day 24

       wussp everybody and welcome to a world where every bite is a 

celebration, and each dish tells a story.

New day New food New country (Djibouti)

1-Sambuussa

Also called samosa, sambuussa is a perfect appetizer with which to start your meal. Treat yourself with these little crispy fried pastries that are usually made out of meat, onions and vegetables. Fried, sambuussa are served hot with a spicy pepper sauce or for the more adventurous, with zuuqar, a thick sauce made of tomato paste and grated vegetables.

2-Djiboutian banana fritters

This is one sweet treat that won’t disappoint in Djibouti. You will probably try them as beignet de bananes made with cinnamon in restaurants across Djibouti city, but then you really have to try the original recipe where no milk and no eggs are added – only ripe bananas, flour and a touch of nutmeg are used. The little fritters are typically served warm dusted with powdered sugar or honey.

3-Laxoox, or galettes Djiboutiennes

For day-to-day meals, laxoox, a lot like canjeroo or the Ethiopian injera, is the staple of every meal in Djibouti. Laxoox, pronounced ‘lahooh’, is one of the rare foods that is widely shared between Djibouti and its neighbors: Ethiopia and Somalia. Ideally made of teff flour and sweetened water and cooked until golden on the bottom, the laxoox gets its spongy texture from little holes that form on the top when cooking. A very nutritious flatbread it can be served with runny butter or honey to start the day with, or can be dipped in dishes such as a meat stew called loqmad, or misir wat, a red lentil sauce.

4-Cambaboor

Unlike the habitual laxoox, cambaboor is made for celebrations or sumptuous receptions. Enjoy then this elaborated version of canjeroo: made of onion, garlic, corn or teff flour and enhanced with nigella or anise seeds, the mix is perfumed with curcuma, which gives it its royal golden color, then cooked and served with a fatty butter called subag and sweet-sour yogurt.

5- Mukbaza

Commonly used to refer to Yemen‘s traditional fish meal and its accompanying side dishes, mukbaza is actually a kind of folded bread, that after being cooked, is cut into pieces and blended with honey and banana, or dates. Served as a thick purée along with some nuts, it is the perfect dip for your Yemeni fish, traditionally cooked over charcoal.

Thank you for joining me on this delicious journey. Until our next culinary

adventure.