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Showing posts from June, 2009

A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Sambusa Wrappers

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I would first like to thank my wonderful neighbor Marium for showing me how to make this. Masha'Allah, she is such an expert that she is able to make 2 stacks of eight instead of 8 stacks of 2. This delicious Ramadan favorite comes out nice and flaky. Wrappers can be made in advance and frozen. Makes 32 large sambusa/samosa 5 cups flour + extra for rolling 2 ts. salt 1/2 cup oil + extra for rolling 2 cups water oil for frying 1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. 2. Knead until a smooth dough is formed. 3. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes. 4. Knead for 2 minutes and then divide the dough into 16 pieces. 5. Press down each piece to form a 3 inch circle. 6. Coat the top with oil and sprinkle with flour. 7. Make 8 stacks with 2 in each stack. 8. Press down to try to keep them equal in size. 9. Flatten with a rolling pin until each stack is about 10 inches. 10. Heat a pan on low heat. 11. Place the stacked circles in the pan. (You don't want to cook the

Tuna Sambusa/Samosa

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Now, when I first heard of tuna sambusa I thought my friend had totally went insane. Afterall, who in their right mind would put tuna inside a sambusa. But one taste of these spicy little bundles and you'll never eat ground beef sambusa again. Makes 8 large sambusa 1 170 g can of tuna; drained 1/2 onion; finely chopped 1 ts. oil 1 chili; chopped 1/4 ts. salt 1 ts. curry powder 1. Heat oil in a pan, add onion and cook until slightly translucent. 2. Add the tuna, chili, salt, and curry; stir and cook for 2 minutes. 3. Fill each sambusa cone with 1 Tbsp. of the tuna filling. 4. Seal the top seam with flour paste. 5. Preheat oil on medium heat. 6. Cook 4 sambusa at a time until golden and bubbly. 7. Remove and drain on a paper towel.

Spinach and Cheese Sambusa/samosa

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1 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed 1/2 cup butter 1 sm. yellow onion; chopped 2 cloves garlic; minced 1/4 ts. cumin powder 1/4 ts. ground cardamom 1/4 cup feta cheese 1/2 cup cream cheese 1/2 lemon, zest only Sambusa wrappers 1. Squeeze spinach dry by hand. Set aside. 2. Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. 3. Add onion and garlic and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. 4. A dd cumin and cardamom and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. 5. Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. 6. Add feta, cream cheese and lemon zest. Cook, stirring to distribute, until cheeses are melted, about 3 to 5 minutes. 7. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 8. Fill each uncooked sambusa wrapper with a spoonful of the filling. 9. Close top using a flour paste. 10. Fry until golden brown. 11. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.

Shushumu

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Shushumu 1/8 cup oil 1/8 cup butter; melted 2 cups flour 1/2 cup warm water salt oil for frying 1. Heat the butter and oil. 2. Rub into the flour and salt until it is mixed. 3. Add the water and knead until smooth. 4. Cut into marble size pieces and press one side onto the end of a fork. 5. The other side should have a small dent. 6. Fry until golden. 7. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Topping 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1. Simmer the water and sugar until it becomes frothy. 2. Drop in the shushumu pieces and stir until all the pieces are coated. 3. Remove from heat and cool. NOTE- it was recommended that using milk instead of water made it much better. (Thank you anonynous) I store these in a Ziploc bag.

Where did the year go?

I was shocked when I read that Ramadan is only 2 months away. Where does the time go? Ramadan in 2009 will start on Friday, the 21st of August and will continue for 30 days until Saturday, the 19th of September (tentative dates). Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Muslims consider this whole month as a blessed month. They fast during the days of this month and make special prayers at night. People also give more charity and do extra righteous deeds. Also, in this Holy Month, The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) received the first revelation of Al-Qur'an (in one of the last ten odd nights of Ramzan). Ramazan/Ramadhan is the month of celebration as well as the month of discipline and self-control.

Dried Fruit Garnish for Somali Rice

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1 onion; thinly sliced 5 dried apricots; cut in half 2 Tbsp. golden raisins 2 Tbsp. dark raisins 2 Tbsp. dried cranberries 1 green chili 1 red chili 2 Tbsp. ghee salt to taste 1. Heat the ghee in a pan; add the onions and cook until translucent. 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

Another Somali Food Site

Dear reader, I just found a new site that also has Somali dishes. They look really yummy. My Somali Food and more

Rice and Chicken

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3 cups of basmati rice 4 cups of water 3 chicken cubes 1 onion; chopped 1 carrots; finely chopped 4 chicken drumsticks; skinned and cut into very small pieces 1. Boil the chicken in 5 cups of water; reserve for cups of the stock for the rice. 2. Wash rice thoroughly and set aside. 3. Heat the oil in a large pot. 4. Add the onions, carrots, and chicken cubes; saute for 2 minutes. 5. Add the rice and stir-fry for for 2 minutes. 6. Add the stock and chicken and stir; cook covered until the rice comes to a boil. 7. Reduce heat to very low and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated.

Somali Rice with Tomato, Potato and Onion Garnish, Baked Chicken

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Somali Rice with Tomato, Potato and Onion Garnish, Baked Chicken This yummy dish was a big hit yesterday. The baked chicken was cooked using a baking bag. Some of you might be thinking that I am crazy, after all who cooks their chicken in a bag. But let me tell you that this chicken was so juicy on the inside and nice and crispy on the outside. The rice was made the usual way except I cooked it with tomatoes. Turned out wonderfully. The potato garnish was nice, especially with the addition of raisins.

Somali Rice with Beef Kalankal

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Somali Rice with Beef Kalankal This dish was awesome. The rice can be served with almost anything. The only sad part was that we ran out of bananas. Somali rice just isn't the same without a banana.

Somali Rice

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Somali Rice with an Onion and Raisin Garnish , Goat , Goat Broth , and Green Salad Somali rice is one of the most delicious rice dishes in the world. I have tasted many versions of this rice, but nothing compares to the rice you would find at a Somali restaurant. I spent over 10 years (don't laugh) trying to figure out how the restaurants make their rice. Alhamdulillah, while I was in Saudi Mohamed's friend, who owned a Somali restaurant, showed me how to make it. ENJOY!!!! This was served with goat. I have had some request for goat so I decided to make it. For starters, goat needs to cook for a long time. I boiled mine for 2 hours and it still didn't melt in your mouth. Boil it to your liking. I didn't throw away the liquid, I made a broth.

Chicken and Spinach Stew with Anjera

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Chicken and Spinach Stew with Anjera 1 lbs chicken drumsticks; skin removed 1 onion; sliced 2 Tbsp. oil 1 ts. garlic; minced 1 1/2 c. chicken broth 1 chicken cube 1/2 ts. cumin 1/2 ts. coriander 1/2 ts. black pepper 2 c. spinach 1. Heat oil in a large pot; add the onions and cook until translucent. 2. Add the chicken cube, garlic, cumin, coriander, and pepper; stir until the chicken cube has dissolved. 3. Add the chicken and the broth; bring to a boil. 4. Cover and reduce heat; cook on low for 20 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink on the inside. 5. Add the spinach and cook for an additional 5 minutes. NOTE * Can be served with anjera , muuffo , or sabayah .

Somali Rice and Goat

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1 lbs. goat; boiled for 2 hours or until tender. 3 cups of white basmati rice; rinsed until liquid is clear 1/4 cup of oil 1 onion; sliced 1 carrot; chopped 3 chicken cubes 4 cardamom pods 4 cloves 1 cinnamon stick 4 cups chicken stock (a little more might be needed) 1. Heat the oil in a flat bottomed pot. 2. Add onions, chicken cubes, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon; saute until the onion are translucent. 3. Add the goat and cook for 2 minutes. 4. Stir in the rice and the chicken stock; cover and bring to a boil. 5. Reduce heat and cook until the rice is tender. This can take between 15 - 20 minutes. 6. Fluff with a fork.

Oodka

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Ghee 1/2 cup butter 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder 1. Heat the butter and cardamom in a small pot. Simmer for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. Set aside to cool. Oodka 1. 1 lbs. beef; cut into VERY small pieces. 2. 1/4 cup oil 1 tsp. cardamom powder salt and pepper 1. Heat the oil on medium, add the beef and cook for 15 minutes. 2. Add the salt and pepper and let cook for another 15 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. 3. Stir in the cardamom and the ghee and cook for another 15 minutes. 4. This can be stored in the fridge or at room temperature. CAUTION This can keep for a long time. Please make sure that you use a clean spoon to scoop out what you need. Otherwise it will spoil.

Somali Steak with Chili

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1 lbs. steak; sliced really thin 2 Tbsp. oil Marinade 1 ts. garlic; crushed 2 Tbsp. tomato sauce 1 chili; chopped 1/2 ts. salt 1/2 ts. curry powder 1/2 ts. cumin 1 Tbsp. oil 1. Combine all the ingredients into a large Ziploc bag. 2. Add the steak and mix. 3. Marinate the steak for 4 - 6 hours or overnight. (The longer it marinates, the better it will be.) 4. Heat the oil in a frying pan. 5. Add the meat and cook for about 3 minutes; turn. 6. Continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes and drain on a paper towel.

Anjera

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2 cups or self raising flour or "bur anjerro" 2 2/3 cups of warm water 1/2 tsp. salt 1. Mix all the ingredients with an electric mixer until there are no longer any lumps. 2. Let sit for 15 minutes. 3. Preheat a pan on high heat. (Pan should be really hot. I put it on 8 but yours might be different.) 4. Lightly grease the pan to prevent the anjera from sticking. 5. Using a ladle, scoop 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan. 6. Spread the batter by using a circular motion. 7. The anjera is ready when the underside is lightly browned and the top is bubbly. 8. Remove the anjera with a spatula and place on a plate. 9. THe process is repeated until all the batter has been used. I have seen anjera used in so many ways. You can eat it with butter and sugar, honey and olive oil, with milk and tea, or with a sauce.

Somali Cake

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This is a very simple cake. This spongy dessert is perfect with tea or coffee. 6 eggs; separated 1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder 1 cup flour; sifted 1. Whip the egg whites on high until soft peaks form. 2. Add the sugar and cardamom; continue mixing. 3. Add the egg yolks one by one. 4. Fold the flour into the mixture. 5. Bake in a pre-heated 300 F oven for 45 minutes. 6. Cool on a wire rack.