SUDAN: THE FOOD

It’s been a busy few weeks. I’m the new communications manager for a nonprofit that links Indiana with the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil. I am also one of the coordinators for our Youth Ambassadors program, and we’ve had seven high school kids from Brazil come visit for the past two months. They performed at our annual feijoada luncheon a couple of weeks ago (the same weekend I was supposed to cook from Sudan). Now that the kids have returned to Brazil, I finally have time to get back in the kitchen.

I didn't even use all of the batter it made.

Today I started out with Gurasa, or a type of thick pancake. In a large mixing bowl, I mixed together 4 c of flour, 2 ½ tsp of salt, 2 ½ tsp of sugar, and one packet of yeast. I also added in 2 tsp of black pepper to make it a more savory bread to go with the soup I’m making. Then I slowly added in 4 c of warm water and mixed until it looked like a pancake batter. I set it off to the side for about 20-30 minutes for the yeast to do its thing. Miracle of miracles – it actually increased in size like it was supposed to do. I heated and oiled down a griddle and poured my batter on it when it was ready. These are meant to be thicker than a regular pancake, and I cooked these until they turned golden brown on the outside, flipped it, and did the same thing on the other side. I was kind of leery about it being cooked all the way through, but it seemed fine. The bread tasted good with the soup!

I'm not usually a fan of lentil soup, but this was surprisingly good.

The main dish today Sudanese Red Lentil Soup. I rinsed 1 lb of red lentils and put them in a large pot, covering them with water 2” higher than the lentils and bringing it all to a boil. I reduced heat a bit and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes. I made sure I stirred here and there to make sure it wasn’t sticking on the bottom. I didn’t realize they should change from an orange-red to yellow when they were fully cooked. And by the time they had cooked down, it was a pretty mushy consistency already. I added in my spices: salt, black pepper, chili powder, and a little cumin. In a small skillet, I fried some minced garlic in 100mL of oil and then poured the whole thing over the soup when the garlic had started to turn brown and stirred everything well. At the very end, I squeeze half of a lime into the soup and served it with the bread. Other than having a little too much salt and maybe a little too much cumin, I thought it was very good. My picky eater of a son ate all of his soup, which really surprised me.

This is Dwight Schrute approved.

To go with this, I found a recipe for Beetroot Salata. I think I’m the only one in my family who likes beets, but I did find some fresh golden beets that I thought I’d try. I don’t think I’ve ever had golden beets, so this is an adventure to say the least. (Aren’t all of these recipes adventures?) I took one of my golden beets and washed, peeled and cut them into thin slices. I also added in some shredded carrots, green pepper, spring onions, and used part of a can of diced tomatoes that has been drained really well. In a mug, I mixed the vinegar, some lemon juice, a little sesame oil, and a tad of sea salt and shook it well. I poured the dressing mixture on top of the vegetables and let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. When it was ready to serve, I put this vegetable mix on top of a layer of mixed lettuce. I really liked this, and it served as a nice cool contrast to the spiciness of the soup. Next time, I’d add more vinegar to it.

I'd say it was a good meal, and none of these dishes took a long time to make.

It seems that Sudan is a country with such ancient traditions mixed with bits of modernity. It just sucks that they have such an oppressive set of policies toward women. There is so much research that goes to show that countries who encourage women to learn and control her own money, to have basic freedoms of movement and bodily autonomy have a happier society and a stronger economy. As we just celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8, women need to continue to fight to change the narrative.

Up next: Suriname