Hilib geel

Ingredients

Meat

• 1.5 kgcamel meat, in chunks
• or 1.5 kg beef shin
• 2 teaspoonssalt

The pot

• 3onions, chopped
• 8garlic cloves, crushed
• 4cm ginger, grated
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tablespoonstomato paste
• 4 tablespoonsoil
• 2 teaspoonsground cumin
• 1 teaspoonground coriander
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• 1cinnamon stick
• 4cardamom pods
• 2 litreswater
• salt to taste

Sometimes added

• 3potatoes, in chunks
• 3carrots, in chunks
• 1chilli, whole

To serve

• plain or spiced rice
• lahoh or flatbread
• chilli sauce
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Rinse the meat thoroughly in cold water. Cut it into large even chunks. Aim for pieces about five centimetres. Season them with salt and black pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the meat in batches without crowding. Brown it well on each and every side. Give each batch about five minutes.
2. Lift the pieces out and set them aside. Building the base takes patience. Add the chopped onions to the pot. Cook them for a good twelve minutes. They should soften and turn deep golden.
3. Add the garlic and the grated ginger. Cook them for a good two minutes more. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good three minutes. Adding the spices takes a light hand. Add the cumin, coriander and turmeric.
4. Fry them for one full minute only. Stir them constantly for that minute. Return the meat pieces to the pot. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Add the cinnamon stick and cardamom. Pour in all of the measured water. Season the whole pot with salt. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cooking it takes a long time indeed.
5. Cover the pot and simmer very gently. Give it at least two full hours. Check it and add hot water if it goes dry. Judging when it is done takes a fork. Add potato and carrot for the last thirty minutes.
6. Add a whole chilli with them if you want aroma. Do not let the chilli burst in the pot. Take the lid off for the last twenty minutes. Let the liquid reduce and thicken. It should coat the meat rather than flood it.
7. Taste it and adjust the salt to suit. Serving it is done hot with rice. Spoon the meat and sauce over rice. Put chilli sauce on the table. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Camel meat must be cooked thoroughly right through and raw camel milk avoided: dromedary camels are associated with the MERS coronavirus, with transmission linked to raw milk and close contact, and thorough cooking and pasteurising remove that risk from food.
• Camels are wealth, transport, milk and status together for pastoralists, and a family’s standing is measured in them, so slaughtering one is a serious occasion and the meat marks celebrations rather than everyday meals.
• Camel meat is lean and tough with its fat stored in the hump rather than marbled through the flesh, so it needs at least two hours of slow moist cooking and rushing it gives something genuinely inedible.

Substitutions

• Beef shin is the closest easy substitute and cooks in a similar way.
• Any cut suited to long slow cooking works, with bone-in pieces giving more flavour.

Variations

• A grilled version is made for feasts using the tenderest cuts of young camel.
• Some cooks add potato and carrot to the pot near the end.
• Camel hump fat is prized and rendered separately for cooking.

History

Camels are the wealth of Afar and Issa pastoralists, and their meat is the meat of celebration in Djibouti.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hilib geel?

Hilib geel is a main from Djibouti: camel meat simmered or grilled, served with rice or flatbread. Camels are the wealth of Afar and Issa pastoralists, and their meat is the meat of celebration in Djibouti.

How long does Hilib geel take to make?

Hilib geel takes 30 minutes of preparation and 2 hours 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Hilib geel?

Yes, within limits. Beef shin is the closest easy substitute and cooks in a similar way. Any cut suited to long slow cooking works, with bone-in pieces giving more flavour.

What is the most important thing to get right in Hilib geel?

Fry them for one full minute only. Stir them constantly for that minute. Return the meat pieces to the pot. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Add the cinnamon stick and cardamom. Pour in all of the measured water. Season the whole pot with salt. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cooking it takes a long time indeed.