cook this: 3 somali recipes from soomaaliya, including cardamom crepes
7 minute read
clockwise from left: author ifrah f. ahmed, malawax (cardamom crepes), baasto lisaanyo (somali lasagna) and suqaar digaag (chicken and vegetable sauté). author photo by celeste noche/food photos by doaa elkady
our cookbook of the week is soomaaliya by ifrah f. ahmed.
jump to the recipes: malawax (cardamom crepes), suqaar digaag (chicken and vegetable sauté) and baasto lisaanyo (somali lasagna).
for writer, chef, recipe developer and artist ifrah f. ahmed, a 2018 homecoming trip to somalia was a catalyst. born in mogadishu, she hadn’t been back since leaving as a child 22 years earlier. visiting somalia with her mother left her feeling inspired to begin a new chapter.
when ahmed was a law student in new york, planning to become a human rights lawyer, cooking had always been an emotional outlet. the “life-changing” trip helped her decide on a new career and planted the seed for her cookbook debut, soomaaliya (hardie grant north america, 2026).
“i had this experience of renewal,” says ahmed, who arrived in the united states with her family in 1996 as a refugee and now lives in new york. “the language, the people, the energy and the environment, the food — everything was just really eye-opening.”
ahmed started “a travelling culinary pop-up,” milk & myrrh, in 2019, which sold out swiftly in cities such as los angeles and seattle. all the while, a cookbook was in the back of her mind, but it wasn’t until she started writing for various publications during the pandemic that soomaaliya started to take shape.
“i saw the response that people were having to actually being able to have access to measurements for the first time,” says ahmed, explaining that somali cuisine is a centuries-old oral tradition in which people pass down recipes the same way they do poetry, songs and stories.
in her cookbook debut, soomaaliya, ifrah f. ahmed features 75 recipes from her native somalia.
hardie grant north america
as she researched articles and developed recipes, ahmed realized that she was inadvertently also writing a cookbook. one of the earliest interviews she did was with leila adde and abdullahi kassim, a married couple who founded the “pioneering” somali food blog xawaash in 2011 and, four years later, opened a restaurant of the same name in toronto, which now has two locations in the gta.
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after interviewing adde and kassim, ahmed landed on the format for soomaaliya: an overview of the country’s history and cuisine, classic and modern recipes, essays and profiles of somalis working to preserve their food culture, including ottawan amal dirie, who co-founded the mogadishu coffee chain beydan — “sometimes referred to as the ‘starbucks of somalia’” — a banana farmer, former camel herder and others in somalia and the diaspora.
“i realized that it can’t just be a regular cookbook, and that there’s a lot that needs to go into it to explain so many things because of the lack of somali cookbooks prior to this, except for somali cuisine (by barlin ali) in 2007 and then the very first somali cookbook in 1978,” says ahmed, referencing asha mohamud guled’s a cookery of somali style.
“this was my attempt at the preservation of somali cuisine for my generation, the next generation, my daughter’s generation,” says ahmed. “i hope, whether people are somali or not, that they walk away with a sense of understanding somali history, somali food and somali people.”
malawax
malawax, pronounced ma-la-wah, is a cardamom crepe usually eaten for breakfast or as a snack. “it is also one of my favourite somali foods,” writes ifrah f. ahmed.
doaa elkady
cardamom crepe
makes: 8 to 10 malawax
1 1/3 cups (170 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (240 ml) milk
1 cup (240 ml) water
1 large egg
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar, plus more for serving
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
melted ghee, as needed
1 cup (240 ml) milk
1 cup (240 ml) water
1 large egg
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar, plus more for serving
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
melted ghee, as needed
step 1
in a blender, combine the flour, milk, water, egg, sugar, cardamom and cinnamon (if using) and blend until smooth. transfer to a large bowl.
step 2
lightly grease a nonstick crepe pan or griddle with ghee. set the pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking, then ladle 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan, spreading it in light swirls to ensure its thickness is completely even.
step 3
cook until the bottom is light brown and the batter is no longer liquid, 1 to 2 minutes. drizzle the top of the malawax with 1/2 teaspoon of melted ghee, then flip it. cook for 20 seconds or so, until little brown pockets form all over the surface. using a spatula, flip the malawax onto a plate and dust it with however much sugar you’d like. repeat the process until the batter is gone and you have a stack; serve while still warm.
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suqaar digaag
“it’s a good intro to somali food without it being very complicated,” ifrah f. ahmed says of suqaar digaag (chicken and vegetable sauté).
doaa elkady
chicken and vegetable sauté
serves: 4
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 1/2 tsp xawaash (recipe follows)
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 lb (450 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium jalapeño, halved
3/4 cup (12 g) coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
1 medium yellow bell pepper, sliced
2 1/2 tsp xawaash (recipe follows)
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 lb (450 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium jalapeño, halved
3/4 cup (12 g) coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
1 medium yellow bell pepper, sliced
step 1
in a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of the xawaash, salt, paprika and pepper. add the chicken and mix everything together to coat the chicken. set aside.
step 2
in a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until loose. add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the onion is softened. add the garlic and jalapeño and stir for another minute, then add the chicken in a single layer. allow it to cook undisturbed for 5 minutes, then turn the pieces over and cook for 3 minutes more, until fully cooked through.
step 3
add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons xawaash, cilantro and bell peppers and stir to combine. cover the skillet and turn the heat down to medium-low; cook until the peppers have softened, 10 to 15 minutes. serve hot.
xawaash
xawaash “is the savoury spice mix that really makes everything taste very uniquely somali,” says ifrah f. ahmed.
doaa elkady
somali spice mix
makes: about 2 1/2 cups (260 g)
1 cup (100 g) whole cumin seeds
1 cup (70 g) whole coriander seeds
1/4 cup (35 g) black peppercorns
1 small-to-medium piece of cinnamon bark
2 tbsp green cardamom pods
1 1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/4 cup (30 g) ground turmeric
1 cup (70 g) whole coriander seeds
1/4 cup (35 g) black peppercorns
1 small-to-medium piece of cinnamon bark
2 tbsp green cardamom pods
1 1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/4 cup (30 g) ground turmeric
step 1
toast the cumin, coriander, peppercorns, cinnamon bark, cardamom pods and cloves in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly so the spices don’t burn. the spices are toasted when they have a slightly darker colour and become fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
step 2
transfer the toasted spices to a blender or spice grinder and blend until they become a fine powder. transfer to a bowl and mix in the ground turmeric until it’s fully incorporated and the spice mix is golden brown. allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container.
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baasto lisaanyo
“somali-style lasagna is a great example of how somalis have reimagined italian dishes,” says ifrah f. ahmed. this is the version she grew up on.
doaa elkady
somali lasagna
serves: 6 to 8
1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil, plus a drizzle for the pasta water
1 small red onion, diced
1 pound (450 g) ground beef
1 tsp salt, plus more for the pasta water
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water
3/4 cup (12 g) cilantro leaves, finely chopped
15 garlic cloves, minced or smashed
3 tomatoes, diced
1 (28-oz/790 g) jar good-quality marinara sauce
1 lb (450 g) lasagna noodles
20 oz (570 g) cheddar-jack cheese, shredded
1 small red onion, diced
1 pound (450 g) ground beef
1 tsp salt, plus more for the pasta water
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water
3/4 cup (12 g) cilantro leaves, finely chopped
15 garlic cloves, minced or smashed
3 tomatoes, diced
1 (28-oz/790 g) jar good-quality marinara sauce
1 lb (450 g) lasagna noodles
20 oz (570 g) cheddar-jack cheese, shredded
step 1
in a medium pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it’s loose; add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until it softens. add the beef and stir to break up any clumps. once the beef has begun to brown slightly, about 2 minutes, stir in the 1 teaspoon of salt and the cumin and cook, stirring often, for 9 minutes, until all the liquid has evaporated. combine the water, cilantro, garlic and tomatoes in a blender and pulse until smooth. add this liquid to the meat. cook for an additional 10 minutes, then add in the marinara sauce and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until little pools of oil surface to the top of the sauce.
step 2
while the sauce cooks, preheat the oven to 350f (180c) and cook the lasagna noodles according to the package instructions. strain the noodles and run cold water over them briefly to help them cool a bit.
step 3
in the bottom of a deep 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish, spread one-fifth of the tomato sauce at the bottom. cover with a layer of lasagna noodles, then top with another one-fifth of the sauce and one-quarter of the cheese. repeat until all the noodles, sauce and cheese are used.
step 4
cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until all the cheese has melted. for the last 5 minutes, remove the aluminum foil so the cheese on top of the lasagna can get slightly crispy and golden brown. remove the lasagna from the oven and let it cool a bit before serving.
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recipes and images excerpted with permission from soomaaliya by ifrah f. ahmed, published by hardie grant north america, march 2026.
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