Tonight I advanced another step in my ethiopian cooking odyssey by finally pulling off one of my favorites: shiro wat. The big problem has always been the key ingredient: mit’in shiro, a staple powder made from roasted chickpeas, fava beans, peas, and other legumes, mixed with berbere. I ordered some from this place, but I didn’t want to wait, so I modified a recipe I’d found and just used chickpea flour. It turned out so well that I wanted to share it with anybody else who’d find it interesting.
Easy Mit’in Shiro
Believe me, this is easier than how you really make it.
Mix together the following:
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground tumeric
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 3/4 tsp dried basil or cilantro
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 3/4 tsp ground fenugreek seed (important)
- 2 1/2 tsp ginger
- 2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp ground red pepper
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 6 tbsp onion flakes
- 1 cup garbanzo bean flour (check your local health food store)
Use that to make this:
Shiro Wat
- 1 1/2 cups mit’in shiro (the above should be enough)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
Directions:
- Fry the onion and garlic in the oil until brown
- Add the water and boil
- Sprinkle in the mit’in shiro a little at a time, stirring to prevent lumps, until desired consistency is achieved. I like a firmer consistency, but I’ve seen it served very liquid, more like a stew.
Serve with injera (try this recipe, but be easy on yourself - it’s tough to pull off). Also, gomen wat goes great with it!
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