These sweet noodles are an essential “break fast” during Ramadan. Most Zanzibaris break their fast with a few dates, spiced tea or porridge, and a serving of these noodles, which they eat with their hand. No easy feat! The noodles can be prepared in one of two ways: either toasted until golden, then boiled and sweetened or boiled in sweetened milk or water. I like the toasted version as it has a more interesting flavor, but the plain version is also lovely. Zanzibaris use locally made fresh noodles that are a cross between spaghetti and pici, thicker than regular spaghetti and thinner than pici. They are found everywhere in the markets during Ramadan and can be bought fresh or sun-dried. It is unlikely you will find them outside Zanzibar; and in the various Zanzibari cookbooks I looked at, the authors recommend substituting vermicelli. You can also use angel hair spaghetti, known as capellini, which is even closer to what I had in Zanzibar.
SERVES: 6 TO 8
INGREDIENTS:
- Good pinch of saffron threads
- ½ cup (125 ml) whole milk
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 ounces (120 g) angel hair spaghetti (capellini), broken into 2-to 3-inch (5 to 7.5 cm) pieces
- ½ cup (100 g) raw cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
INSTRUCTION:
- Put the saffron to steep in the milk.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (180°C).
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the broken spaghetti and sauté, stirring constantly, until the pasta is golden brown—the pasta needs to be dark enough in color to stay brown as it boils, but be careful not to burn it.
- Add the saffron milk, sugar, cardamom, and golden raisins to the pasta and bring to a boil. Watch the milk as it nears the boiling point so as not to let it boil over.
- Once the milk has started to bubble, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 7 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente, stirring regularly to make sure the pasta is not sticking.
- Transfer to a medium-size oven-to-table dish and place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the pasta has completely absorbed the milk and softened completely. (They don’t like their pasta al dente in Zanzibar!)
- Scatter the slivered almonds all over the pasta and serve hot.
