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Ethiopian Shiro Wot

African · 35 min · Easy · 4 servings

Ethiopian Shiro Wot

Chickpea flour whisked into a spiced onion base until it becomes a thick, smoky, deeply savory stew. One of the fastest genuinely great things you can cook from a cupboard.

~320 cal per serving — Calories are approximate, per serving — a guide only.

gluten-freesoy-freenut-freehigh-protein
Plan it:

Method

  1. 1

    Cook the onions down

    ⏱ 15 min

    Cook the very finely diced onions in a dry pot over medium heat until they collapse and start to stick, then add the oil and keep cooking until soft and golden. Ethiopian stews start with far more onion than seems reasonable — this is the body of the dish.

  2. 2

    Add berbere

    ⏱ 5 min

    Stir in the garlic, ginger and berbere and fry until the paste darkens and smells toasty rather than raw. Add the tomato and cook until it breaks down.

  3. 3

    Whisk in the flour

    Whisk the chickpea flour with the stock for the paste in a separate bowl until completely smooth, then pour it into the pot in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Lumps here are permanent, so take your time.

  4. 4

    Simmer

    ⏱ 15 min

    Add the stock for the pot and simmer gently, stirring often, until thick enough to hold a spoon-trail and the raw flour taste has gone. Season with salt and scatter with cilantro.

Notes

Slaking the chickpea flour with cold stock before it goes in is essential — tipped in dry it seizes into lumps you cannot whisk out. It thickens further off the heat; loosen with hot water. Traditionally eaten with injera.

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