Shiro Success!!

I love Ethiopian food.  I love food from all over the world, green Thai curry, these insane noodles from China that only people from a certain province would make, Indian butter chicken,  I’m really not that picky when you are talking about international cuisine.  I make most of these in my house on a weekly basis (not the Chinese noodles, but I’d try if someone could find me a recipe!) I love most ethnic food.  But I don’t particularly love most Kenyan food.  There is nothing WRONG with it, it just on the bland side.   It rarely has spices or heat.   I eat it- no problem.  I cook it too.  Its just not my absolute favorite or anything.  I prefer the food to the north or east of Kenya.  From the Horn of Africa.  Or Ethiopia.  These guys know how to use spices!!  

I have an amazing Ethiopian restaurant down the street from me (actually I have 7 Ethi restaurants within walking distance but one is infinitely better than the rest!)   So I end up there quite a bit.  This place is a common meeting place for friends of mine, we bring all visitors there (in fact we have a team that comes to help us every year and their goal is to see how many times they can eat there in a trip- they tell me they dream of the food when they are gone.  I believe them- I dream of it too!)   Its like an Ethiopian version of Cheers!  The guys there usually know who I am and what I will order when I walk in the gate.  

I’ve tried to make Ethi food a few times.  Absolute failures.  It just wouldn’t work for me!!   A friend of mine marched back into the kitchen at the restaurant once to ask the cook how to make shiro (Shiro is one of our favorites- its made from chickpeas that are ground into flour and then the flour is cooked into this loose, not liquid but not solid, stew kinda thing that you eat with flat bread.  Its one of those foods that you truly have to eat to understand- there just aren’t words to accurately describe it).  So the cook in the restaurant gave her a recipe but it never worked for me.   I was hanging out with a friend yesterday who was telling me that there was a new Ethiopian shop near my house.  I was so excited. You can buy shiro flour (its not something you can easily find here in Nairobi- there are areas of town where it is sold but I could never track it down).   So I made a trip there today.  I have a new favorite place!!  The shop was full of shiro, lentils (not my fave) and any dry Ethi food you could want.  The mama who works there said she also sells injera (a sour Ethiopian flat-bread that you use as your plate and utensils) but she was out for the day.  I told her about my failed shiro-making attempts and she told me her way of making shiro.  

I went home and made it for dinner.  Oh. My. Goodness.  Seriously, this lady is going to be my new best friend.  Her recipe, well not so much “recipe” because there were no measurements,  so her method for shiro making was awesome!! It turned out just like the shiro at the restaurant!!   And WAY cheaper.  The restaurant is pretty cheap as far as restaurants go- but I got 1kg of shiro flour for about the price of 1 family size portion of shiro at the restaurant.  I can make shiro for my whole building with 1kg of flour!  

I guess I’m going to have to add shiro and greens to my weekly rotation of ethnic food!! Yummy!!!   Next Ethiopian food to conquer: Ethi Cabbage.  I don’t know what I’m missing, it shouldn’t be so complicated, but mine never tastes like the amazingness that comes from the restaurant!