Italian-Somali Fusion · Everyday Lunch
Baasto iyo Suugo
Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture / Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (U.S. Government work)
Baasto is so thoroughly localized that most Somalis eating it today only recall its Italian colonial origin if someone points it out.
Baasto is spaghetti or rigatoni cooked soft and topped with suugo, a slow-simmered sauce of minced meat, tomato, and onion seasoned with cumin, cardamom, and other xawaash spices rather than Italian herbs. It shows up on lunch tables and street-side canteens across the capital.
Why it's made this way: Pasta arrived with Italian colonization of Mogadishu in the early 20th century; over a century later it has been fully reworked with local spice blends into one of the most commonly eaten lunches in the country.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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