Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Suqaar
Small cubes of meat sautéed with potato, peppers, and Somali xawaash spice, a quick everyday dish.
Somali · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 25 min
~635 cal · 48g protein · 27g carbs · 36g fat · 5g fiber · 6g sugars · 12g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Suqaar is an everyday Somali dish, small cubes of meat sautéed quickly with vegetables and spices. Fast, flavourful, and versatile, it is home cooking at its most practical, made with beef, lamb, goat, or chicken depending on what is on hand.
The finely diced meat is stir-fried with onion, garlic, bell pepper, and cubed potato, all lifted by xawaash, the fragrant Somali spice blend of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, , and turmeric. Cooked hot and fast so the meat stays tender, it is served with rice, , or Somali flatbread, and often a squeeze of lime and fresh cilantro. Quick and satisfying, it is a staple of the Somali table.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 1/2 lb beef or lamb, finely cubed
2 potato, cubed
2 cups bell pepper and onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp xawaash spice blend
1 tomato
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 lime
a handful cilantro, chopped
to taste salt and black pepper
Instructions
1
Sear the cubed meat hard in hot oil until browned.
2
Season with salt and pepper, then add the onion, garlic, tomato paste, and xawaash and fry until the paste darkens and everything is fragrant.
✎ Chef’s note
Cook it hot and fast; suqaar is a quick sauté, and long stewing makes the little cubes of meat tough rather than tender. Cut the meat small, about a quarter inch, so it browns and crisps at the edges.
3
Add the potato, pepper, and tomato with a splash of water and cook until the potato is tender.
4
Finish with lime and cilantro and serve with rice or flatbread.
Somali home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Mogadishu. Xawaash is a trade word as much as a Somali one, from the Arabic hawa'ij, and it is thought to have come out of Yemen. The mix runs to cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and turmeric, and in the north of the country the same word covers any blend at all, including the one for tea.
🗺️
Somalia. The seasoning that ties Somali cooking together is xawaash, a blend of cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and more, whose name and form came from Yemeni hawa'ij across the water. Canjeero, also called laxoox, is the fermented sourdough pancake eaten at breakfast, a lighter cousin of Ethiopian injera made mainly from sorghum or a flour mix.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Somalia
Bariis IskukarisFragrant basmati rice cooked with xawaash spice, caramelized onions, and raisins, Somalia’s festive celebration rice.
CanjeeroA thin, spongy fermented pancake (laxoox) eaten with a drizzle of sesame oil, sugar, or stew.
XalwoA dense, glossy, cardamom-scented sweet set with cornstarch and ghee, the centerpiece of every Somali celebration.
Browse all Somalia recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Somalia meal
Shaah SomaliDrink
XalwoDessert
Bariis IskukarisDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Suqaar?
Small cubes of meat sautéed with potato, peppers, and Somali xawaash spice, a quick everyday dish.
Where does Suqaar come from?
Suqaar is a Somali dish from Mogadishu, Somalia.
Can Suqaar be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Suqaar recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Suqaar safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Suqaar take to make?
About 40 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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