Djibouti

 Welcome to Djibouti!  Try saying that name without looking up the phonetics...it is a tricky one!  Djibouti is on the horn of Africa.  According to Google, the capital is Djibouti (I had to verify this - so funny that it's the same as the country!) and the population is about 600,000 people.  Did you know that Djibouti has the only United States military base in Africa?  I had no idea!  They say that the weather in Djibouti is insanely hot - I think we'll skip this country when/if we visit Africa...The national dish is...

 

Skoudehkaris!

It is a rice dish with meat and veggies.  Sound familiar?  We're finding that many African countries have some kind of rice and meat dish.  At least it's a good combination!  To go with our Skoudehkaris, we made Kashata Za Nazi, which is a sweet coconut square.  Here's what I did:

SKOUDEHKARIS

1 lb lamb, cut into pieces

2 C rice,

5 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 red onion, diced

2 sweet onions, diced

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp chili powder

4 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Heat oil in a dutch oven.  Add the onions (red and sweet), garlic, and all the spices until soft and fragrant. 
3. Add the lamb, and brown.
4. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, and stir to combine.
5. Add boiling water until everything is covered.  
6. Cover the dutch oven, and place in the oven for 45 minutes.  Add more water, if needed, while cooking.
7. When meat is tender, remove from oven and place on medium heat on stovetop.
8. Add the rice, cover, and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, and 10 minutes on low heat.  
9. Check the water level and doneness of rice .  The rice should be slightly sticky and juicy. 

(Source: Skoudehkaris and Skoudehkaris)

KASHATA ZA NAZI

For the Syrup:

1/2 C sugar

1/4 C water

Mix these:

1/2 C shredded coconut

1/4 C coconut milk

1/2 tsp powdered milk

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1 tsp rose water

A pinch of salt

1. Heat water and sugar on medium low heat.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil without stirring.
3. Cook until it forms a "one string syrup".  It needs to be thick!
   
4. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut, coconut milk, powdered milk, rose water, cardamom, and salt.
5. Add the coconut mixture to the syrup while on low heat.
6. Stir for about five minutes, until the mixture comes together and reduces in moisture.
7. Turn off heat once you see the mixture is wet, and there is no extra syrup.
8. On a piece of parchment paper, pour the coconut mixture on one side of the paper, fold the parchment paper over so it covers the mixture, and roll it out with a rolling pin.
9. Open the parchment paper and cut into squares.
10. Enjoy!

(Source: Kashata Za Nazi)

 

The verdict?  We really enjoyed the rice and lamb dish.  It had WAY too much rice for our liking - you could probably cut that in half, and it would be perfect.  We ended up giving it away because it was too much rice.  But the flavors and the aromas were fantastic, and we actually thought about just picking everything out of the rice but decided to share instead. And it turned out that even Nifty Niece, who could also be called Picky-Eater Niece, liked it.  It was a very comforting dish.  The Kashata Za Nazi?  I didn't even take a picture of it.  Something went wrong, and it was a soupy, gloppy mess.  It smelled so strongly of rose water that I ate one bite and thought I was eating Grandma!  Not really, but the smell reminded me greatly of her. We tossed it - it wasn't great.

ME

Taste of Skoudehkaris (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 1

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Skoudehkaris (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 8

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable):1

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 7

 

ME

Taste of Kashata Za Nazi (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 2

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 2

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Kashata Za Nazi (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing):4

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 3

 

This was a fun country, even if the dessert wasn't great.  Join us next time in Ukraine!