Bariis Iskukaris, also called Isku-dheh karis is a traditional rice dish from Somali cuisine thats customarily cooked from a single pan or where the tenderization of both rice and stew occurs at some point in a single pan.
Process
Because the different ingredients require different cooking times to make the ingredients tender or cooked, iskukaris is one of the more difficult rice dishes to cook. Since meat requires the longest cooking time, meat is usually the first ingredient to be placed in a iskukaris pan, followed by longer tenderizing vegetables such as potatoes, and then short-cooking vegetables are usually added at the same time as the rice. The addition of the rice is usually the trickiest part as it requires an experienced chef to ensure the surface rice cooks evenly with the middle-layered rice; this requires perfect timing.
[Gherlone, Laura. "A escrita feminina entre a fronteira e o não lugar: discursos femininos em ascensão na Literatura Italiana de Migração/Women’s Writing Between the Border and the Non-Place: The Emerging Female Discourses in Italian Migrant Literature."]
Bariis iskukaris is made from basmati rice, and is typically topped with raisins, peas, and fried potatoes, onions and peppers, and served with roasted lamb, beef, goat, camel, or chicken. It is a national dish of Somalia and is especially popular at weddings and is a staple dish which is almost universally served as part of a Somali daily meal. It is almost always accompanied with a roasted meat dish, the most common being lamb or goat meat, and served with fresh bananas.
Spices
The dish incorporates a spice mixture called
xawaash which literally translates as "spices" in the Somali language and which is made from a mixture of ground cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika, cardamon, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Either
saffron or orange or red food coloring are added to the dish after the rice has finished cooking to give the dish an orange color.
History and culture
Bariis iskukaris can be served with various meats including chicken, mutton, fish or camel meat. It is typically served with a banana on the side. This rice dish is often served from a clay pot called
baris dhari, which serves to impart flavor from food cooked in metal pots.
[Culture and Customs of Somalia Culture and Customs of Somalia - Page 112, Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi]
Bariis and meat dishes served with it are considered
Halal and as such are suitable for consumption by Muslims.
Gallery
File:Somalicamelmeat.jpg|Bariis iskukaris with camel meat
File:Djiboutian rice (bariis) and fish (kalluun), Liver (beerka) with vegetable also (Sabaayad) pancakes.jpg|Bariis iskukaris with fish, liver and vegetables
File:SOMALI FAVORITE MAIN FOOD.jpg|Bariis iskukaris with chicken
