To Get to Know a Cuisine, Get to Know Some Grandmas

It’s a familiar scenario: A famous chef is anointed the “expert” on the food of a particular country (or continent) and condenses this expertise into a single, static, authoritative volume of essential recipes. Books like these can offer a great starting point for learning about a culture, but they in addition pose the question: If these 50–150 recipes have been deemed essential, then what are the unessential recipes that have been left out?

It tackles the food of eight African countries that touch on the Indian Ocean, united by hundreds of years of spice trade. For Hassan, who was born in Somalia and grew up in Seattle, the book was also an opportunity to show home cooks how to look at their existing pantries and spice shelves through a new lens.

In the midst of a busy week for the book and for her condiment business, Basbaas Somali Foods , I spoke with her about some of the misconceptions about these cuisines, and why it was important to her to let these bibis tell their stories in their own words. Where did the concept of the book come from, and how did you choose these eight countries? It was really based around the fact that I own a condiment line , flavored with the spices of the Indian Ocean, so I kept on thinking about this from a business perspective for a long time.

Do you talk about things they already know, and draw the parallel, or do you use people that they’re familiar with, like grandmothers? So it was a lot of strategic planning, but ultimately, I really wanted to draw a parallel to the Indian Ocean, but from the perspective of Africa. And these countries are all bound by the Indian Ocean, which was an key part of the spice trade.

So the intention was really to dismantle the idea that you can’t make African food as it’s hard or it’s far away or it’s heavy. I briefed them about this project I had in the works, and I knew that between all of the people that I met over the years, I would be able to fulfill the project.

Per to There were people who, yes and decided at the last minute that they didn’t want to be a part of it. But the backbone of this cookbook is really community, and that’s who came through in finding the right people.

And at the last minute, I decided that Khadija was going to do the African countries on her own, since I’m not a US citizen. My main desire was to first and foremost tell the stories of these bibis in their own words, and then to follow their lead in terms of what we were willing to introduce to the audience, which then became, for example, “What is the backbone of Tanzanian cooking?” When you’re introducing something new, you don’t want to be like, “This is what the tribe of such-and-such makes.” Pulao is their national treasure.

So it was like, how do you make what they already make and introduce that to an audience? How do you follow the lead of the bibis and have them tell their own stories and then build on that? What was the dish or technique in the book that was the biggest revelation for you when you learned about them?

You know, Americans often (especially the people in food) are like, “Beans are having a moment.” It’s just, like, a yellow onion. Cloves, and jalapeño, and the berbere spice, and it’s an easy make, and it’s something that is super versatile. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. 4 RECIPES WE LOVE FROM IN BIBI’S KITCHEN Shahan Ful In this Eritrean dish, lima beans are mashed with onions, tomatoes, chiles, and plenty of berbere—a peppery blend of chiles, fenugreek, and garlic.