Bulsha:- This is part of a weekly series in which reporter Aparita Bhandari explores how to eat the different cuisines that make up Toronto’s diverse culinary landscape.
When Los Angeles Times reporter Matt Pearce happened to partake in a traditional Somali meal while on assignment in Minneapolis in 2016, he made a bit of a foodie faux pas. When presented with a banana alongside his meal, he got confused and tweeted about getting a banana as an appetizer. The Twitter-verse soon set him straight — the banana is supposed to be eaten with the meal.
I had found myself in a similar situation a few summers ago. After interviewing a young Somali man about growing up in Toronto’s Dixon neighbourhood, I suggested we get a bite to eat. The meal arrived, with a banana on the side. “What are you supposed to do with the banana?” I asked my contact. He told me not to worry about it, and as he proceeded to eat his salmon and rice, without any banana, likely for my benefit. Out of politeness, I skipped the banana as well. But the question lingered in my mind.
I wanted to find out how you are supposed to incorporate the banana into the meal. So I called upon Bashir Munye, a Toronto chef whose approach to cooking is influenced by what he describes as his “Somali nomadic” experience.
The philosophy
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