Somalia: suugo suqar [vegan]

This week, we’re staying in East Africa as we visit Somalia on the Horn of Africa. Somali cuisine is largely influenced by Swahili peoples and historical, cultural exchanges with India and the Arabic peninsula. More recently, Somalia was governed by Italy (~1880-1940 ​​[1]​) and pasta became a popular food ​[2]–[5]​.

Meat and milk from sheep, goat, and camel are very popular. Vegetables appear to take a back seat in the Somali kitchen but grains like corn, sorghum, and rice are common as are some pulses like lentils and chickpeas. Grains are either ground coarsely and eaten as grits (a mush or porridge like dish not unlike polenta ​[6]​) or ground into flour and turned into a variety of bread, some of which resemble crepes (lahooh/canjeelo), flatbreads similar to Indian paratha (sabayaad) or injeera (anjero) made famous by Somalia’s neighbor Ethiopia ​[2], [7]​.

Spices are similar to those you would find in an Indian pantry and include cumin, cardamom, cloves, coriander (seeds and leaves) and chili ​[2], [8]​. A popular spice blend is xaawash (pronounced hawaj, from an Arabic word for ~essential) which includes cardamom, cumin, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric and black pepper ​[9]​.

Suugo suqar

Suugo suqar (succulent sauce according to Google Translate) or suugo baasto (sauce, pasta) is a tomato and meat-based sauce eaten with baasto (pasta) or rice ​[2], [10], [11]​. Similar to Italian bolognese but made with plenty of spices and some other vegetables besides tomatoes. Green bell pepper is common and I’ve come across versions using potato and okra ​[10], [12]​ . In addition to pasta, lemon/lime wedges might be served alongside the dish ​[2], [13]​. Hawa on the Bon Appetit youtube channel serves suugo suqar with fresh banana as well (not plantain), though I’ve not seen it elsewhere ​[13]​. The dish gets its rich spicy flavour from a generous amount of xaawash. You can easily make your own xaawash blend by using this recipe on xaawash.com ​[9]​.

Conclusion

The baasto suugo suqaar turned out very well. Quite similar to an Italian bolognese (no surprise) but with a spicy twist. A good alternative to keep in the repertoire for when you want to spice things up.

Print

Suugo suqaar

A delicious Somali pasta sauce with warm spices. Serve with spaghetti and a slice of lemon.

Course Main Course

Cuisine east africa, Somalia

Keyword Pasta, Textured vegetable protein, xawaash

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Author Henrik Persson | veganphysicist.com

Ingredients

• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 100-150 g Textured vegetable protein (TVP) , aka soy mince. Dry See note
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 red chili, sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato puré the thick kind in a tube
• 1 large can Crushed tomatoes 800 mL
• 1 Tbsp xawaash see note
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• lemon slices for serving

Instructions

• Prepare the TVP or vegan mince according to producer's instructions.

  For TVP, I bring vegetable stock to a boil and stir in the TVP, stir and let it sit for 10+ min. If there is too much water, I strain it.

  Set aside
• Heat oil in a large pot, stir in the onion.
• Sweat on medium-high heat until translucent and starting to brown.
• Stir in tomato puré, garlic and chili. Cook for a minute.
• Stir in xawaash, green peppers, crushed tomatoes, and salt.
• Bring to a simmer and simmer for 20 min.
• Stir in vegan mince, let simmer for another 20 min.
• Taste and adjust with salt, xawaash, black pepper and ground chili.
• Serve with spaghetti and lemon wedges.

Notes

Vegan mince: I used textured vegetable protein (TVP), aka dry soy mince, this time. After rehydrating in stock, it became ~700 g or 600 mL. You can of course substitute for your favourite vegan mince.

Xawaash: Find in a store or make your own, for isntance using this recipe on xawaash.com.