DISH RESEARCH · Dish
Baasto Iyo Suugo
Somali spaghetti topped with a tomato and ground-beef sauce fragrant with the toasted xawaash spice blend.
About Baasto Iyo Suugo
Baasto iyo suugo is Somali pasta with sauce; this profile follows Hawa Hassan’s suugo suqaar, a distinctly Somali meat sauce served with spaghetti and seasoned with xawaash.
Tomato and beef make the sauce rich and savoury, while cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper and turmeric give the xawaash a warm, layered fragrance.
The sauce is thick and rust-red, with small pieces of beef, green pepper and onion coating long strands of spaghetti. Fresh cilantro gives the finished dish a green, aromatic accent.
Allergens in this recipe
Contains: Wheat (gluten).
Other allergen details are unconfirmed.
Ingredients vary by restaurant. Confirm your allergens with staff before ordering.
Ingredients in Baasto Iyo Suugo
Hawa Hassan's Somali suugo suqaar with spaghetti.
- Extra-virgin olive oilCooking medium
- GarlicAromatic base
- Green bell pepperSweet aromatic vegetable
- Red onionAromatic base
- Ground beefMeat base
- CinnamonWarm xawaash spice · Xawaash
- CuminEarthy xawaash spice · Xawaash
- Coriander seedsCitrusy xawaash spice · Xawaash
- Black pepperPeppery xawaash spice · Xawaash
- CardamomAromatic xawaash spice · Xawaash
- ClovesWarm xawaash spice · Xawaash
- TurmericEarthy spice and colour · Xawaash
- SaltSeasoning
- Tomato pasteConcentrated tomato base
- Diced tomatoesSauce base
- WaterLoosens the sauce
- SpaghettiPasta base
- Fresh cilantroFresh garnish
Ingredient details & uncertainties
Allergen information is incomplete. Unconfirmed details do not establish that an allergen is absent.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: . The source permits olive or canola oil; this bounded version selects olive oil.
- Garlic:
- Green bell pepper:
- Red onion:
- Ground beef:
- Cinnamon:
- Cumin:
- Coriander seeds:
- Black pepper:
- Cardamom:
- Cloves:
- Turmeric:
- Salt:
- Tomato paste:
- Diced tomatoes: . Mapped to the broader tomato route; canned diced form retained.
- Water:
- Spaghetti:
- Fresh cilantro:
Origins & food traditions
Somali chef and author Hawa Hassan explains that pasta became embedded in southern Somali cooking through Italian colonial influence. Her recipe identifies suugo as the most popular Somali pasta sauce and uses xawaash to make the tomato-and-beef sauce distinctly Somali.
Countries
- Somalia
- DjiboutiCatalogue link pending review
Cuisines & regions
- Somali Cuisine
- East African Cuisine
- Djiboutian CuisineCatalogue link pending review
AI-generated illustration of one possible presentation. Recipes and ingredients vary; the image does not establish allergen content.