Ifrah F. Ahmed

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Thanks to Somalia’s exposure to the ocean — it has the longest coastline in mainland Africa — seafood is an abundant resource. Topped with a rich, spiced tuna suugo (tomato sauce), this pasta dish is a staple in many Somali households, and comes together easily thanks to canned tuna and store-bought marinara sauce. Pasta is a culinary relic of Italian colonialism in Somalia that Somalis have long reimagined into their own new thing. This dish also has different spellings throughout Somalia, including “tuuna” after the English word or “toonno” following the Italian word “tonno.” This pasta sauce gets its unique taste from the addition of fresh cilantro and warm spices, including xawaash, a seven-spice mix that incorporates bold flavors like turmeric, cardamom and cumin. Serve with a salad or enjoy the baasto on its own.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

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.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

In this simple and flavorful sheet-pan meal, barramundi (or another firm, white fish) is rubbed with a marinade made with berbere, a traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean spice mix with fenugreek and chile at its core. (As spice blends can vary, do make sure to adjust the amount of berbere in this recipe to your desired spice levels.) Herby Parmesan potatoes and garlicky broccoli florets are all roasted alongside, effortlessly rounding out this delicious weeknight dinner.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

These meatballs, enhanced with both Parmesan and berbere seasoning, the fenugreek-and-chile-laced spice mix at the heart of Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisines, are neither Italian nor Ethiopian, but indisputably delicious. The addition of fresh cilantro offers a unique taste that pairs well with the heat of the berbere and the umami of the Parmesan. These meatballs freeze very well, to be baked off whenever the craving hits, or they can be enjoyed right away, paired with rice and salad or vegetables.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Few dishes will keep you as cozy as this bowl of spicy chicken and Swiss chard cradled by cheesy grits. There’s nothing quite like a bowl of hot grits. Incredibly versatile, they can be eaten for any meal and in any number of ways: sweet or savory and cheesy, like the Parmesan grits at the heart of this meal. The well-seasoned chicken thighs are tenderized with lemon juice and the Swiss chard turns silky when simmered in the tomato broth. Switch out the chard for any other dark, leafy greens, such as kale, spinach or collard greens, and adjust the cooking time as needed.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Reflecting its main ingredient, cagaar (pronounced “ag-aar”) is both the Somali translation for the color green and a spinach stew. While spinach is the heart of this dish, other vegetables are often included such as okra, carrots, zucchini, or cabbage, depending on one’s preference. This dish almost always utilizes tomatoes as the base, weaving in warm xawaash spices and sparks of mild heat from the jalapeños. This flavorful vegan dish works well over soor (grits), white rice, or alongside suqaar and muufo (corn flatbread).

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

This thin sourdough pancake (pronounced ahn-je-ro) is one of the most recognizable Somali foods. Also known as laxoox or canjeelo depending on the region, canjeero is typically mixed at night — the distinctive slapping sounds of canjeero batter being beaten is a core childhood memory for many. After it’s mixed, the batter is left to ferment overnight and then cooked the following morning. It’s properly made if the pancake has little air bubbles called indho (eyes) and a spiral pattern achieved by adding the batter to the pan in a circular motion from the center to the edges. This version uses wheat and corn flours, although sorghum is also common. The longer you ferment the batter, the tangier the flavor.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Made with pantry staples but dressed up with peaches and cardamom, this Dutch baby makes for a large-format weekend brunch dish that can easily feed the whole family but feels fancy. The recipe takes advantage of the abundance of juicy summer peaches, which simmer gently in a foolproof caramel sauce that uses little more than butter, brown sugar, cardamom and the liquid released from the peaches. A dollop of whipped cream ups the luxury factor. While the peaches can be prepared up to three days in advance and refrigerated, the pancake is best eaten right away, crisp at the edges and fluffy to the core.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Colorful and complex, this spicy glazed salmon with mango-cucumber salad packs a ton of flavors and textures into a quick weeknight meal. While the salmon roasts in the oven, you chop up a refreshing salad of crunchy cucumber, sweet ripe mango and creamy avocado. Side by side, both components make a bright, breezy meal, but you can also serve with white rice if you’re craving a more filling dinner. The spicy-sweet salmon sauce is built from pantry ingredients (soy sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup, garlic and chile-garlic sauce) and readily adapts to your preferred sweetness and spice levels. While the salmon can be eaten the next day, the mango-cucumber salad is best eaten right away, when it’s at its best and brightest.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

These crispy tofu, rice and cheesy bean burritos come together quickly for a satisfying weeknight meal. The tofu, which is pressed to expel excess moisture, is a little spicy thanks to the addition of crushed red pepper, but you can increase or decrease the heat level as you like, depending on your audience, or simply serve the burritos with a bottle of your favorite hot sauce, to customize bite by bite. Rice and beans provide heft, and avocado and spicy mayo round out the fillings beautifully before they’re all rolled together into a flour tortilla. While the other fillings can be stored in the fridge, the tofu is best enjoyed shortly after it comes off the skillet, when its edges are at their crispiest. A large flour tortilla is the ideal vehicle for these burritos, but the filling also works well as burrito bowls; double the rice if skipping the tortillas.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Simple to prepare but worthy of a celebration, this French toast starts with a base of buttery croissants and is studded with juicy blueberries. Cut into bite-size pieces, the flaky pastries are soaked in a rich custard and assembled in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; the casserole can be prepared and baked in the same morning or assembled ahead of time and baked the next day. Sweetened with maple syrup and spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and hints of vanilla, this is a perfect dish for a special occasion or to simply feed a brunch crowd. Frozen blueberries add sweet and tart flavors to this dish, but you can easily swap in other frozen or fresh fruit such as raspberries, strawberries or bananas.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

While coconut chicken curry can be found throughout many parts of East Africa, South Asia and beyond, this recipe is a uniquely Somali take on the dish. At the heart of this curry is xawaash, the warming, cumin-forward spice mix that can be found in many Somali dishes. Chicken thighs are cooked in spiced coconut milk until they are juicy and tender, and a kiss of heat is woven throughout this curry alongside the warming spices of the xawaash. Soft chunks of potato give this curry a little more body than malaay qumbe, a coconut fish curry that is also eaten in parts of Somalia. Serve the digaag qumbe with white rice or serve it atop soor (corn grits). You can also opt to soak up the gravy with muufo, a traditional corn flatbread. The digaag qumbe can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days, if you don’t consume it all in one sitting.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

While doolsho is simply translated as “cake” from the Somali language, this cardamom sponge cake is perhaps the most well-known cake among Somali people. This light cake gets its airiness from egg whites, which are whipped until cloudlike. Doolsho is an integral part of the Somali casariyo (afternoon tea) tradition, in which thick, cardamom-dotted slices are served alongside homemade cookies, sticky bright red xalwo (Somali-style halwa, an intensely sweet cardamom-scented dessert) and steaming cups of spiced shaah (chai) or gingery qahwo (coffee). It’s not only a coveted afternoon snack, but also a beloved dessert and the star of the to-go boxes that are a fixture of traditional weddings. While this cake is served plain without any bells and whistles such as frosting or glaze, its simplicity allows the floral flavor of the cardamom to bloom.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Fuul is a beloved fava bean stew that has long been woven into the culinary fabric of East Africa, North Africa and the Middle East. It’s also known as ful medames or foul mudammas. This comforting stew is served in a variety of ways: slow-simmered whole beans topped with juicy tomatoes and olive oil, or simply crushed and spritzed with lemon juice. This recipe is for Somali-style fuul, which consists of smashed fava beans and receives its intoxicating smell from the xawaash mix. Fuul is eaten for breakfast alongside eggs and fresh anjero, and is perfect for suhoor or iftar.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

These tender and juicy meatballs come together quickly for a simple and satisfying weeknight meal. Cilantro gives the meatballs a bright lift, while a chile-garlic sauce glaze offers sweet-salty heat. You can assemble these meatballs ahead of time and freeze them until they’re ready to be cooked and eaten, or bake them off the same day and serve with rice and a refreshing cucumber salad, sautéed green beans or another vegetable side.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

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.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

A staple in Somali cuisine, this hearty beef and vegetable dish is found in restaurants and homes alike. Suqaar comes in several variations, all involving little pieces of meat. This recipe uses boneless beef stew meat, but there is also camel, lamb and chicken suqaar. While everyone has their own spin on suqaar, substituting in their favorite vegetables or additional spices of choice, the foundational ingredients are typically small cuts of meat, aromatic xawaash spice and vibrantly colored peppers. The peppers are the last ingredient added to the suqaar, so cook to your desired level of doneness. Hilib suqaar pairs well with a flatbread like muufo, or spooned over plain white rice or Somali-style spiced rice. If you’d like some heat, make a little basbaas cagaar, a fiery green hot sauce that can be served on the side.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Variations of coconut fish curry abound up and down the Swahili Coast, so much so that the dish is often broadly referred to as East African fish curry. Although Somalia has the longest coastline in mainland Africa, seafood is not a prominent part of mainstream Somali cuisine. But you’ll find malaay qumbe in coastal Somali towns. This version of coconut fish curry leans heavily on xawaash, a spice blend that is at the heart of Somali cuisine. The mild heat from the xawaash’s black pepper balances beautifully with the sweet, cooling coconut milk and the acidity from the tomatoes. Serve over plain white rice, or soak up the creamy coconut gravy with a flatbread like muufo. Malaay qumbe would also work well on top of soor for a hearty meal of creamy spiced coconut fish and grits.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Unlike the thick and flaky Yemeni malawah (or malawach), the malawax (pronounced ma-la-wah) that is popular in Somalia and across the Somali diaspora is thin and closer in texture to a crepe. Delicate and sweet, malawax is cooked on each side, resulting in a beautiful caramelized pattern with crispy edges that are the stuff of dreams. But that is where the similarities end: These sweet, tender crepes are bursting with the flavors of cardamom and ghee. They can be enjoyed as a snack, with coffee or tea, or as a fragrant addition to your brunch rotation.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

A much loved creamy custard dessert in many Somali households, labaniyad is a fixture during Ramadan, when it is often enjoyed as the sweet end to an iftar meal, and other special gatherings. A boxed custard mix is often used, and the results might be topped or mixed with an assortment of fruits such as mangoes, bananas, melons, strawberries or grapes. While the custard base is not typically fruit flavored, this recipe utilizes sweet, ripe mangoes for deeper flavor and nods to the fruits that normally decorate this dessert.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

This aromatic and revitalizing soup is the lesser known sibling of maraq ari, a traditional Somali goat soup beloved for both its nutritious and healing properties. Maraq digaag is a comforting soup to turn to in times of sickness. This soup is thick and filling, thanks to the addition of potatoes, and has small hints of heat due to the jalapeño, plus the layered flavors of the xawaash spice blend. Eat it as it is, with bread, or with the noodles of your choice mixed in. The fresh chile invigorates this comforting soup, but the heat level is entirely up to you; you can remove the jalapeño early for a milder soup or keep it throughout, spicing up the broth for as long as you’d like.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Maraq misir, also known as shurbo cadas, is a hearty red lentil soup found in Somali cuisine. This soup is great year round but is often in heavy rotation during Ramadan, when it makes for a light and nourishing option for breaking one’s fast. Alongside a foundation of quick-cooking red lentils, this soup gets its body from tomatoes, onions and carrots, and deep flavor from a layered blend of spices and fresh cilantro leaves. While many lentil soup variations exist, the warmth of the xawaash spices builds with each sip and makes this a uniquely Somali interpretation. The texture can suit your preference: Serve it as is, with some bite, blend it until smooth and creamy, or opt for a partly blended, half-chunky soup.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Oats and a matcha latte make a wonderful breakfast pairing, but this recipe goes one step further to combine them into matcha overnight oats, an effortless breakfast that will delight lovers of efficiency and morning matcha. For vibrantly colored oats and a strong matcha flavor, whisk the oat mixture with a full teaspoon of matcha powder, but feel free to decrease that amount for a more delicate flavor or lower caffeine level. Refrigerate the oat base at least 3 hours to thicken (or overnight), then adjust the desired thickness to taste, adding more milk to thin as desired. To serve, top with thick, creamy Greek yogurt and vibrant fruits of choice, like raspberries, mangoes and blueberries.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Fluffy and slightly sweet on the inside, with crunchy outer pockets, this cornmeal flatbread needs time to rise but cooks up quickly in a skillet. In Somalia, muufo is normally baked using a traditional tinaar (tandoor) clay oven. For many that are a part of the Somali diaspora, the cooking method has adapted from using a tinaar to pan-frying muufo or making it on a grill. Muufo’s texture is best when it's consumed right after it's freshly made, as it stiffens over time. If consuming on a different day, freeze the dough and pan fry when you’re ready to eat it. Pair muufo with chicken suqaar or suqaar hilib, or vegan fuul or cagaar. Muufo’s pillowy interior is great for soaking up all the delicious juices and flavors from any of these dishes.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

The Horn of Africa is the birthplace of coffee, and this part of the world has a strong coffee culture. Somali qaxwo (pronounced qah-wo) is ground coffee blended with ginger, cinnamon and sometimes cardamom. The ancient Greeks called Somalia “Regio Cinnamafore” (the Land of Cinnamon), and the aromatic cinnamon in Somali qaxwo is a revelation, as is the ginger. Qaxwo is lovely anytime, but it really shines in the afternoon during casariyo, the afternoon meal break. Qaxwo is often paired with doolsho, cookies and xalwo (a very sweet and gelatinous cardamon-scented dessert). Make coffee as directed here, or brew it from brands like Banadir One, which have the spices already blended in.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

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.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

These rice bowls apply the flavor of classic gyros to tender, buttery salmon. The bowl is piled with a spiced roasted onion and tomato mixture and a simple cucumber salad; a lemony, dill and feta–flavored yogurt and mayonnaise sauce completes the dish. Rice is the base for these bowls, but you could opt out of it entirely and nestle the toppings in pita bread, serve them over a bed of salad greens, or enjoy with a side of Greek-style lemon potatoes.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Nestled in a toasted bun, slathered with cream cheese and piled high with cooked onions and other toppings like sauerkraut and jalapeños, the split and seared Seattle dog is part of the city’s culinary identity. But, like so many regional dishes, the Seattle dog has evolved: Created in 1988 by Hadley Long, a street vendor in Pioneer Square during grunge’s heyday, the combination of hot dog and cream cheese was originally tucked into a toasted bialy bagel stick. By the early ’90s, other vendors followed suit, and the street food evolved to include butterflied hot dogs and toasted hot dog buns, becoming common at late-night hot dog carts outside of local music venues and sports arenas. While Mr. Long has since left the city, he has kept up with the evolution of his creation and maintains that while you can add whatever toppings you’d prefer, a true Seattle dog requires three essential ingredients: a bialy stick, cream cheese and a hot dog.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

This toast makes for a perfect solo lunch. A thick slice of sourdough is toasted and topped with smashed avocado, capers and salty slivers of smoked salmon. Rounding out these ingredients is the real star of the show: a tall pile of shaved carrot salad tossed in vinegar and olive oil. Sweet, salty and briny, the raw carrot salad offers a nice textural contrast to the rest of the toast. Like most toasts, this one is best eaten right away.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

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.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Sweetened and sauced by buttery, sautéed cardamom apples and a two-ingredient maple-sour cream blend, these pancakes are a delicious way to ring in autumn. The pancakes are even special on their own, moist and light thanks to the addition of sour cream. Mixing the flour and the sour cream together before gently folding in the eggs makes for a fluffier pancake. The floral sweetness of the caramelized cardamom apples is a perfect contrast to the tang of the maple sour cream. This recipe can be easily doubled to feed a crowd or scaled down to feed just two.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Laced with a simple mixture of soy sauce and chile-garlic sauce, this mushroom and cabbage rice bowl comes together quickly, with minimal effort and time. While cremini mushrooms are the easy choice for this rice bowl, shiitakes or other mushrooms work just as well. The silky, soy-flavored mushrooms pair well with the caramelized cabbage. Spoon steaming white rice into a bowl and add piles of this flavorful mushroom and cabbage mixture. Top with meaty, salty sardines in rich olive oil, if you’d like, and serve with additional chile-garlic sauce for extra heat, or opt out of the sardines entirely and keep it vegan.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

These short ribs are the definition of high reward with minimal effort. The only thing required of you is time: time for the garlic cloves to break down into little pockets of creamy garlic; time for the aromatic cilantro and the chile sauce to permeate the soy broth; time for the ribs to simmer until they fall off the bone. Three hours is indeed a long time, but the time will pass. At the end of that, decide whether you want to eat these short ribs paired simply with white rice and fresh vegetables, or atop a warm tangle of ramen noodles. Of course you could always eat these straight out of the pot, too, paired with nothing but their own flavorful broth. Choose your own adventure.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

A popular part of Somali cuisine, suqaar is a meat-and-vegetable dish that comes together quickly as a weeknight meal. Among different variations, the most common are hilib (camel or beef) and digaag (chicken). Seasoned with Somalia’s famous xawaash spice blend of warm cumin, coriander and other aromatic spices, this dish weaves layers of flavor into each tender bite of chicken. If you want a bit of heat, be sure to add the optional jalapeño. Chicken suqaar tastes as good with flatbreads like anjero as it does spooned over rice with a side of salad. If you want to enjoy this another way, serve it with Somali-style rice and bananas.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Perfect for kids and adults alike, this fried rice comes together with the help of a can of tuna and some fresh broccoli, along with a few pantry staples, such as onion, garlic, rice, soy sauce and sesame oil. Despite the easy availability of its ingredients and the simplicity of the recipe, it's flavorful enough to impress company. While tuna is the heart of this fried rice recipe, the broccoli could easily be interchanged with other vegetables such as bok choy, kale or brussels sprouts. The chile-garlic sauce adds the slightest hint of heat, but can also be left out or served on the side, to accommodate any eaters with an aversion to spice. Save this recipe for those nights when you crave takeout-style fried rice but don’t want to spend takeout money.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

This umami-forward dish is a favorite in many Somali homes due to its ability to stretch and feed an entire household cheaply and quickly using basic pantry ingredients. It is also consumed by some Somali women during the traditional forty-day postpartum period. The scramble is deeply comforting, with a hint of sweetness from the cooked red onions — and is a great source of protein thanks to the salty tuna and eggs. If you like, serve it with canjeero or crusty French bread and a hot cup of shaah (spiced tea) or qaxwo.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

This white bean shakshuka is heartier than the traditional version and takes advantage of two readily available pantry foods: white beans and jarred marinara sauce. While the beans stretch this meal and give it more protein, the marinara makes it a saucy dish that begs for a thick slice of sourdough on the side. This dish is perfect for any meal and can be eaten at any time of day. If bread isn’t your thing, then feel free to pair it with white rice, which works equally well with the saucy beans and jammy eggs for a filling dinner. For a lighter option, you can enjoy the shakshuka on its own with a side salad.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

This zucchini bread is not flashy, but its simple goodness will have you making it again and again. Moisture is an essential for a good zucchini bread, and while grated zucchini typically provides it, this recipe gets some additional help from olive oil and buttermilk. The incorporation of cardamom and orange zest will make your home smell like the most fragrant of bakeries. Maple syrup also adds a subtle sweetness and balances the earthiness of the whole-wheat flour. This zucchini bread is lovely as written, but you can also incorporate mashed bananas, fresh berries, chopped chocolate or your favorite nut.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Deeply flavorful, fork-tender braised lamb shanks don’t require much more than time. This recipe simmers the meat for three hours in a simple broth that’s flavored with garlic, cilantro and xawaash spice. It cooks down into a thick, glossy gravy to coat the succulent meat. This recipe reimagines the common way this dish is cooked while maintaining the traditional Somali flavor profile that makes it a familiar classic. Serve over plain white rice or with roasted potatoes and a salad.

Ifrah F. Ahmed · NYT Cooking

Canned chickpeas and tuna are at the core of this hearty salad that is perfect for when you need a low-effort yet delicious lunch. This pantry-friendly salad also features refreshing cucumber paired with aromatic dill and ground za’atar, and is rounded out with bright notes of lemon and briny Kalamata olives. Choose your own adventure and decide whether to eat this salad on its own, with crackers, in a wrap, or with a thick slice of grilled bread on the side. While this salad can be eaten year-round, there’s something about it that feels reminiscent of snacking in the sun on a hot summer’s day. If preparing this salad in advance, store in an airtight container in the fridge and add the salt and liquids just before serving for the brightest results.