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Home » Savory Dishes

How to Make Ethiopian Food at Home (Ingredients)

Published: Nov 5, 2019 · Modified: Dec 19, 2020 by Lizet

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Ethiopian food consists of a big pancake-like bread called injera topped with spicy stews, which frequently includes beef, lamb, vegetables and different types of legumes, such as lentils. 

What does a Bolivian know about making Ethiopian food at home?

Well, I married a guy who grew up in Kenya and his favorite food is, I bet you guessed already. Yes, Ethiopian food.

I have to say that thanks to my husband I've tried foods from different parts of the world that I would never have thought would become my favorites too.

Because of his love for Ethiopian food, he asked a friend who at that time lived in Ethiopia, to send him a few recipes.

It took us a while to get all the ingredients together to make our first batch of berbere, as we were living in Paraguay and had asked my father in law to send us some spices from the US.

Making berbere at home was an adventure! I started roasting the spices and it became too painful to continue (roasting chili peppers should be done outside!), I left the house with our guests and kids, and my husband continued with the task.

Everything I cooked in that pan for the next month came out spicy 😅

That was about 13 years ago, and every year for my husband's birthday I try to make a few dishes to share with our friends.

So, where do I get my recipes from?

A friend of mine gave me an Ethiopian cookbook called Exotic Ethiopian Cooking and it talks a little bit about the culture, spices, and how to eat Ethiopian food.

Of course, YouTube is my favorite source of recipes. I've been following How to Cook Great for many years. Some of the recipes don't have English subtitles, but because they are simple and you can see the ingredients, they are easy to follow.

Ingredients for Injera

Ethiopian injera is a fermented sourdough pancake-like bread.

You can make injera with different types of flour.

I'm sharing with you gluten-free injera made with teff and rice flour.

I got my rice flour at an Indian grocery store, it's so much cheaper than buying online or other regular stores.

To make injera, you'll need about 5 to 14 days. Depending on how sour you like your bread to be.

Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian Butter)

This spiced clarified butter is an important ingredient for many Ethiopian dishes.

Find the recipe here.

Clarified butter in jars

It has a few ingredients that are a little bit hard to find outside Ethiopia. For many years I've made it without Kosseret and Besobela. The results were still amazing and make the stews taste even better.

Berbere for Ethiopian Food

Berbere is a spice blend used to season many Ethiopian dishes.

If you live in a big city with a few Ethiopian restaurants, you might be able to find a store that sells berbere. Get it there! and if you are lucky, the restaurant might be willing to sell you some.

We've had people bring us berbere from Ethiopia, and every bag had a slightly different flavor.

If you are feeling courageous and want to make it at home, follow this video from Ethcooks. Although the whole video is not in English, the list of ingredients is.

So, get your ingredients ready, and let's make Ethiopian food at home!

How to make Ethiopian food at home
How to make Ethiopian food at home

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  1. Caitlyn Erhardt

    November 10, 2019 at 10:06 pm

    Love this! i have not tried making this type of food before, and now I can't wait to try!

    Reply
    • Lizet Flores de Bowen

      November 12, 2019 at 2:08 pm

      👏 👏 Let us know how you like it!

      Reply
  2. Kathryn

    November 10, 2019 at 1:22 pm

    I love how manageable you make all of this yummy food!

    Reply
    • Lizet Flores de Bowen

      November 10, 2019 at 7:50 pm

      Thanks for your words! I think people are scared of making something new. But, I think if you have it well explained, it makes it easier to try it.

      Reply
  3. Megan Ellam

    November 06, 2019 at 2:33 am

    I have not made any Ethiopian food before but you have just inspired me to try (and learn) more. Thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Lizet Flores de Bowen

      November 06, 2019 at 6:09 pm

      I hope you give it a try!

      Reply
  4. Anita

    November 06, 2019 at 2:26 am

    We tried several Ethiopian restaurants in D.C. and we loved everything. It's so great to know that I may be able to try making them at home. 🙂

    Reply
    • Lizet Flores de Bowen

      November 06, 2019 at 6:09 pm

      The flavors are amazing, I haven't tried anything I didn't like so far. I hope you try it at home too!

      Reply
  5. Sara Welch

    November 06, 2019 at 2:13 am

    Wow! What a beautiful looking meal and so packed with flavor! Adding this to my dinner line up for the week!

    Reply
    • Lizet Flores de Bowen

      November 06, 2019 at 6:10 pm

      👏 👏 😋

      Reply
  6. Taylor Kiser

    November 06, 2019 at 2:05 am

    Great info for making Ethiopian food! I can't wait to see the recipes you make!

    Reply
    • Lizet Flores de Bowen

      November 06, 2019 at 6:10 pm

      I hope you try some of them!

      Reply
  7. Beth

    November 06, 2019 at 1:03 am

    I really love trying new foods from different cultures! It opens a whole new food world up to me! Thanks for the tips!

    Reply
    • Lizet Flores de Bowen

      November 06, 2019 at 1:24 am

      I hope you get to try at least one of the Ethiopian dishes I'll be sharing soon. The flavors are amazing!

      Reply
  8. Ruth

    November 06, 2019 at 12:22 am

    You're amazing!

    Reply
    • Lizet Flores de Bowen

      November 06, 2019 at 1:20 am

      Thanks! ❤️ I wish you guys can be at our table again!

      Reply

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Lizet's photo, creator of Chipa by the Dozen.

Hello! I am Lizet.

Welcome to my blog. This is a collection of the most beloved recipes between my family and friends. Some are my own creations and some are copycat from the many found on the internet, but with a twist using ingredients I can find in Paraguay. I hope you enjoy them!

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