Somalian Cuisine - Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast (quraac) is an important meal for Somalis, who often start the day with some style of tea (shaah). The main dish is typically a pancake-like bread (canjeero or canjeelo) similar to Ethiopian injera but smaller and thinner, which might also be eaten with a stew (maraq) or soup.

Canjeero is eaten in different ways. It may be broken into small pieces with ghee (subag) and sugar added. For children, it is mixed with tea and sesame oil (macsaaro) until mushy. There may be a side-dish of liver (beef), goat meat (hilib ari), diced beef cooked in a bed of soup (suqaar) or jerky (oodkac or muqmad), which consists of small dried pieces of beef, or goat or camel meat, boiled in ghee.

Polenta (mishaari) or porridge (boorash) with butter and sugar is eaten in the Mogadishu area.

Further in the south of the country, such as in the Merca area, special bread known as rooti abuukey with tea is preferred.

Special bread referred to as rooti is consumed in the north. Nationally, a sweeter and oilier version of canjeero called malawax is a staple of most home-cooked meals.