Ilhan Abdi: The Ramadan Kitchen

Ilhan Abdi: The Ramadan Kitchen

From Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith by Gilly Smith

March 5, 2026 · 21 min · Season 25 · Episode 26

About this episode

Ilhan Abdi discusses her book 'The Ramadan Kitchen' and shares recipes inspired by Ramadan traditions.

This week as millions of people all over the world are celebrating Ramadan, we’re with London-based Somali-Egyptian food writer, Ilhan Abdi to talk about her book, The Ramadan Kitchen. A former Amazon corporate employee, she left to focus on cooking content, gaining 265k Instagram followers (@Ilhanm.a) through live Ramadan cooking sessions inspired by her mum’s dishes during lockdown, and has since become a mother herself.  She tells us about her recipes inspired by Ramadan traditions, including suhoor and iftar dishes like Somali rice, samosas, and syrup-soaked doughballs. Pop over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Ilhan including a recipe from her book, and a beautiful prayer that means so much to her.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Guest: Ilhan Abdi

Topics covered

  • Ramadan
  • cooking
  • food writing
  • Somali cuisine

Keywords

  • suhoor
  • iftar
  • samosas
  • Somali rice
  • doughballs

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Ramadan Kitchen

Books & works: The Ramadan Kitchen

Places: London

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