Amina's African Sambusas — Restaurant in Idaho

Truly unique and absolutely excellent. 100% recommend. I have a had a few sambusas before, but the goat one I had here was by far my favorite I have had anywhere. I have little experience with the other dishes (aside from the Ethiopian breads etc) but the fufu and chicken I ordered was absolutely mind blowing. It's sort of hard to describe but the fufu is a corn mush...I would liken it to grits, but a little more compacted and almost like a cake. It isn't sweet, it's mostly neutral (didn't try the rice but I saw some and it looked nice) and the reason it is mostly neutral is because the chicken dish that goes on top is like flavor-city. The main dish is a again a bit hard to describe but it's almost like a roasted chicken stew, but the chicken pieces are good size. Lots of vegetables and spices. I will advise these dishes would be spicy to some. I have some heat tolerance and I found it to be perfectly spicy, like just hot enough to be hot, but not so hot you lose enjoyment. I would say if you have no heat tolerance you may want to ask what they can suggest. The service was very friendly and informative. A quick note, this IS counter service but it is NOT fast food. It is clear they cook to order and the staff is small. It didn't take exceedingly long, but if you don't call ahead expect to wait a bit for your order. They are clearly focused on quality. This is a no frills place focused on making a selection of dishes well. The prices and portions...

There were plenty of places to park when I arrive at this restaurant one Saturday evening. I was surprised to see how small the restaurant is at first, but when I sat down I experienced a sense of coziness as I wait for my order near other customers enjoying their food. When I received my order (one Fish Sambusa, Goat and Rice), I was surprised once again when the waiter didn't bring any utensils (he mentioned the food is usually eaten by hand). Out of habit, I still asked for utensils and received a fork and spoon. But then, I confirmed that may in fact eat with my hands in the restaurant and so I did.

The food tasted amazing. The Fish Sambusa and Goat and Rice had great seasoning and texture. The Sambusa reminded me a bit of Indian Samosas I've had and the Goat and Rice (Barees E Erang) tastes similar to Indian Biryanis I've had as well. This was my first time trying African food so I can't compare to other African restaurants. I can say that I am very pleased with my visit to this restaurant. Shout out to Chubangu for being such awesome waiter and letting me know I may eat...

Our first time. We tried three different sambusas, our favorites were the traditional, and the goat. Tried the fufu and goat, which was delicious! Tried the chicken and rice. It was also delicious. And we tried two different breads. Everything was made fresh and hot, so you do have to expect a little bit of a wait. But that's part of the whole experience for us. If you're in a hurry, try ordering ahead? I think it was Abdi? who waited on us. He was so helpful and seemed to really like teaching us about the food and how to eat it. And he answered all of our questions too. The restroom was clean. I think that's always a good indication of how important cleanliness is to the owners. And hopefully it carries on into the kitchen. We will go back and try a few other dishes. We love the diversity of cultures growing in Boise, and we appreciate learning about and experiencing them in this way. Definitely try it, and have an open mind. You will probably...