Recipes: Shiro

It has been so much fun fixing Ethiopian food at home. I have experimented with two recipes that Meron and Joseph now say are quite good. They are both so quick and easy I actually prefer making it to many other meals. I will share one today, and one in the next few days.

Shiro is a mixture of fried onions, berbere, and Shiro powder. It is served with an Ethiopian staple, injera. Shiro powder is dried, ground chickpeas, very similar to hummus mix. Berbere is an Ethiopian spice, a mixture of approximately 17 different spices, mainly chili powder. Injera is a bread, similar to a large sourdough pancake. All of these can be found in Ethiopian markets. When buying the Shiro powder, some come already spiced with berbere, so adjust accordingly in the recipe! (I don't use the spiced version.)

To begin, soften one whole diced onion (I use yellow, sweeter ones) in oil and water. I start off frying the onion in a bit of oil, then as they start to brown and stick to the pan, add enough water to loosen from the pan. This allows them to cook long enough to soften up without too much grease.

Once softened, I sprinkle on 1 heaping tablespoon of berbere and mix well. Once it has a deep red color, I add approximately two cups of water and bring to a boil. Then mix in the shiro powder. I use 1/2 to one cup of shiro powder, which I sprinkle in a bit at a time to avoid clumping. If it appears too dry or becomes hard to mix, add more water. If too watery, add more shiro powder.

The proper consistency: similar to a creamy hummus; mine is a bit chunky from the onion. I like to serve with injera, when available. To this meal I add some form of vegetables. Recently I found Meron will eat greens when fried with onion. I have used savoy cabbage with good results.