Shiro ( gez, ሽሮ, šəro), also called shiro wat ( am, ሽሮ ወጥ, šəro wäṭ), or tsebhi shiro ( ti, ጸብሒ ሽሮ, ṣäbhi šəro), is a

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables a ...

served for either lunch or dinner, originating from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...

. An essential part of Eritrean and

Ethiopian cuisine Ethiopian cuisine ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ምግብ "Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā məgəb") characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes. This is usually in the form of '' wat,'' a thick stew, served on top of '' injera'' ...

, its primary ingredient is powdered

chickpeas The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are ...

broad bean ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieti ...

meal and often prepared with the addition of minced

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

and, depending upon regional variation, ground

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

or chopped tomatoes and chili-peppers. Shiro is served atop

injera Injera (, ; om, Biddeena; ) is a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, traditionally made of teff flour. In Ethiopia, Eritrea, and some parts of Sudan, injera is the staple. Injera is central to the dining p ...

(leavened flatbread) or kitcha (unleavened flatbread). Tegabino shiro is a type of shiro made from heavily spiced legume, chickpea, field pea, or fava bean, oil (or butter), and water. It is brought bubbling to the table in a miniature clay pot or shallow aluminum pan. It is often consumed with dark or ''sergegna'' injera. Shiro can be cooked and added to shredded injera or taita and eaten with a spoon; this version is called ''shiro fit-fit''. Shiro is a

vegan food Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

, but there are non-vegan variations that use ''

niter kibbeh ''Niter kibbeh'', or ''niter qibe'' ( am, ንጥር ቅቤ '), also called (in Tigrinya), is a seasoned, clarified butter used in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. Its preparation is similar to that of ghee, but ''niter kibbeh'' is simmered ...

'' (a spiced, clarified butter) or meat (in which case it is called ''bozena shiro''). Shiro is a favorite dish during special occasions, including Tsom (

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

and other fasting seasons.

References

Ethiopian Millennium
(electronic version, retrieved 19 June 2007) Ethiopian cuisine Legume dishes Stews Chickpea dishes Eritrean cuisine {{Ethiopia-cuisine-stub

See also

References