Recipes By Ifrah F. Ahmed
29 recipes found
Whole Wheat Maple Zucchini Bread
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.
Cardamom Dutch Baby With Caramelized Peaches
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.
Chile-Garlic Salmon With Mango and Cucumber Salad
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.
Seattle-Style Hot Dogs
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.
Tuna and Broccoli Fried Rice
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.
Berbere Meatballs
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.
Braised Chicken and Greens With Cheese Grits
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.
Matcha Overnight Oats
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.
Sour Cream Pancakes With Cardamom Apples
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.
Smoked Salmon and Avocado Toast With Carrot Salad
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.
Xawaash Braised Lamb Shanks
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 reimages 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.
Malaay Qumbe (Coconut Fish Curry)
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.
Little Gem Salad With Tamarind Dressing
While this sweet-and-sour tamarind-date dressing can be made year-round, it feels meant for the abundant produce of summer and early fall. Developed with turmeric in mind — an ingredient many Somalis add to salads — this recipe balances heirloom tomatoes with the tang of tamarind; it offsets the pungent sharpness of onions and radishes with the caramel-like flavor of dates and maple syrup. This colorful Little Gem salad maintains a glossy coat of dressing, but you can opt for heartier vegetables such as brussels sprouts or kale, depending on the time of year. Pair this salad with a bowl of maraq misir (red lentil soup) for a lovely vegan meal, or eat it alongside a plate of white rice and malaay qumbe (coconut fish curry).
Maraq Misir (Red Lentil Soup)
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.
Spicy Soy-Braised Short Ribs
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.
Mango Labaniyad (Creamy Custard)
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.
Doolsho (Cardamom Sponge Cake)
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.
Cagaar (Spinach Stew)
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).
Hilib Suqaar (Beef and Vegetable Sauté)
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.
Maraq Digaag (Spiced Chicken Soup)
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.
Muufo (Corn Flatbread)
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.
Baasto iyo Suugo Tuuna (Pasta and Spiced Tuna Sauce)
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.
Malawax (Cardamom Crepe)
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.
Suqaar Digaag (Spiced Chicken and Vegetable Sauté)
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.