Excerpted from Soomaaliya by Ifrah F. Ahmed, © 2026. Published by Hardie Grant North America. Location photography copyright © 2026 Khadija Farah. Food photography copyright © 2026 Doaa Elkady.
Sambuus Hilib (Fried Beef Dumplings)
| Portion size |
|---|
| 11 |
Ingredients
For the Wrappers:
3 cups (384 g) all-purpose flour, plus for more dusting
A scant 1 cup (230 ml) water
¼ cup (60 ml) canola oil, plus more for oiling dough and greasing hands
½ teaspoon salt
For the Paste:
1 cup (128 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (240 ml) water
For the Filling:
1 pound (450 g) ground beef
1 large red onion, minced finely
⅔ cup (10 g) finely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
5 garlic cloves, smashed or minced
11⁄2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Xawaash
1½ teaspoons salt
To Finish:
Vegetable or canola oil, for frying
Basbaas (page 63), for serving
Directions
To make the wrapper dough, combine the flour, water, oil, and salt in a large bowl. Stir, then knead for about 6 min-utes in the bowl, until a smooth dough comes together. Cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place to rest for 45 minutes.
Generously oil a work surface and lightly dust with flour. Separate the dough into four equal balls, then roll each ball into a rough 15-inch (38 cm) circle. With a brush or paper towel, lightly oil the top of each circle of dough and then dust with flour. Stack two pieces of dough and trim the edges with a knife to make a perfect 13-inch (33 cm) circle (use a 13-inch / 33 cm circle of waxed paper as a template if you like). Cut the round into four quarters. Repeat with the other two pieces of rolled-out dough. In total, there should be 8 two-layer dough pieces of equal size.
Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Add one stacked piece of dough to the pan and toast it for 1 minute, until light-brown specks appear on its underside; flip and toast the second side for 30 seconds. Remove the dough from the pan and set it on a plate to cool. Repeat the process with the remaining 7 dough pieces. When each toasted dough piece is cool, pull the two pieces apart so that you have 16 sambuus wrappers; set these aside while you make the paste and the filling.
To make the paste, stir together the flour and water in a small bowl to form a thick paste. Set aside.
To make the filling, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef, and brown, stirring and breaking chunks apart as it cooks, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, cilantro, garlic, oil, xawaash, and salt to the pan and cook for another 10 minutes over medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Take the pan off the heat and let the filling cool completely.
When you’re ready to assemble the sambuus, line a large plate with parchment and set it beside a clean work surface. Dust the surface generously with flour. Place one sambuus wrapper on the surface with the rounded side toward you. Lift the bottom left corner and fold it over halfway to the middle of the quarter circle. Dip two fingers into the flour paste and swipe it all over the folded section. Grasp the right corner of the quarter-circle and fold it over the section with the paste to evenly cover it; press down. You should now have a cone.
Lift the cone and cradle it in one hand with the opening facing up; fill the cone two-thirds of the way with a small spoonful of filling and tuck the tips from the overlapping sides over the top of the filling. Next, using your fingers, spread paste onto the center flap of the sambuus cone, then press it down so that the filling is sealed into a triangular sambuus. Set the sambuus down on the parchment-lined plate and repeat the process until all the filling is gone. If any have holes, pinch gently together, using any extra paste as glue. Any remaining wrappers will freeze well.
To cook the sambuus, pour canola oil into a deep skillet or pot about ½ inch (1.3 cm) deep and set over medium-high heat. Place a paper towel–lined plate or colander beside the skillet. Once the oil is shimmering, add two to three sambuus, spacing them out so they don’t touch. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes on one side, then turn with tongs and fry another 30 seconds, until the sambuus are golden brown and crispy all over. With the tongs, transfer the sambuus from the oil to the paper towel–lined plate. Repeat until all the sambuus have been fried. Serve hot with basbaas on the side.
Fuul (Fava Bean Stew)
| Portion Size |
|---|
| 4 |
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
6 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
4 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 (14-ounce / 395 g) can small fava beans, rinsed and very well smashed
1½ tablespoons Xawaash
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup (16 g) coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
1 cup (240 ml) water
¼ cup (60 ml) tomato sauce
Directions
In a deep skillet or pot over medium heat, heat the oil for about 1 minute, until loose. Add the onion and cook, stir-ring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes, cover, and cook for 8 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened.
Add the mashed fava beans, xawaash, and salt to the pot; stir to combine and cook for 1 minute, then add the cilan-tro, water, and tomato sauce. Cover the pan, turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans and tomatoes have incorpo-rated into a thick stew. Add a bit of water if you find that the fuul has gotten too thick, and serve.
Mallaay Qumbe (Coconut Fish Curry)
| Portion Size |
|---|
| 4 |
Ingredients
1¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 pound (450 g) barramundi or other firm white fish, cut into serving-size pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
2 large Roma tomatoes, finely diced
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 (13½-ounce / 400 ml) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup (16 g) cilantro leaves, finely chopped, plus more to serve
4 teaspoons Xawaash
Steamed white rice, for serving
Directions
Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of the salt over the fish; put it aside.
In a pot just large enough to accommodate the fish in one layer, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the onion and cook, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes, until almost translucent. Add the toma-toes, cover, and cook for 7 minutes, occasionally stirring and smashing the tomatoes down as they cook.
Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, then add the coconut milk, cilantro, xawaash, and the remaining 1 tea-spoon salt; stir and cover. Cook for 4 minutes to allow the flavors to come together, then add the fish, making sure the coconut milk covers the fish (if necessary, add a splash of water to cover). Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the fish can be easily flaked with a fork. Serve the curry with rice, topped with additional chopped cilantro.
Doolsho Timir (Date Cake)
Ingredients
For the Cake:
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (95 ml) canola oil, plus more for greasing the pan
1 cup (240 ml) milk, heated to a near boil
12 large pitted Medjool dates
4 large eggs
¼ cup (45 g) packed brown sugar
1 cup (128 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
For the Glaze:
¼ cup (30 g) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9-inch (23 cm) round cake or Bundt pan and set aside.
To make the cake, in a small bowl, pour the hot milk over the dates, cover with a metal lid and let soak for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix the eggs, canola oil, and brown sugar.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cardamom. Add these dry ingredi-ents to the egg mixture; stir together. Mash the soaked dates and milk together into a thickened paste, or blend until smooth, and stir into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, place in the oven, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a piece of uncooked spaghetti or a cake tester comes out clean. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, buttermilk, melted butter, and carda-mom. Set aside while the cake cools.