About
Somali cuisine tells a story of history and identity. Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa and neighbours Ethiopia, Yemen, Djibouti and Kenya. It was, for the majority of its history, an important centre of commerce between Europe and the Silk Road trade of the East, due to the strategic location straddling the shores of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
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Somali cuisine, therefore, is rich with flavour and spice; taking influence from a whole range of cultures - spanning from the Middle East, to India and South East Asia. Cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and chilli are the dominant flavours in the region. And despite Somalia’s extensive shoreline, fish are less eaten than the staples of camel, goat, lamb and beef. One of the most recognisable influences on local cooking (pasta), is from Italy, who colonised Somalia from 1889 -1941.
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Leopardbite​
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I am Ijabo Sheikh; a mother, grandmother, home cook and entrepreneur. I left Somalia as a teenager, seeking independence and foreign adventures. My travels that followed were definitely eventful, and I named this blog after one notable moment: when I encountered a Leopard, and I still have the bite to prove it!
I met my first husband (and father of my older three children), in Syria, during the late 1980s, where I was studying Arabic at the University of Damascus. He was British Pakistani, and was working for the British government posted overseas.
Over the next 10 years our family lived and worked in the UK, Germany, Spain and Holland, After the birth of my youngest child, and a brief stint living in Sweden, we returned to live in the UK, settling in London. It is here that the next generation of the family is growing up: my grandson Ari.
Perhaps because of, rather than in spite of these travels, food has always been an integral part of our family culture. Food is home, and home remains constant wherever you happen to be. It is where you are together, and share your life with others.
My approach to cooking is rooted in creativity and curiosity; whilst recognising the importance of tradition and rituals. I hope to create a balance between the two. But ultimately my food is about connection and bringing people together.
The recipes reflect our family’s journey, alongside popular traditional Somali dishes. Many are my own invention - creating new Somali-inspired cuisine to reflect a modern, and blended family.
If you have a question about one of the recipes, suggestions for a future post or another enquiry, I’d love to hear from you! You can contact me here and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
With gratitude,
Ijabo
