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Baasto

Name: Baasto
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Somalia
Ingredients: 300g Spaghetti; 300g Ground Beef; 1 Onion; 1 can Canned tomatoes; 1 tbsp Tomato paste; 2 cloves Garlic; 1 Green Bell Pepper; 1 tsp Cumin powder; 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder; A pinch Cinnamon powder; 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil; 1 tsp Salt; 2 Bananas

Noodles

⏱ 45 min

👥 Serves 4

Difficulty ⭐

Spaghetti with spiced tomato meat sauce and a banana on the side — a Somali staple since the Italian era.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Baasto comes from the Italian 'pasta': spaghetti introduced during the 20th-century Italian colonial period took root in Somalia with suugo, a meat sauce spiced Somali-style with cumin and cardamom. Eating it with a banana alongside is a uniquely Somali touch.

🌆 Where it's eaten: At lunch in a Mogadishu home, fragrant spiced meat sauce is poured over a platter of spaghetti, with a peeled banana at the edge of the plate.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 4)

Spaghetti 300g
Ground Beef 300g
Onion 1
Canned tomatoes 1 can
Tomato paste 1 tbsp
Garlic 2 cloves
Green Bell Pepper 1
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder A pinch
Vegetable Oil 2 tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
Bananas 2

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Heat oil in a pot and sauté the chopped onion, garlic, and green pepper.
Add the ground meat and stir-fry, then add the spices until fragrant.
Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and salt and simmer 20 minutes.
Boil the spaghetti and drain.
Plate the spaghetti, pour over the sauce, and serve with a banana.

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