Ifrah F. Ahmed's debut cookbook, Soomaaliya, stands as a rare and intimate exploration of Somali cuisine and how decades of conflict have reshaped it across the diaspora.
During a video call from Brooklyn, between stops on her book tour, Ahmed sips ginger-root tea. The aroma instantly transports her back to her childhood kitchen, where her mother often baked aromatic cardamom cake.
"That's a core childhood memory for me," she says.