JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER • Grandmothers from eight eastern African countries welcome you into their kitchens to share flavorful recipes and stories of family, love, and tradition in this transporting cookbook-meets-travelogue.
“Their food is alive with the flavors of mangoes, cinnamon, dates, and plantains and rich with the history of the continent that had been a culinary unknown for much too long.”—Jessica B. Harris, food historian, journalist, and public speaker
IACP AWARD FINALIST • LONGLISTED FOR THE ART OF EATING PRIZE • ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Bon Appétit, NPR, San Francisco Chronicle, Food Network, Vogue, Delish, The Guardian, Smithsonian Magazine, Salon, Town & Country
In this incredible volume, Somali chef Hawa Hassan and food writer Julia Turshen present 75 recipes and stories gathered from bibis (or grandmothers) from eight African nations: South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, and Eritrea. Most notably, these eight countries are at the backbone of the spice trade, many of them exporters of things like pepper and vanilla. We meet women such as Ma Shara, who helps tourists “see the real Zanzibar” by teaching them how to make her famous Ajemi Bread with Carrots and Green Pepper; Ma Vicky, who now lives in suburban New York and makes Matoke (Stewed Plantains with Beans and Beef) to bring the flavor of Tanzania to her American home; and Ma Gehennet from Eritrea who shares her recipes for Kicha (Eritrean Flatbread) and Shiro (Ground Chickpea Stew).
Through Hawa’s writing—and her own personal story—the women, and the stories behind the recipes, come to life. With evocative photography shot on location by Khadija Farah, and food photography by Jennifer May, In Bibi's Kitchen uses food to teach us all about families, war, loss, migration, refuge, and sanctuary.
What a fantastic idea for a cookbook! It would make a great series, going to other countries as well and speaking with other grandmothers (bibis) there the same way it's done here in this book. However, I also appreciate this as a standalone, showcasing these specific, special African countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
These eight countries are Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Madagascar, and Comoros. Because they all border the Indian Ocean, they all had been the backbone of the spice trade. Which makes them all have rich and unique cuisines.
This book is also a wonderful mini-lesson in colonialism, culture, tradition, and history, because the recipes have as equal weight as the stories about and from the bibis themselves. Getting these recipes from the bibis makes them less about food that's trendy and Instagrammable, which is an unbelievable breath of fresh air. They talk about how important it is that food keeps their tradition and cultures intact. It all feels very genuine. And not only that, but the food sounds and looks delicious! This is one cookbook I'm going to have to buy when I have the money.
