🍽️ Cuisine
Sudan, where the Blue and White Nile merge, possesses a cuisine as layered as its history—a crossroads where Arab, African, and Egyptian influences converge. The result is unique: kisra (fermented flatbread) replaces wheat bread, ful medames is breakfast, and meats are stewed with dried okra and limes. Sudanese cooking is defined by its distinctive spice blends and the use of fermented ingredients that add depth and tang. Meals are communal affairs, eaten from shared platters with the right hand, often accompanied by strong, sweetened coffee or hibiscus tea. The harsh climate has shaped a cuisine of preservation—dried meats, fermented vegetables, and concentrated spices that could survive the desert heat.
Ful Medames
The quintessential Sudanese breakfast, ful medames is slow-cooked fava beans mashed and dressed with oil, lemon, and spices. Street vendors sell it from huge copper pots, serving it with eggs, cheese, and fresh bread. It's nutritious, filling, and beloved across all social classes.
Ingredients: 400g cooked fava beans (canned or from dried), 60ml olive oil, 30ml lemon juice, 4 cloves garlic (minced), 5ml ground cumin, 5ml salt, 2ml black pepper, Fresh parsley (chopped), 1 medium tomato (diced), 2 hard-boiled eggs, Fresh bread for serving.
Preparation: If using dried beans, soak overnight and simmer for 3-4 hours until very soft. Canned beans work well—drain but reserve some liquid. Place beans in a pot with a splash of their liquid. Mash roughly with a fork—some beans should remain whole for texture. Heat gently, adding olive oil, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes until heated through. Transfer to serving bowls. Drizzle with more olive oil and lemon juice. Top with diced tomatoes, parsley, and halved hard-boiled eggs. Serve immediately with warm flatbread, using the bread to scoop up the ful.
💡 Traditional ful is cooked overnight in a special pot (damasa) buried in embers. For a deeper flavor, add a tiny pinch of bicarbonate of soda while cooking dried beans.
Kisra with Mulah
Kisra is Sudan's fermented flatbread, made from sorghum and cooked paper-thin on a hot griddle. It's served with mulah—thick, rich stews made with meat, okra, and dried limes. Together, they form the daily meal for millions of Sudanese.
Ingredients: For Kisra, 200g sorghum flour, 400ml warm water, 30g wheat flour, 2ml salt, For Mulah, 300g beef or lamb (cubed), 100g dried okra (or fresh), 2 dried limes (loomi), 1 large onion (chopped), 30ml vegetable oil, 2 Maggi cubes, 500ml water.
Preparation: For kisra: Mix flours, salt, and warm water to make a thin batter. Cover and let ferment 24-48 hours until slightly sour and bubbly. Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Pour a thin layer of batter, tilting to spread. Cook until set and edges lift, about 1 minute. Stack cooked kisra. For mulah: Heat oil in a pot. Brown the meat on all sides. Add onion and cook until soft. Add water, Maggi cubes, and dried limes (pierced). Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour until meat is tender. Add dried okra and cook for another 30 minutes. The stew should be thick and the okra should have dissolved somewhat. Serve the mulah ladled over pieces of kisra in a shallow bowl, eating by scooping with pieces of bread.
💡 Dried limes (loomi) add a distinctive sour-tangy flavor essential to Sudanese cooking—find them at Middle Eastern markets.
Basbousa
This semolina cake soaked in rose-scented syrup is Sudan's favorite sweet, served at celebrations and with afternoon tea. The texture is tender and slightly grainy, the sweetness balanced by the fragrant syrup. Each piece is traditionally topped with an almond.
Ingredients: 150g semolina, 100g sugar, 100g yogurt, 50g melted butter, 5ml baking powder, 30g desiccated coconut, Blanched almonds for topping, For syrup, 150g sugar, 100ml water, 15ml lemon juice, 5ml rose water.
Preparation: Make syrup: Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Add lemon juice and rose water. Cool completely. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm square baking dish. Mix semolina, sugar, coconut, and baking powder. Add yogurt and melted butter, stirring until combined. Spread batter evenly in the prepared dish. Score into diamond shapes and press an almond into each piece. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and immediately pour cold syrup over the hot cake. Let absorb for at least 30 minutes. Cut along scored lines and serve. Best at room temperature.
💡 The contrast of hot cake and cold syrup is essential—it helps the syrup absorb properly. Never pour warm syrup on warm cake.
