Baasto

Ingredients

Xawaash spice mix

• 2 tbspcumin seeds
• 2 tbspcoriander seeds
• 1 tspblack peppercorns
• 8green cardamom pods, seeds only
• 1small cinnamon stick
• 6cloves
• 1 tspground turmeric

Suugo suqaar

• 600 gbeef sirloin or shoulder, cut into 1 cm dice
• 3 tbspvegetable oil or ghee
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 1green pepper, diced
• 1carrot, finely diced
• 5garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 400 gtinned chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbspof the xawaash mix
• 1 tspsalt
• 500 mlwater or light stock
• 1small bunch coriander, chopped

To serve

• 500 gdried spaghetti
• 2 tbspsalt, for the pasta water
• 2ripe bananas, peeled
• 4 tbspbasbaas (green chilli and coriander hot sauce)
• 1lime, in wedges

Directions

1. Toast the whole xawaash spices in a dry pan over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, until they darken a shade and smell sweet, then grind fine with the turmeric. This mix is the backbone of Somali cooking and is worth making in quantity.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pot and fry the onion over medium heat for 8–10 minutes, past soft and into pale gold; this is where the sauce gets its sweetness.
3. Add the garlic, pepper and carrot and cook 5 minutes until the pepper slackens.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and 2 tbsp xawaash and fry for 2 minutes until the paste darkens to brick red and stops smelling raw.
5. Turn the heat high, add the diced beef and stir for 4–5 minutes so it seizes and colours; suqaar means small cubes, and they should stay in distinct pieces rather than break down.
6. Add the tinned tomatoes, salt and water, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook gently for 35–40 minutes until the beef is tender and the sauce has reduced to a thick, glossy, oil-flecked gravy.
7. Cook the spaghetti in heavily salted boiling water until just past al dente, the way it is served in Mogadishu, then drain and toss with a ladle of the sauce so every strand is coated orange.
8. Pile the spaghetti onto plates, spoon over the suugo, scatter with coriander and serve with half a banana on the side, basbaas and lime. The banana is eaten in the same mouthful as the pasta, not as dessert.

Technique

• Spaghetti reached Somalia through Italian colonial rule and was completely absorbed: the sauce is spiced with xawaash and the whole plate is eaten Somali-style, often with the right hand.
• The banana is not a garnish. Its sweetness against the chilli and cumin is the flavour balance Somalis expect, and a plate without it looks unfinished.
• Do not brown the meat separately and add it later. The cubes are stirred into the fried spice base so they take on the xawaash directly.

Substitutions

• No time to blend xawaash: use 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander, ½ tsp cardamom, ½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp turmeric, though the toasted whole-spice version is much better.
• Goat or lamb shoulder, diced the same way, is equally traditional and needs about 15 minutes longer.
• Basbaas can be improvised from green chillies, coriander, garlic, lime juice and a little vinegar, blitzed smooth.

Variations

• Suugo suqaar with digaag (chicken) instead of beef, common in home kitchens.
• Served over rice as bariis iyo suugo, or ladled onto canjeero for breakfast.

History

Italy governed southern Somalia from 1889 until 1941; Somalis kept spaghetti but eat it with suugo sauce, banana and often by hand.

Frequently asked questions

What is Baasto?

Baasto is a main from Somalia: italian-legacy spaghetti with suugo suqaar sauce, sometimes banana alongside. Italy governed southern Somalia from 1889 until 1941; Somalis kept spaghetti but eat it with suugo sauce, banana and often by hand.

How long does Baasto take to make?

Baasto takes 25 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Baasto?

Yes, within limits. No time to blend xawaash: use 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander, ½ tsp cardamom, ½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp turmeric, though the toasted whole-spice version is much better. Goat or lamb shoulder, diced the same way, is equally traditional and needs about 15 minutes longer. Basbaas can be improvised from green chillies, coriander, garlic, lime juice and a little vinegar, blitzed smooth.

What is the most important thing to get right in Baasto?

Toast the whole xawaash spices in a dry pan over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, until they darken a shade and smell sweet, then grind fine with the turmeric. This mix is the backbone of Somali cooking and is worth making in quantity.