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Ramadan is a time to examine oneself and be in community with others. It also centers on food, yet calls for fasting from sunrise until sundown. During this holy month for Muslims, families and friends worldwide gather before light and after dark to share sustaining meals.
In Somali homes across the globe, you’ll find cooks following a shared culinary choreography: henna-stained fingers fill and fold sambuus to fry to the same shade of golden brown as the soon-setting sun. Soor iyo dalac bilaash, another beloved Ramadan dish, is a light and comforting option for an iftar meal. The tomato-topped grits feel especially restorative after a day of fasting. So does rooti farmaajo, cheese-filled buns baked into a honeycomb pattern. Sweet and tender, they’re just as welcome at the start of any day.
Hilib Sambuus (Fried Beef Dumplings)
By Ifrah F. Ahmed
Sambuus are a Somali relative of Indian samosas; the two fried dumplings are separated by sea and likely related by trade. While hilib generally means meat in Somali, hilib sambuus are often filled with spiced ground beef. But chicken, tuna and more seafood variations exist; salmon sambuus are beloved by the Somali diaspora of the Pacific Northwest. If you have time, making sambuus pastry from scratch is ideal, but you can buy premade wraps at the grocery store, or utilize tortillas, as this recipe does, for an even quicker process. Store-bought tortillas are cheaper, faster and preferred by many working-class diaspora families for getting sambuus made quickly, which is ideal during Ramadan, when they are widely popular. While they are delicious on their own, you can pair them with Somali-style hot sauce, if you’d like some optional heat.
Yield: 20 sambuus
Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 handful cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 cup/64 grams all-purpose flour
5 burrito-size (9-inch-wide) tortillas
Canola oil, as needed for frying
Basbaas Cagaar (Green Hot Sauce), for serving (optional)
Preparation:
1. In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Next, add the beef and brown it, breaking down the bigger clumps of meat as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in cilantro, cumin, coriander and salt.
2. In a small bowl, make a paste using the flour and 1/2 cup water. Next, cut each tortilla into 4 quarters, creating 20 triangular wedges. To make the tortilla pieces pliable, warm 6 or 7 pieces at a time in the microwave for about 10 seconds (or in the oven at 350 degrees).
3. On a clean surface, grab one cut tortilla piece and position the round end closest to you. Form a cone shape by taking the tip at the bottom left and folding it up and over to meet the right edge slightly higher than its middle. Using your finger, brush a little flour paste over the top surface of the folded piece. Lift the bottom right tip of the tortilla and bring it up to cover the folded flap, creating a cone shape. Holding the cone in one hand, fill it with 2 tablespoons of beef filling. Tuck the inner flap to cover and seal in the filling, brush flour paste on the top surface covering the filling and then seal the sambuus by folding the top flap down and pressing to seal, creating a triangular shape. Use the flour paste to fill in gaps. Set on a baking sheet and repeat this process until all of the filling has been used.
4. Pour 1/2 inch canola oil into a large, deep skillet and heat over medium-high. Once the oil is shimmering hot (you can flick in a small amount of the flour paste and see if it sputters), fry 4 to 6 sambuus at a time until golden brown and crispy, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer sambuus to a paper towel-lined plate to catch excess grease. Serve hot crispy sambuus right away, with hot sauce, if using.
Tip: Sambuus are best eaten right after frying, when they’re still hot and crisp. However, if making ahead, you can freeze the uncooked sambuus after assembly, then thaw and fry at your convenience. Frozen sambuus can last several months.
Basbaas Cagaar (Green Hot Sauce)
By Ifrah F. Ahmed
While Somali cuisine utilizes many fragrant spices, such as coriander, cardamom and cumin, it is not traditionally heat-heavy. But spiciness shows up in the form of basbaas, a hot sauce that is a popular condiment. Heat is optional in Somali cuisine and dishes like sambuus or bariis and hilib ari (rice and goat meat) come with a complementary side of basbaas for those who seek to take their meal to the next level. While there are several kinds of basbaas, basbaas cagaar is a fiery, green hot sauce that pairs beautifully with any meats or roasted vegetables, and especially with hilib sambuus.
Yield: About 1 1/4 cups
Total time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
3 large jalapeños, roughly chopped
1 small serrano chile, roughly chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro leaves and stems
3 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 small white onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 large lemon, juiced (about 1/4 cup)
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
Preparation:
1. In a blender, combine all chiles, cilantro, garlic, onion, vinegar, lemon juice and salt; purée on high until smooth.
2. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container. Basbaas loses its potency as time goes on. It can last up to one week, refrigerated, but is best consumed in a few days, for the highest level of heat.
Soor iyo Dalac Bilaash (Grits and Tomato Stew)
By Ifrah F. Ahmed
Thick and comforting like Kenyan ugali or Italian polenta, soor is Somalia’s version of grits. A common staple, it is foundational to many Somali culinary traditions, whether it is served with maraq ari (goat soup) for a simple lunch or dinner, or eaten with buttermilk and sugar for a quick meal during Ramadan. Here, soor is topped with dalac bilaash, a robust tomato stew that can be made easily with just a few simple ingredients. The name of the dish implies that it can be created out of nothing, but, despite its humble ingredient list, its flavors run deep.
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Soor:
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup/128 grams fine white cornmeal
For the Dalac Bilaash:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, sliced
5 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 small jalapeño (optional), destemmed and halved
4 to 5 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 handful of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons Vegeta seasoning
1/2 small green bell pepper, halved and sliced
Preparation:
1. Make the soor: Into a medium saucepan with a lid, pour 3 cups of cold water and add the salt. Turn your heat to medium-high and whisk in your cornmeal slowly to reduce lumps. Cook, whisking constantly, until the soor thickens, about 8 minutes. Cover the saucepan, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 25 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick. If the soor is sticking to the bottom, stir in 1/4 cup of water. Set aside, covered.
2. Prepare the dalac bilaash: While the soor cooks, over medium-high heat, warm up oil in a medium pot or skillet. Once the oil is hot, stir in your onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and jalapeño (if using), then cover, occasionally mashing the tomatoes as they cook down, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, smash the garlic in a mortar and pestle. Add the cilantro to the smashed garlic and pound until it reduces to a chunky paste.
4. Once the tomatoes have broken down completely, add the cilantro paste, Vegeta seasoning and green bell pepper. Stir to combine, cover, and cook over medium until peppers are soft but not mushy, about 15 minutes.
5. Divide the soor among plates and top with dalac bilaash.
Rooti Farmaajo (Honeycomb Cheese Bread)
By Ifrah F. Ahmed
Rooti farmaajo is a pillowy and sweet, soft-cheese-stuffed bread that is a popular Ramadan staple in many Somali households. This dish translates from Somali simply as “cheese bread,” but is distinguished by its honeycomb shape and its creamy filling. Rooti farmaajo shares some similarities to khaliat al nahl, Yemeni honeycomb buns, but the similarities end when it comes to toppings: While khaliat al nahl is topped with syrup or honey as well as nigella and sesame seeds, rooti farmaajo is drizzled with condensed milk and topped with shredded coconut. While this bread is a popular treat during Ramadan, it’s worth making year round — and makes a good accompaniment to coffee or tea.
Yield: 30 rolls
Total time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
2/3 cup/160 milliliters warm whole milk, plus more for egg wash
2 teaspoons/6 grams active dry yeast
1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons cane sugar
2 1/4 cups/298 grams all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
2 large eggs, each cracked into a separate bowl and beaten
4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon/62 grams melted salted butter
1 (5.4- or 6-ounce) package of The Laughing Cow Original spreadable cheese wedges, chilled
1/4 cup/60 milliliters sweetened condensed milk, plus more to taste
Eat. Watch. Do.
1/4 cup/20 grams unsweetened finely shredded coconut flakes
Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, combine milk, yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir together and set aside for 10 minutes to allow yeast to activate. In a bigger bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, cardamom (if using) and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Once the yeast mixture is foamy, add to the flour mixture, along with 1 beaten egg and 3 tablespoons of the melted butter. Knead in the bowl until a sticky dough forms, about 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed if the dough is too sticky. Lightly grease dough with 1 teaspoon melted butter. Cover with a clean dish towel and let it rise at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
2. Grease a round 9-inch springform pan using the remaining 1 tablespoon butter; heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grab chilled cheese wedges and cut 30 pieces of cheese (about 1/2 teaspoon each). Once the dough has doubled in size, cut the dough into two equal portions. Take one half of the dough and roll it out into a thick rope. Cut the rope crosswise into 15 equal sections. Take one of the cut pieces of dough, roll it into a ball then flatten it into a disk and place 1 piece of cream cheese in the middle. Pinch the dough closed at the top and roll it into a ball using the palms of your hands. Once it’s round, place it into the greased pan, arranging it with its smoothest side up, and repeat the process with the remaining dough. Make sure the balls of dough are equally spaced out, and allow the dough to rise, covered, for 15 minutes.
3. After the second rise, brush the dough with an egg wash of the remaining egg beaten with a splash of whole milk, then bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
4. When the rolls have finished baking, take them out of the oven and drizzle condensed milk on top. Finish off with a sprinkle of coconut flakes. Enjoy warm. Rooti farmaajo can last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
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