This is Somali-style spaghetti sauce with my own little twist. We make this once a week in our house (my daughter craves it!). I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!
Somali Spaghetti Sauce (Suugo & Baasto)

This is Somali-style spaghetti sauce with my own little twist. We make this once a week in our house (my daughter craves it!). I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1-pound lean ground beef
- 1 small/medium onion, diced
- 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup water (optional, to add if the sauce is too tick)
Dry Seasoning Mix
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt-free seasoning blend (such as Mrs. Dash)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Place cilantro and garlic in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped.
Toast cumin seeds in a small pot over low heat until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Allow to cool, 5 minutes. Grind into a powder.
Transfer all the dry spices in to a bowl and mix them together. (cumin, Himalayan pink salt, turmeric, paprika, Italian seasoning, seasoning blend, and black pepper to make seasoning mix.) Set a side
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef; cook and stir until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 of the seasoning mix. Add onion; cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Add potato and carrots. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir tomatoes into the pot and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in cilantro-garlic mixture and remaining 1/2 of the seasoning mix. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors combine, 30 to 40 minutes. Thin sauce with water if it seems too thick.
Serve over your choice of pasta, or eat it with bread!
Enjoy!
- Cook’s Notes:
- Substitute the canned diced tomatoes with fresh diced tomatoes.
- You can substitute another type of salt for the Himalayan pink salt.
- Mince cilantro and garlic together with a knife instead of a food processor.
- For added flavor, you can toss the cooked and drained pasta in the oil that collects on the top of the sauce.
6 replies ›
Trackbacks
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This was really great! Cooked this for my family last night and everyone loved it! I appreciate the addition of the carrots, it really helped to get rid of the canned-tomato taste!
I’m very happy that your family loved it😊 If you get a chance to make it again, try to use fresh chopped/minced tomatoes instead of the canned tomatoes, it does make a difference!
Thank you!
Thank you❤️