The dish I made for Somalia is quite simple. I was planning on also doing a second kind of sweet, made from sesame seeds, but I just didn't have the motivation. I've made sesame candy before, and it's a bit difficult as it requires lots of precision and hands-on time. So I just made these: coconut candy called kashaato. Most of the savory recipes I found for Somalia either weren't totally unique (i.e. dishes that I had already made or was planning on making for other countries) or they were super meat-focused. So I figured I'd go the dessert route.
Kashaato is a very monochromatic dish. Everything used is white: shredded coconut, sugar, and coconut milk. Those are the only three ingredients! The recipe I used called for regular milk, but I used canned coconut milk. All I had was sweetened shredded coconut, but the recipe would have come out much better if it was unsweetened (even though I cut down on the sugar a bit to compensate) and if I had put the coconut through a food processor to make it a finer texture.
The first step is heating the milk in a pot and adding the sugar.
In a little less than 10 minutes, the coconut is added in. At this point, the sugar has started to bubble up a bit and you have to stir the entire time so it doesn't burn.
After about 15 minutes, the sugar starts to darken as it caramelizes.
At this stage, you can see the mixture turning into a foamy consistency. I waited a bit longer than I should have to take this off the heat. As it continued to cook, it thickened a little too much.
The mixture is poured out onto an oiled surface to harden, and then you add your toppings. The recipe I used called for either sprinkles or more shredded coconut. I've never been a fan of sprinkles, so I went with more coconut. After a couple minutes, before it hardens completely, you can cut it into whatever shapes you want. I was going to try going for some diamond shapes, but it ended up so thick that it was just easier to cut into squares as best as possible.
Trying the candy soon after making it, it basically just tasted like a sugar cube. The texture was pretty grainy and crumbly. However, after sitting in a closed container for a day or two, it ended up tasting pretty good. The sugar softened a bit and the coconut came through.
Recipes Used: Kashaato
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