Somalian Cuisine - Dinner

Dinner

Dinner in Somali is called "casho", and is served as late as 9 pm. During Ramadan, supper-time often follows Tarawih prayers, sometimes as late as 11 pm. Cambuulo, a common dinner dish, is made of well-cooked azuki beans mixed with butter and sugar. The beans, which on their own are referred to as digir, can take up to five hours to finish cooking when left on the stove at a low temperature. In 1988, the Somali newspaper Xiddigta Oktoober conducted a survey in which it found that 83% of Mogadishu's residents preferred cambuulo as their main dinnertime meal. It was a startling discovery since the dish is considered to be somewhat "low class" due to its flatulence-inducing after-effects caused by the natural sugars (known as oligosaccharides) in its beans. Qamadi (wheat) is also used: cracked or uncracked, it is cooked and served just like the azuki beans.

Rooti iyo xalwo, slices of bread served with a gelatinous confection, is another dinner dish. Muufo, a variation of cornbread, is a dish made of maize and is baked in a foorno (clay oven). It is eaten by cutting it into small pieces, adding macsaro (sesame oil) and sugar, which is mashed together with black tea.

Before sleeping, a glass of milk spiced with cardamom is often consumed.