In Arabic, Tawakal means putting everything in God’s hands. According to Fardowsa Barkadle, owner of Tawakal East African Restaurant, it means trusting in God for everything, including running a Somali restaurant with her mother and brother.
A spread of Somali dishes showcasing the diverse flavors of the cuisine.
A Family's Journey and Culinary Vision
At age 28, Barkadle is the newest owner of what has been a series of East African-focused restaurants inside a yellow brick, one-story building on 10th Street in downtown Greeley. Barkadle, along with her mom and siblings, moved here ten years ago after immigrating to the United States. Her family left Somalia during the 1991 civil war, emigrating to Ethiopia - where Barkadle was born - before eventually immigrating to this country. Tawakal East African Restaurant provides a daily reminder of what guides her.
Speaking with quiet purpose, Barkadle details her busy schedule. After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado in 2018 with a degree in speech and audiology, she worked with Greeley-Evans School District 6 for a short time but is now an interpreter for Banner Rehabilitation Center. She also works with Lutheran Family Services as a community navigator, mentoring students who have been in the country less than five years. Throughout the pandemic, she’s used Zoom to meet with students from Somalia, Congo, Myanmar (formerly Burma), and the Rohingya, checking in to see how they’re doing in their classes. Barkadle decided to open a restaurant here in Greeley because she wanted to share Somali and East African food with both the local Somali community and people outside that small cultural circle. Her mom, Shukri Farah, loves to cook; her brother, along with Farah, work in the kitchen every day. Barkadle joins them when her other work duties permit.
A Menu Rich in Cultural Influences
The menu features East African foods with an emphasis on Somalia. But as so often happens, foods developed in a multicultural vacuum benefit from the opportunity to draw from many flavors and cuisines, in that way intensifying the taste experience. Influences from Arab, Persian, Turkish, Ethiopian, Indian and Italian cuisines create an enriched interaction of multiple cultures - as if they were cooked sous vide - a microcosm of traditions infused inside a metaphorical sealed plastic bag. Barkadle is just beginning her restaurant voyage and is developing the menu slowly.
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Here's a glimpse into some of the must-try dishes at Tawakal:
Where to eat East & West African Food in DFW!!
Breakfast Delights
Tawakal serves breakfast daily, including beef suqaar (pronounced sooh-car), a stew prepared with beef and diced vegetables. Served alongside canjeero (fermented pan bread ), malawax (sweetened pancakes ) or chapati (a thin, unleavened flour-based bread cooked on a griddle, similar to a flour tortilla), it’s a sustaining meal to get you through the day.
Halal Meats and Italian Influences
Meats are halal, meaning they have been processed according to the dietary laws of the Qur’an. Spaghetti can be substituted for rice; pasta is one of the sustaining influences of the Italian colonization of Somalia and other territories in East Africa from 1889 until 1941. The Somalian take on spaghetti sauce, which also uses ground beef, is similar in its rich taste to bolognese.
Injera: A Staple Dish
Ethiopia’s staple dish, injera, describes both the meal and the bread upon which it's served. Injera is a flat, fermented sourdough bread. On weekends, the Ethiopian specialty, injera with tibsi is available. Injera is a food staple of East African countries. The leavened sourdough bread is fermented for several days before cooking on a flat surface into a thin pancake. The top has small bubbles and the pancake is used both as serving plate and utensil. It’s customary to tear off pieces of injera and use them to scoop up whatever is placed on top of the flat pancake - lentils, vegetables, and a salad are vegan standards. If ordered with tibsi - chopped beef - that will be placed in the center. The dish is meant to be shared.
Injera with Tibsi, a traditional Ethiopian dish served at Tawakal on weekends.
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Sambusa and Shidni: Flavorful Sides
Other don’t miss menu items are the sambusa, fried triangles of dough filled with minced beef, carrots and onion, and spiced with cumin, paprika and crushed pepper. Most lunch and dinner orders are served with shidni, a sauce prepared with tomato paste, tamarind, jalapeño, and cumin. Shidni adds steady heat to any dish.
Aromatic Chai
A final note: to edge into the beautiful tastes that comprise Somalian cuisine, order a chai. Laced with freshly ground cloves, ginger and cardamom, it’s a taste from heaven. It’ll also go a long way towards sweetening your day.
Tawakal Halal Café
At Tawakal Halal Café, delectable entrées, inviting appetizers and tempting desserts are prepared according to our own family recipes. We use only the freshest and finest ingredients available, some of then locally sourced, as well as the widest array of earth's most exotic, rare spices. The final result is a distinctively authentic dining experience showcasing Somali food with all its different influences. From Somalia to our table. We hope to spread our love for food with all of those who would like to break bread with us at our table.
Details
Location: 811 10th Street in Greeley
Menu: Dine-in or order by phone for take-out. Breakfast; lunch; and dinner.
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Tawakal is very much a hole-in-the-wall kind of place where Formica tables, a collection of booths, and a TV tuned to CNN are the order of the day. The clientele is largely a mixture of cab drivers, traditionally garbed guests, and a smattering of takeout diners. Nonetheless, there’s a welcoming spirit and this is a dining adventure the whole family can enjoy.
