~234 cal · 7g protein · 23g carbs · 12g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Smooth spiced chickpea stew bubbling on injera
🇪🇹 Addis Ababa
Shiro is Ethiopia’s great equalizer — chickpea or bean flour, berbere, and not much else, ready in twenty minutes and eaten by everyone from students to grandmothers. During Orthodox fasts it’s the center of the platter, poured over injera still bubbling.
Sign in to save recipes to your book and leave reviews.
Make it yours
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
•
1 cup shiro powder (ground roasted chickpea flour + spices) — or besan + 1 tbsp berbere
•
1 large red onion, very finely diced
•
4 cloves + 1 tbsp garlic + ginger, minced
•
1–2 tbsp berbere spice blend
•
1 tomato, finely chopped
•
3 tbsp neutral oil (or niter kibbeh for non-fasting)
•
for 4 injera or rice, to serve
Instructions
1
Dry-cook the onion in a dry pot over medium heat 6 minutes until softened, then add the oil.
2
Add garlic, ginger, berbere, and tomato; fry 3 minutes until fragrant and darkened.
3
Whisk 3 cups water in gradually, then rain in the shiro powder while whisking hard to prevent lumps.
4
Simmer 12 minutes, stirring, until it thickens to a smooth, pourable stew — add water if it stiffens.
5
Serve poured over injera, still gently bubbling, the way Addis does it.
Addis Ababa fasting-day tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Sign in to rate this recipe once you’ve cooked it.
No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Addis Ababa. The capital, where chickpea shiro is fasting-day comfort.
🗺️
Ethiopia. The only African nation never colonized — its cuisine is entirely its own.
🌍
Africa. Fifty-four countries of tagines, stews, and fire-kissed grills.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
More from Ethiopia
Misir Wot (Spiced Red Lentil Stew)
Red lentils melted into a deep, chili-red stew built on berbere spice and slow-caramelized onions.
Doro Wat
Ethiopia’s celebration dish: chicken slow-stewed in a mountain of caramelized onions and berbere, with whole eggs.
Ethiopian Coffee (Buna)
Freshly roasted beans ground and brewed dark in a clay jebena — the heart of the coffee ceremony.