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Shiro wat, silky chickpea stew with berbere
Shiro is the everyday comfort of Ethiopia: chickpea flour whisked into slowly cooked onions, garlic and berbere and simmered to a smooth, velvety stew. It is a fasting (vegan) dish, cheap and quick, and on Wednesdays and Fridays it is on almost every table.
- 40 minutes
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 30 minutes
- Serves 4
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 red onions, very finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 ripe tomato, finely chopped
- 1 and a half tablespoons berbere (Ethiopian chilli spice blend, from world-food shops)
- 100g gram flour (chickpea flour), labelled gluten free
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 green chilli, cut into thin strips, to finish
Let's cook
- Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan on a medium low heat. Add the onions and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until very soft and golden. Do not rush this: the sweetness of the onions carries the stew.
- Add the garlic and tomato and cook for 3 minutes until the tomato collapses.
- Stir in the berbere and cook for 1 minute until it smells toasty.
- Whisk the gram flour into 700ml cold water in a jug until there are no lumps. Pour it into the pan slowly, whisking all the time.
- Bring to a gentle simmer, still whisking, and add the salt. Turn the heat to low and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom so it does not catch. Shiro bubbles and spits, so half cover the pan.
- It is ready when it is smooth, thick enough to coat a spoon and no longer tastes raw or floury. If it thickens too much, stir in a splash of hot water: it should pour slowly, like thick custard.
- Taste for salt, pour into a warm bowl, lay the chilli strips on top and serve straight away with injera.
Tips
- Shiro thickens as it stands, so loosen it with a little hot water just before serving.
- Keep leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat gently with a splash of water until steaming hot.
Swaps
- Easier: use 100g ready made shiro powder (a spiced chickpea and pea flour from Ethiopian shops) instead of the gram flour and berbere.
- Richer, not vegan: stir in a tablespoon of niter kibbeh (spiced clarified butter) at the end, which adds milk.
Tags
None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written: oil, onions, garlic, tomato, chickpea flour, salt and chilli contain none. Gram flour is often milled where wheat is, so buy one labelled gluten free. Check the berbere label, and if you use ready made shiro powder, check it too, as some are blended with wheat or packed alongside mustard. The niter kibbeh swap adds milk.
Check every packet for allergens.