Skoude(hkaris) Looks Like A Lady

NATIONAL DISH OF DJIBOUTI - Skoudehkaris

Hello there GGJ Pilgrams! I know what you are all thinking, albeit sarcastically, "Leo it's been awhile since we had some African cusine...". Well never fear because of course here at The GGJ, 1 in 4 dishes are gonna be from Africa. And today we travel to the top of the horn to Djibouti.

Djibouti is one of those excellent foreign words (obviously not for Djiboutians) that one can get a sense of pleasure and accomplishment from rolling it off the tongue correctly. And Skoudehkaris, although a lovely word in it's own, to me doesn't really fit. It sounds like a Greek dish. But then again I don't have a PhD in Djibouti. Or do I?..... Well no, no I don't.

So Skoudehkaris is basically a seasoned meat and rice hot pot that would be traditionally be cooked over a fire nomadic style. I get a beautiful visual of cooking a hearty meal for the family, inhaling gorgeous aromas, and viewing the stunning display of the African night sky. How's the serenity!

Also sidebar - not to appear needy or anything, but if there is anyone out there, could you PLEASE post a comment or something. Even anonymous vloggers need love too! Now my "subtle" plead for validation is over, let's continue...

So enjoy, or as they say in Djibouti,  بالهنا والشفا! (bil-hanā' wa ash-shifā') or Bon appétit! (take your pick)
Djiboutian recipe found here: http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-skoudehkaris

Difficulty:       4 

Appearance:  3 

Taste:            3 

TOTAL:       10

Rice, meat and spices stewed together again! I'm starting to think the oven does not exist in Africa. But I jest, for this common method of cooking is not that involved and so I can just leave it on to slowly cook. Meaning I can engage in other activities, like Ghost Stalking or Tarp Surfing.

Now the appearance of this dish was not altogether flattering. This is a perfect example of the much needed use of Smell-o-vision. Someone should totes get on to that!

Now it wasn't that it didn't taste delicious. It had to be since we ate it all. But it was a deceptive dish. Even though it had plenty of spices I didn't expect it to be so piquant. Not that it was hot in a 'chilli' sense, but the other spices certainly gave it a kick. I recommend for some a tank of water be close at hand in case of "Sudden Mouth On Fire Syndrome" (SMOFS). Those crazy Djiboutians!