The thought of trying Somali food brought back fond memories of my childhood. In our multi ethnic, inner city state schools, our friend groups contained a mix of people from so many ethnic backgrounds. Us friends would often talk about our respective cuisines with the Indians and Bangladeshi’s – by virtue of mostly running the Indian hospitality sector in the UK – regularly claiming superiority. My Somali friends never really spoke much about their food, in most cases they’d be forced to spend most of their time defending eating bananas alongside rice, as the cuisine debate raged on during our lunch breaks.
And so, when we set off on this journey to try Somali cuisine, we were limited in our knowledge of what to expect, but were extremely keen on eating bananas with our main course. Unfortunately the restaurant we visited was out of stock and so this experience will have to be lived at some other point in time!
The history of Somalia is fascinating and no doubt has a part to play on the cuisine. The nation is often said to be home to the Ancient land on Punt from millennia ago, which exported gold, aromatic resins and ivory among other things. In fact, today, there is a region in the north east of the country called Puntland. Its leader even declared the region to be an autonomous state in 1998! Puntland does not seek recognition as an independent entity, but rather wishes to be part of a federal Somalia.
Come the Middle Ages, Islam was exported to this part of the world, with Arab merchant also introducing Somalia to new types of foods. Fast forward to more modern times and you’ll see the Italians and the Brits also ruled the land in the form of colonies. The country found its independence in 1960, however, the colonial past has left consequences in the modern day with the region previously known as the British Somaliland Protectorate, today claiming Independence as the Republic of Somaliland. Politics and conflict aside…the food we tried was phenomenal and we could taste the history on our plates.
We visited Brothers restaurant in Tottenham, North London. This was a fantastic experience. Everything felt very chaotic as the restaurant was very busy. The cafeteria style establishment provided a uniquely authentic experience as the clientele were all Somali. In other words, this was a Somali restaurant made to feed the Somali community. Because of this, we couldn’t really complain when we were greeted with the warmest of smiles, but without a menu! With no indication of what’s on offer, ordering will certainly be difficult if you aren’t willing to trust the waiters to take the lead.
SOUP
The first thing we were asked when we entered Brothers was whether or not we would like the soup to start with. We decided to go ahead and certainly didn’t regret it. The soup tasted like a typical vegetable soup but a little more salty. It also had a big wedge of lemon inside with gave it a wonderful tangy and zesty hint. Accompanying the soup were two INCREDIBLE homemade chilli sauces. Both packed a punch but were very distinctive in flavour. The green chilli sauce contained coriander and lemon which made it slightly tangier than the red chilli, which contained a deeper chilli flavour.
Soup to start with 
Refreshing green chilli sauce 
Deep red chilli sauce
BARISS & HILIB (RICE AND MEAT)
And then came the main act on the meal, the Bariss and Hilib, or rice and meat. Usually this dish is enjoyed with goat, or even camel in many parts of Somalia! Did you know, Somalia is home to the world’s largest camel population, with pastoralism of camels and other livestock providing livelihoods for nearly 60 percent of the population. Many say the Somalis were also the first people to domesticate the camel around 5000 years ago!
Anyway, we didn’t try camel or goat with our rice, instead we had chicken, beef and lamb leg. The meal was served on a big plate where three of us tucked in together. The meat was all tender and spiced perfectly with a Somali spice mix known as Xawaash. This mix is made up of cumin and coriander seeds, pepper, turmeric, cardamon and cloves to name a few! This was a really special meal, much of the Middle East and Muslim world enjoys rice and meat, but almost everywhere adds its own distinctive style. The Somalis have mastered merging slow cooked tender meat oozing in special spices with aromatic and fluffy rice. The dish was topped with tomatoes and of course with red onions. Somalis love red onions, in their culture, there is a saying along the lines of you are not to be trusted unless you use red onions in your cooking!
SUGO SUQAAR (SOMALI PASTA) & FISH
We also had a taste of Somali style spaghetti. This was a phenomenal dish. Brothers is very generous with their portions. We had a large piece of pan fried Salmon on a bed of potatoes, topped with spinach, accompanied by a separate plate of spaghetti.
The Salmon was perfectly cooked and layered of soft potatoes. It was covered with a vinaigrette that was both sweet and tangy. The Sugo Suqaar, or spaghetti was very tasty. This was obviously adopted from the Italians, but graciously modified taking the dish to another level. You will see from our video, we struggle to articulate what makes this dish so distinct from a normal Italian pasta, well the answer is the special Somali spice mix Xawaash! The warm spices integrated into the traditional Italian recipe romped things up a notch. And of course, the pasta was topped with some more red onion!
Amazing Sugo Suqaar 
Naeem clearly enjoying himself too much
SOMALI TEA
To end our meal we had some Somali tea. We ordered three options, one with milk, one with milk and ginger and one black. The tea was strong, the milky options tasted very similar to south asian chai with frothy milk and a touch of spices. My favourite tea and something I never even thought was possible, was the milk tea with ginger. This was a classic chai, creamy with a hint of masala spice, with a distinctive ginger hit with every sip. I have only ever tried ginger with black tea, but this is something I will be having a lot more often!
Three types of tea: milk, black and milk + ginger 
Just look at that ginger base
PRICING
Our total bill was £45.50. We do not know the breakdown of the cost as there is no menu at this restaurant! The clientele is made of of regulars from within the Somali community hence the relaxed attitude to restaurant formalities! All we can say is this price included meat and rice, fish and spaghetti, three soups, three teas and three drinks. All round, a very reasonable price!
ADDRESS
Brothers Cafe and Restaurant,
552 High Rd,
Tottenham,
London,
N17 9SY
HALAL INDEX
Everything is halal, the owners are Muslim and the restaurant doesn’t serve alcohol.