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Suqaar

A stir‑fry of thinly sliced beef with onions, garlic, tomato, bell pepper, and Somali spices.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Cumin and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Suqaar

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the beef and aromatics

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium‑high heat.

  2. Add the finely chopped onion and sauté until it becomes soft and translucent.

  3. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.

  4. Add the thinly sliced beef and cook until it browns and develops a nice sear on both sides.

Add vegetables and spices

  1. Toss in the diced tomato and thinly sliced bell pepper.

  2. Stir‑fry until the vegetables soften slightly.

  3. Sprinkle the ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne pepper over the meat and vegetables, and mix well.

  4. Season with salt to taste.

Simmer and serve

  1. Lower the heat to medium‑low, cover the skillet, and let the suqaar simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the meat to become tender.

  2. Remove the skillet from the heat.

  3. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro or parsley before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

508Calories
31 gProtein
31 gFat
28 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 15 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Coriandernot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Tomato + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Tomato + cumintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef
Provides the main protein; searing builds browned flavour and the meat becomes tender during simmering.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it cooks, forming the flavour base of the dish.
Garlic
Releases aromatic compounds when briefly cooked, adding pungency that mellows with heat.
Tomato
Adds moisture and acidity, helping form a light sauce with the cooking juices.
Bell pepper
Contributes fresh, slightly sweet vegetable flavour and some texture as it softens.
Ground cumin
Adds warm, earthy aroma that blooms when cooked in hot oil.

The step that matters

Searing the beef. Cooking the beef in a hot pan without overcrowding lets its surface brown through the Maillard reaction, which builds savoury flavour. Crowding the pan traps steam, so the meat greys and tastes flat.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, garlic, tomato, pepper, cumin, coriander):

  1. Oreganofits better
  2. Turmericfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, garlic, tomato, pepper, cumin, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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