Ilhan Mohamed Abdi, a London-based cookery author with 265,000 Instagram followers, has released her debut cookbook, The Ramadan Kitchen, despite undergoing brain surgery shortly before publication. The 36-year-old former Goldman Sachs and Amazon employee says the experience has not dampened her excitement. “I’m very excited, nervous at the same time, but very excited,” she said.
The book originated during lockdown, when Mohamed Abdi began hosting live Instagram cooking sessions. “I’d post to tell everyone, ‘This is what we’re going to cook. These are the ingredients and kitchen utensils you’re going to need. Join me at six o’clock.’ And I’d get hundreds of people come on these lives,” she recalled. Her Somali rice, which takes just 15 minutes, became a particular hit for its speed and simplicity.
Drawing on her Somali-Egyptian heritage, Mohamed Abdi adapts traditional recipes for modern cooks. “My mother was in the kitchen quite a lot, so cooking her meals would take hours, and I don’t think that’s a fit for the modern cook, so I just adapted those recipes,” she explained. The book is dedicated to her daughter, Amaana, and aims to preserve family memories. “Ramadan comes every single year. It’ll come every single year until the end of time, and so it’s a book that will grow with her and her children, potentially,” she said.
Ramadan 2025 runs from the evening of 17 February to 18 March. For Mohamed Abdi, it is a month that “brings me back to my faith, routine and family”. The book is split into two sections: suhoor (pre-dawn meal) and iftar (evening meal). Suhoor recipes include croissant bread pudding and a date shake, while iftar features dishes such as chicken shawarma, oxtail stew and sheet-pan pizza. “The book is absolutely for everyone,” she said, not just those observing Ramadan.
