[food] notes on Ethiopian dishes various

[kaberett]

I've already talked about injera at some length; this post is a collection of recipes lightly modified from elsewhere to suit my own workflow, for my own reference, largely drawn from this year-old post.

Niter kibbeh
Ingredients
1 cinnamon stick, ~2"
1tsp whole black peppercorns
3 Ethiopian cardamom/korarima, or substitute Indian black cardamom pods
3 whole cloves
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp cumin seeds

¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp dried, ground besobela (holy basil)
1 tbsp kosseret

½ onion, chopped
3 tbsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp ginger, minced
500g unsalted butter, cubed

Method
Toast whole spices in a dry pan until fragrant.

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over very low heat for 60-90 minutes. Do not burn the butter.

Strain the whole lot through cheesecloth. This fills the two small clip-top jars, and one jar is good for one batch of Everything Else.

The solids (with the big bits picked out) are amazing on toast.

Berbere
Ingredients
5 tbsp chilli powder
3 tbsp paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg

2 tsp korerima/Indian black cardamom seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp whole allspice
4 cloves
1 small stick cinnamon

Method
Mix together the powders.

Toast the whole spices in a dry pan until fragrant.

Allow to cool slightly, then grind to fine powder.

Combine with chilli powder.

Shiro
Ingredients
2 tbsp niter kibbeh
1 large onion, finely diced
1 tomato, pureed or diced fine
1 mug shiro powder
3-4 mugs water
1 tbsp berbere (optional!)

Method
Melt the niter kibbeh in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook until they're just starting to get some colour.

Add the berbere (if you want this to be spicy, or you're using plain shiro instead of flavoured); cook for a minute or so.

Add the tomato and cook until it starts to release its oils.

Add the shiro powder and mix to a smooth paste. Add the water, again mix to a smooth paste, and simmer until the desired consistency is achieved.

Misir wot
Ingredients
2 tbsp niter kibbeh
2 medium onions, finely diced
2 tbsp berbere
4 tsp ginger, minced
2 tsp garlic, minced
500g red lentils (masoor dal! hence the name! I only just noticed!)
water
salt

Method
Melt the niter kibbeh in a large saucepan.

Add the onion and cook for ~10 minutes, until starting to turn golden.

Add berbere, ginger, and garlic. Cook for about a minute.

Add lentils and water; simmer, stirring occasionally, for ~40 minutes.

Remove from heat. Season with salt and additional berbere. (Does adding more paprika make it actually go dark red? Hmm.)

Kik wot
Ingredients
2 tbsp niter kibbeh
1 large onion, finely chopped
a lot of garlic, minced
2 tbsp turmeric (optional)
500g yellow split peas
water
salt, to taste

Method
Melt the niter kibbeh (surprise!) in a large pan or the Instant Pot, if you have one.

Cook onions for ~10 minutes, until translucent and starting to change colour.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two, until fragrant.

Add turmeric and stir.

Add the lentils plus water, and pressure-cook for 15 minutes (or simmer on the hob for rather longer).

Season to taste.

Tikil gomen
Ingredients
3-4 tbsp niter kibbeh
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 large carrots, thinly sliced on diagonal
2 large potatoes, cut in 1" cubes

1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp pepper

250 ml water
1 cabbage, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)

Method
Heat niter kibbeh.

Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 4 minutes.

Add carrots. Cook, stirring, for 4 minutes.

Add potatoes. Cover; cook for 5 minutes.

Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for ~1 minute.

Add water. Cook, stirring, for ~3 minutes.

Add cabbage and jalapeno. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Cover and cook, until vegetables are soft -- in theory, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Fasolia (1 | 2)
Ingredients
2 tbsp niter kibbeh (or oil! oil also works)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
~1" ginger, minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tomato, diced (optional)
beans
~2 carrots, cut into strips
~50ml water

Method
Heat niter kibbeh in a frying pan. (Or oil, if you want a dish that isn't fundamentally niter kibbeh-flavoured. Groundnut is good.)

Sauté onions until they're getting some good colour.

Add garlic, ginger, and turmeric; cook for a few minutes, until fragrant.

(Optionally) Add the diced tomato, and cook until they begin to release their oils.

Add carrots, beans, and water; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are done (~20 minutes?).

Comments

[rugessnome]

it might be helpful to have some idea of bean quantity in the fasolia?

[kaberett]

in this instance I'm going to be eyeballing the quantity I picked from the allotment over the course of the week and then adding carrot to taste!