The Bear is consistently the most true to life representation of the service industry on TV. They nail the fast paced nature of it so well, even if things are slightly dramatized. To me, it’s obvious that the team behind the show knew what they were doing. To support this, the food they show off is not only amazing looking, it’s also pretty well thought out and involves a lot of onscreen talent knowing how to cook. How does it taste though? Here's how to make the Chicken Suqaar we see Ebraheim making in the show. This Somali dish is really something special.
Chicken Suqaar
3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thigh
1 bell pepper
2 small carrots
1 small yellow onion
Handful of yellow potatoes (optional)
1 cracked cardamom pod
Lemon
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Xawaash
6g cumin seed
1/2 cinnamon stick
3g black pepper
3g ground turmeric
Step 1: Dice Vegetables
Suqaar needs to have every ingredient in small bite size pieces so be sure to dice everything. You want to make sure they can all fit on a fork or a spoon. Dice your chicken thigh as well to about the same size. Set these aside and begin prepping the spice mix.
Step 2: Make Xawaash
Xawaash is a warming spice mix made up of cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, and turmeric. Add your cumin, cinnamon and black pepper to a spice grinder and blend. Mix in the turmeric and set this aside. If you don't have all of these ingredients, use half ground turmeric and half ground cumin to approximate a similar flavor.
Step 3: Cook And Simmer Suqaar
In a hot cast iron, begin by frying your onions and chicken together over medium high. Season this with salt and let both of these brown together nicely. Once browned, add the bell pepper, carrot, and potato. Season this with a few spoons of the xawaash you made (you may not want to use it all) and then fry this so you can start to really smell the cumin toasting. Toss in your cracked cardamom pod if you have it. Add in enough water to coat the bottom and come up about halfway on the ingredients. Cover this and let it simmer for around 10-15 minutes, just enough time to soften the potatoes. Once the veggies are softened and the chicken is cooked through, remove the lid and reduce the sauce so it’s much thicker and coats all the ingredients. Taste this for seasoning and add salt and lemon juice to balance the warmth. Add some chopped cilantro and enjoy.
I love this combo of deep warm cumin and pepper with the veggies and lemon juice. This is super simple to make, but it tastes so good.
Cheers!
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