is cutting and dicing the dried fruits.  After poaching the dried fruit in a couple cups of boiling water, just add the rose water and prepare the couscous in accordance with its instructions

SEFFA DE COUSCOUS

Adapted from Tobias Cooks
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1 cup of Moroccan couscous

1 small handful of raisins

4-6 dried figs, diced

4-6 dried apricots, diced

4-6 dried dates, diced

2 spoons of sugar

1 orange, cut into sections

1/4 cup of roasted almonds

2 black cardamom seeds

2 green cardamom seeds

Cinnamon, to taste

1 tablespoon of rose water 

Directions:

1.  Prepare the couscous.  Heat up 2 cups of water in a pot to a boil. Add the diced fruits and poach them for a few minutes in boiling water.  Add the sugar, cardamom and rose water.  Then add the couscous and cook according to the couscous instructions.  

2.  Toast the almonds.  Heat a pan over medium high heat.  Add the almonds to the pan and toast until they become fragrant. 

3.  Finish the dish.  Remove the cardamom seeds.  Plate the couscous in a bowl or on a plate.  Place the almonds on top and sprinkle some cinnamon over the couscous.

ENJOY!