Zigni

André Grisell's Note:

A traditional Ethiopian/Eritrean dish. Extremely hot, so don't try it if you're not used to such food. If you're a chilli or curry freak, though, you'll love it!

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 lbs stewing beef, in cubes
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cans tomatoes, with liquid
• salt, pepper
• fresh coriander (cilantro) (optional)

Berbere pepper

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 5 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. For the berbere, combine the spices and roast in a dry skillet on low to moderate heat, stirring constantly, for about 5-10 minutes, or until roasted.
2. Keep in a tight jar.
3. For the stew, fry the meat on high heat until brown, then add the onion, and eventually the garlic and 3 tbsp Berbere, which are NOT to become burnt.
4. Add the tomatoes with their liquid and boil slowly until the meat is tender and the stew has thickened (30-60 minutes).
5. Garnish with coriander and serve hot on Injera (Ethiopian flat bread).

Reviews

[Bugeah]

Wow! My husband and I both love hot food, but this was so hot that I could only eat a few bites...haha! My husband loved it, but even he had to add some yogurt to it to cool it down. We made it exactly as directed, except I didn't have any fenugreek. The flavors were good and I will probably make again but with a little less cayenne (probably 3-4 tbsp next time). I served mine over cooked millet and the husband ate it on a pita bread (we didn't have any injera around).

[VeganDave]

I made a quick version of this. Canned tomatoes with chiles, garlic and ginger paste, and berbere I bought from a fantastic little Ethiopian restaurant. Very tasty over basmati.

[Ymn's girl]

YUM! My mom always made this dish at home (Yemen) and so was overjoyed to find the ingredients for the berbere pepper. We always had this dish with chicken and with some boiled eggs thrown in and so I made this with one whole chicken and 3 boiled eggs added in at the end. Lovely!