Babanusa Sudanese Restaurant: Lisa puts the tastes and culture of the Sudan to the test in the Adelaide City region of South Australia
There are lots of secret eateries tucked away in the suburbs - well away from the bright city lights, white tablecloths and silver service. And this is one of them. Welcome to Babanusa on Prospect Road - and as you can probably tell from the music, Adelaide's only authentic Sudanese restaurant. At Babanusa, the smiles are always broad, the mood happy and the music free as owner Tahir Milik encourages the weekend crowds to get into the swing of things.
The name Babanusa comes from a town in Western Sudan, which is a meeting, place for several nomadic tribes. It's where music and food combine to create a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere - which fits this eatery perfectly. Tahir grew up in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and came to Australia in 1983 via Greece - and that's where his love affair with food began.
Eltahir Milik: "My personal experience is I went abroad to Greece where my head started spinning and I said I can't afford to go out to restaurants all the time to eat so I started memorising the flavours, the tastes and sending letters to my sister and then I started learning about cooking."
At the end of the day it's all about the food of course, which is characterised by distinctive Sudanese aromas, tastes and flavours. Chef, Eddie Ahmed's dishes are not too spicy and feature plenty of vegetables and salads like eggplant, rocket and tomato.
One of his most popular dishes is the goat served with bread made from rice flour and lentils cooked fresh everyday. His signature dish is Lahmat Koraah - lamb shank with fresh mushroom sauce. The meat is cooked for three hours in a dish of onion, garlic, tomato and mushroom sauce.
In Sudan there is no such thing as recipe books - popular meals simply get handed down through the generations, constantly evolving and improving.
Eddie Ahmed, Chef: "Each household has its own recipe. And that's how they stand out. For a big wedding or other occasion, my mum for example wouldn't hire a chef. All the neighbours come and chip in. We might slaughter goats and cows and all the women do all the cooking. Each one has a role - you do the lamb, you do the goat, you do the vegetables - each one just go and do it and it's perfect."
A relaxed atmosphere, no pretence, great food and music - it makes for a classic Sudanese mix at Babanusa. It's at 86 Prospect Road, in Prospect and is open for dinner from Tuesday to Sunday. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
Babanusa Sudanese Restaurant
86 Prospect Rd
Prospect
Open: Tue - Sun, 6 - 9pm
Ph 8342 1222Published 11th October 2009
