SOUTH SUDAN: THE FOOD

Hope everyone had a good start to 2019! My kids’ winter vacation is winding down, and they go back to school tomorrow. And of course, we also have to finish up an American Indian project that’s due tomorrow. Luckily, we pretty much have it all set up; it just needs to be glued down. We can do this. Just trying to convince them to go to bed before midnight may be the challenge.

I think arugula and feta cheese make everything better.

But today, we’re cooking food from South Sudan. I left my bread for last and started with the side dish today: Ful Medames, or Sudanese Fava Beans. For some reason, I couldn’t find dry fava beans, so I went with large lima beans. I was going to soak them for about an hour or so but I forgot. I cooked them down for about 1.5 to 2 hours until they became soft. (Well, most of them were soft.) Once they were soft (at least the ones on top), I drained them into a bowl with a little of the broth and mashed them slightly. Then I added in a little salt, black pepper, and cumin and stirred. Next, I added in my other ingredients: some diced red onions, feta, slightly chopped arugula, and diced tomatoes. I just added enough of each so that it was even. Then I drizzled some sesame oil on top. I thought these were really good, except for the handful of beans that weren’t exactly soft. The feta and arugula was what made this dish.

This is the best way to eat lamb.

Next I made the main dish: Shaiyah. It was also called pan-fried meat, and I went with the more traditional choice of lamb this time. It’s been a while since I’ve cooked with lamb. In a large-ish pot, I added in my cubed lamb (I bought two shoulder cuts and just cut it off the bone), diced celery, bay leaves, salt, minced garlic, black pepper, cumin, and coriander along with a cup of water. I let this cook for 20 about minutes until the water has pretty much cooked off (I still had a little liquid in the bottom. Then I added a Tbsp of oil in a skillet and cooked the lamb and some of the celery on high heat, adding bits of water if necessary to keep it from sticking to the bottom. I fried it until it was browned on all sides and even charred in places. Then I removed it to a plate along with a few raw onion slices and squeezed a bit of lime juice on top of it. I topped mine with some diced jalapeñoes, but no one else wanted any. This was clearly the winner for tonight. Everyone loved it, and they don’t know this, but I’m taking every last bit of lamb in my lunch tomorrow. (I actually think these would make for some good tacos with some arugula and peppers.)

I'm not sure, but this may have been my first time using sorghum flour??

Finally, the bread. I made a Sudanese flatbread called Kisra. I actually had to start this the day before (and truly, since I live in a colder area, it should have been two days before) in order to ferment my dough. I mixed 2 c of sorghum flour with 2 c of water, stirred, and let it sit in a covered bowl on the counter overnight. Once it was fermented (you can see the bubbles in the dough), I added in a cup of wheat flour and another cup of water, mixing everything together. Using my griddle, I heated it up and oiled it down, pouring about 1/3 c of batter onto the hot griddle and spreading it evenly over the griddle. Like injera, I only cooked this on one side of the bread, not flipping it to the other side. I took it off the griddle when it was done and placed it on a plate. It’s supposed to be folded like a letter (in thirds), but mine turned out too crumbly to fold. It just broke apart. It had a good flavor; I liked the combination of the sorghum and wheat flour, but the consistency didn’t seem right.

Overall, it was a pretty good meal. I'd do it again.

And so that’s it. That’s what our newest country is about. It seems that the bad parts of the country –and certainly, it’s a serious part—is all we hear about for the most part. But there are parts in the city of Juba that look like any typical African city. People go to school or their job and take care of their families and go to clubs and pay bills. For them, life is slightly different. I guess it’s important to remember what we see on the news isn’t always representative of the whole.

Up next: Spain