Bariis Iskukaris

Somalia's spiced rice, basmati cooked through a xawaash-scented base of onion and tomato with goat, finished with a scatter of sweet fried onion and raisins

Origin: Mogadishu and the Somali coast

From the journey of Rice.

Bariis iskukaris is the festive rice of the Somali table and the dish that most clearly places Somalia on the Indian Ocean rather than in the Horn alone. Basmati is cooked in a base of onion, tomato, and xawaash with goat or lamb, and finished with onions fried slowly to a deep sweet brown and, in many households, raisins. It is served at weddings, at Eid, and whenever there is reason. Xawaash is the thing that makes it Somali. A blend of cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, and black pepper, toasted and ground, it is used in almost everything savoury and it is the direct descendant of centuries of monsoon trade: the Somali coast sat on the route between the Gulf, India, and the Swahili ports, and the spice cabinet shows exactly which ships called. The Indian and Arabian relations are obvious once you look. This is the same family as Yemeni zurbian, Saudi kabsa, Gulf machboos, and, further along the chain, the biryanis of the subcontinent. What distinguishes the Somali version is the sweetness: the caramelised onion and the raisins are not optional garnish but part of the intended balance. Djibouti eats the same dish as skoudehkaris, and the border between the two versions is political rather than culinary.

Ingredients

Rice

  • 500 g basmati rice, rinsed and soaked 30 minutes

Meat

  • 800 g goat or lamb on the bone, cut into pieces

Aromatics

  • 3 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 3 cm fresh ginger, grated
  • 3 tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée

Spices

  • 2 tbsp xawaash (or 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cardamom, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp black pepper, ground together)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 green cardamom pods, bruised

Liquid

  • 900 ml water or stock

Fat

  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee

Seasoning

  • 2 tsp fine salt

To finish

  • 60 g raisins
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced and fried until deep brown
  • 2 tbsp coriander leaf, chopped

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot and fry the sliced onions over a medium heat for fifteen minutes until deep gold and sweet.
  2. Add the garlic, ginger, xawaash, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods and fry for a minute until fragrant.
  3. Add the meat and brown it well on all sides, then stir in the tomatoes and tomato purée and cook for five minutes until they break down.
  4. Pour in the water, add the salt, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for forty-five minutes until the meat is tender.
  5. Drain the soaked rice and stir it into the pot. The liquid should sit about two centimetres above the rice; top up with boiling water if not.
  6. Bring back to the boil, then reduce to the lowest heat, cover tightly, and cook undisturbed for twenty minutes.
  7. Scatter the raisins over the surface, replace the lid, and rest off the heat for ten minutes.
  8. Fork through gently and serve topped with the deep-fried brown onions and coriander, with a banana on the side.

Notes

Xawaash is worth making: toast and grind 2 tbsp cumin, 2 tbsp coriander seed, 1 tbsp black peppercorns, seeds of 12 cardamom pods, and a 5 cm cinnamon stick, then stir in 1 tbsp turmeric. Djiboutian skoudehkaris is the same dish and the recipe needs no adjustment. Chicken makes a quicker weeknight version; reduce the braising time to twenty-five minutes. The fried onion topping, basal la shiilay, is not optional in a festive bariis.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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