Amy De La Hunt - Maryan Yusuf of Sunset Hills makes Somali Madhasi, a sweet fried bread flavored with cardamom. photo by Amy De La Hunt
STLtoday
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Watching Maryan Yusuf finely mince onion, cilantro and hot chiles
while simultaneously translating a conversation, overseeing a batch of
bread and occasionally rescuing a climbing toddler, one can’t help but
think the busy mom would hold her own in any restaurant kitchen. And
that’s without her seven other children around.Yusuf started
cooking at age 10 in Somalia, and even after two decades in her adopted
country, American dishes haven’t replaced those from her home. “Most of
the time we cook traditional food,” she said, for everyday meals as well
as special religious holidays like Ramadan, the Muslim month of daytime
fasting.
Most ingredients are easy to find, thanks to stores such
as Global Foods Market. And while Yusuf can purchase meat at local
shops too, she prefers traveling with family members to a farm an hour’s
drive from the city, where they choose goats and lambs on the hoof and
ensure the meat will be halal (butchered in a specific manner according
to Islamic dietary guidelines).
Despite
her own preferences, Yusuf is well aware she’s raising American kids,
and she’s good-natured about generational differences. Her eldest
daughter, 18-year-old Hodan Abdullahi, can cook Somali dishes as well,
but instead of adding handfuls of this and coffee cups of that, she
“acts like an American,” Yusuf joked. “She measures ingredients and
counts calories.”
Amy De La Hunt - Maryan Yusuf of Sunset Hills makes Somali Madhasi, a sweet fried bread flavored with cardamom. photo by Amy De La Hunt
Mother and daughter both picked up their kitchen
skills from Yusuf’s mother, Maryan Abdullah Yusuf, who lives with the
family. She’s a self-described advocate for African food in general,
especially Somali and Ethiopian dishes, and she’s happy to demonstrate
for anyone who’s interested.
Thanks to years of practice cooking
side by side, Yusuf and her mother make lunch preparations look
effortless. They graciously stir up a “small” batch — 48 pieces — of
cardamom-scented madhasi (sweet fried bread) and patiently explain every
step along the way. Meanwhile, Yusuf whips up spicy tuna-filled
samosas, promising a future lesson in perfectly wrapping and frying the
crispy triangles. After tasting one, it’s hard to imagine saying no.
Maryan Yusuf
Age • 38
Neighborhood • Sunset Hills
Occupation • Stay-at-home mom
Family
• Husband Mohamed Hussein and children Hodan, 18, Abdullahi, 14,
Abdalla, 12, Abdirahman, 10, Iqra, 7, Hussein, 6, Faysa, 3, and Aisha, 1