Somali cuisine
Somali cuisine is characterized by a blend of Somali, East African, Arab, Indian and Italian culinary infusions in the cuisine. As a nomadic pastoralist culture, traditional Somali cuisine relies on milk and meat. Many dishes have been influenced by its nomadic culture, colonialism, trade and its proximity to the Indian Ocean. The use of spices reflect these elements and plays a role in Somali cuisine. Somali culinary traditions have gained increasing international recognition, with Somali-American chefs such as Ifrah Ahmed and Hawa Hassan drawing significant attention, a Somali restaurantaur earning a Best Small Business Person in the United States, and London establishments like Al Kahf and Sabiib emerging as popular destinations among food enthusiasts.
Bananas are very important in Somalian cuisine, often served with every meal. A common method of consumption is pairing the bananas with rice and mashing.
Some notable Somali specialties include kimis/''sabaayad, canjeero/laxoox, xalwo, sambuusa, bariis iskukaris, and muqmad/oodkac''.
Pork consumption is forbidden in Somalia in accordance with sharia, as the vast majority of the population are Muslims. Meats such as beef, goat, lamb, camel, and fish, are always prepared halal.
Breakfast
Breakfast is an important meal for Somalis, who often start the day with Somali-style tea or coffee. The tea, brewed from black tea leaves, can be served regularly as-is. It can be also flavoured with spices such as ginger, cardamom and cinnamon, while milk is added after the brewing instead of during it; this is known as shaah cadeeys.The main dish is typically a pancake-like bread called a canjeero or laxoox eaten in somalia and is eaten in different ways. It is often eaten along with honey and ghee, olive oil, or sesame oil, and washed down with a cup of tea. It may also be broken into small pieces with Somali ghee and sugar. For children, it is mixed with tea and sesame oil or olive oil until mushy. Typically, there is a side dish of liver, goat meat, diced beef and sometimes kidneys cooked in a bed of soup, or oodkac / muqmad, which consists of small dried pieces of beef, goat or camel meat, boiled in ghee. Different from Ethiopian injera, Somali canjeero is smaller, thinner and sweeter. It might also be eaten with a stew or soup.
- Sabaayad or kimis / ceesh, is another type of flatbread. During lunch, kimis / sabaayad is sometimes consumed with a Somali curry, soup, or stew.
- Muufo is another type of Somali flatbread — characterised by its puffy and uniquely thick texture — popular within south Somalia and is usually eaten with stews and soup but is also sometimes eaten at breakfast with honey or sugar, subag, and black tea.
- Mushaari or boorash, with butter, nuts and sugar, is eaten across Somalia.
- Ful is a breakfast dish made from slow-cooked fava beans sautéed with aromatics like onions, garlic, and tomatoes, then seasoned with earthy cumin.
- Nationally, a sweet, slightly greasy crepe-like flatbread known as malawax or malawah, is a staple of most home-cooked meals and is usually eaten for breakfast with tea, similarly to how canjeero is eaten.
Lunch
Spaghetti can also be served with rice, forming a novelty dish referred to as "federation". The dish is usually served with equal portions of rice and spaghetti, split on either side of a large oval plate. It is then layered with assorted stewed meats and vegetables, served with salad and an optional banana. It has been suggested that the name of the dish is derived from the union of two dishes in Somalia and also from the size and quantity of the food. It is more common to order the dish from traditional Somali restaurants, where both rice and spaghetti are always readily available; it is rare in Somali households to prepare both rice and pasta for the same meal.
Another popular dish is iskukaris, a hot pot of rice, vegetables and meat, a national staple. Beyond the many styles of hot pot, rice is usually served with a banana on the side. In Mogadishu, steak and fish are widely eaten.
Southern Somalis commonly consume a stiff cornmeal referred to as "soor", which is usually eaten alongside stews or soup.
Another commonly eaten cornmeal is eaten called asida. It is mashed with fresh milk, butter and sugar, or presented with a hole in the middle filled with maraq, or olive oil.
File:Somalicamelmeat.jpg|thumb|left|Bariis iskukaris, a Somali camel meat and rice dish
A variation of flat bread is sabaayad/''kimis/cesh. Like the rice, is served with maraq and meat on the side. The sabaayad of Somalia is often somewhat sweet, and is cooked in a little oil.
Popular drinks at lunch are balbeelmo, raqey and isbarmuunto. In Mogadishu, fiimto and laas are also common. In the northwest, the preferred drinks are cambe, guava, and tufaax''.
Dinner
Dinner in Somalia is served as late as 9 pm. During Ramadan, dinnertime often follows Tarawih prayers, sometimes as late as 11 pm. Cambuulo, a common dinner dish, is made from well-cooked adzuki beans mixed with butter and sugar. The beans, which on their own are referred to as digir, can take up to five hours to finish cooking when left on the stove at a low temperature. Qamadi is also used; cracked or uncracked, it is cooked and served just like the azuki beans.Rooti iyo xalwo, slices of bread served with a gelatinous confection, is another dinner dish. Muufo, a variation of cornbread, is a dish made of maize and is baked in a tinaar. It is eaten by cutting it into small pieces, topped with sesame oil and sugar, then mashed together with black tea.
Before sleeping, a glass of milk spiced with cardamom is often consumed.
Snacks
Sambuus, a Somali variation of the Desi samosa, is a triangular snack that is commonly eaten throughout Somalia during the afur. Kebab is a snack eaten in western Somalia. There are several varieties of this dish. For instance, it may be served on sticks or skewers with vegetables. Another common variety, consisting of minced meat mixed with egg and flour and then fried, is popular in south Somalia. It resembles kofta kebab. Other snacks include chicken and vegetable filled rolls and bajiyo, which is made from black-eyed peas or adzuki beans and usually served with spicy sauce. These, along with sambusas, are very popular not only during Ramadan, but also for special occasions such as weddings and family gatherings. Homemade chips are made with fresh potato and black pepper. Fruits such as mango, guava, banana, and orange are eaten throughout the day.Sweets
- Xalwo or halwo is a popular Benadiri snack confection served during special occasions, such as Eid celebrations or wedding receptions. Xalwo is made from sugar, cornstarch, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, and ghee. Peanuts are also sometimes added to enhance texture and flavor. In the south there is a rice pudding called ruz bil laban.
- Gashaato, kashaato or qumbe, made from coconut, sugar and oil, which is spiced with cardamom, is a much-loved sweet from Benadir. The sugar is brought to a boil with a bit of water, then the cardamom is added followed by shredded coconut.
- Lows iyo sisin is a favorite sweet in the south. It consists of a mixture of peanuts and sesame seeds in a bed of caramel. The confection sticks together to form a bar.
- Jallaato, similar to the American ice pop, is made by freezing naturally sweet fruits with a stick in the middle. More recently in Mogadishu, it has grown to include caano jallaato, which is made with milk and requires sugaring up. The word jallaato comes from gelato, which is Italian for "frozen".
- Buskut or buskud is also from the south comprises many types of cookies, including very soft ones called daardaar.
- Doolshe encompasses many styles of cakes.
- Icun is a sweet mostly eaten by southern Somalis. It is made from sugar and flour mixed with oil and is most frequently served at weddings and for Eid.
- Shushumow is a fried Somali pastry with a crystallised shell which is usually made as a party snack.
- Basbousa is a traditional Somali sweet cake of Arab influence. It is made from cooked semolina or farina soaked in simple syrup.
- Also in the north there is lokma, a sweet fried-dough pastry.
- Baklava is also eaten by some Somalis.