The Famuyiwa Dinner Diary : Sudanese Food
Well guys, it has been a fun journey and it’s finally come to an end. Last up on the Famuyiwa international themed dinner diary is Sudanese food. I planned to do at least one more country but I’m burnt out and ready to go back to my usual. The whole purpose of this was to pull myself out of a dinner rut so the mission was accomplished.
I looked at a map and randomly selected Sudan/South Sudan as the country I would cook from this week. The research process showed me that Sudanese food is getting very little love in these Internet streets. The same 2-3 websites came up multiple times. Most of the recipes I followed were from videos rather than written instructions.
The first dish in the line up was shaiyah. Shaiyah is a pan-fried meat seasoned with various spices. I used lamb but it can also be made with beef or goat. I have to say that the flavors in this dish are incredible! Incredible! The meat was seasoned to perfection and the zing of lime juice was delicious! My husband shared the same sentiments. What I didn’t like was that the meat was not as tender as I hoped it would be. Because this recipe was new to me, I followed it to a tee. The tougher texture may have been how the chef I followed liked hers or it could have been a result of this being my first time making it (and therefore, not fully knowing how to do it). I absolutely would make this again but I’d cook it with beef instead and make sure that my meat is tender before frying.
The next meal we tried was bamia tabiq, a stew made with fresh okra, tomatoes, onion and lamb. The flavor was rich and tasty but overall, we didn’t like it. The okra that I purchased was simply not good. I’ve eaten plenty of okra in my life and this batch was off. After cooking it, the outer “skin” was hard like cornhusks. I’ve never experienced this. We could only suck out the seeds and flesh inside. Also, the lamb was just too chewy for me, even after a whole hour of cooking. Lamb is not a meat that I cook often so it may have been that I’m just unfamiliar with the best way to prepare it. Either way, this dish was not a hit for us.
The third dish we had was salata aswad. It is made with eggplant, tomato paste, onion, peanut butter, lime and seasonings. Eggplant has it’s own unique taste. Peanut butter can be overpowering. Cumin is a stand out seasoning. Lime is zingy. I was unsure of how good this dish would taste with so many strong flavors. Well friends, they all married together beautifully. I served this with pita and feta cheese. My only complaint is how oily the dish was. When I make this again, I’ll try roasting my eggplant instead of frying it to reduce oil absorbtion.
Next up for us was Sudanese kofta. It’s basically a spiced meatball. Other countries make kofta as well and each country has their own spin. My mother-in-law is Kenyan and I’ve eaten something she’s made that tastes very similar to this. This dish was quick and very simple to make. I served it with yellow basmati rice.
Last but not least was combo. Combo is a stew of spinach, tomatoes, peanut butter and for us, beef. This stew was yummayyyyy! I have nothing but good things to say about it. I wanted to serve this over kisra, a traditional spongy Sudanese bread, but I didn’t start preparing it in time. It takes three days to prepare, as the batter has to ferment. Combo can be served over rice as well so if you don’t have time to ferment batter you can go that route. (We ate ours with fufu because I was riced out from the day before.) This combo blessed us and will certainly be made again and again in my house.
So there it is! Overall, this week was my least favorite of the three weeks of international meals. The food was tasty but it came down to a difference in preference of cooking styles and a familiarity of African flavors from being part of a Nigerian-Kenyan family that made the experience a little less exciting than the others.
This was such a fun experience for the family and I. We’ll do this again sometime in the future. For now though, the Famuyiwa dinner diary will be back in a few weeks with more of our regular meals. Thanks for trekking along with me and if you haven’t seen the previous week’s recipe’s, check them out here and here. And as usual, here are the rankings.
My Rankings (Favorite to Least Favorite)
1. Combo
2. Shaiyah
3. Salata Aswad
4. Kofta
5. Bamia Tabiq
- Shaiyah – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQJ1v8EwhL8
- Bamia Tabiq – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Jrfn4YAbQ&t=1s
- Salata Aswad – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySG99hc_PcU&t=61s
- Kofta – https://tasteofsouthsudan.com/kofta-meatballs-in-tomato-sauce/
- Combo – http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/recipe-peanut-stew-with-beef-spinach-combo/
