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    You are here: Home / Entrees / Ethiopian Berbere Spiced Chickpeas Over Polenta

    LAST UPDATED: January 16, 2022 • FIRST PUBLISHED: September 19, 2014

    Ethiopian Berbere Spiced Chickpeas Over Polenta

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This easy Ethiopian-inspired vegan meal is loaded with flavor and easy to make!

    Plate Containing Greens and Ethiopian Chickpeas Over Polenta with Water Glass in the Background

    Despite loving Ethiopian food dearly, it's something I rarely get to enjoy. I discovered it inadvertently and have been a fan ever since. When I lived in the city I went out one evening to see friend of a friend's ex-girlfriend sing and play her acoustic guitar at what I was told would be a hole-in-the wall in west Philly. The place actually turned out to be dinery looking Ethiopian restaurant with a cramped little music venue upstairs. Of course I had to venture downstairs to take a peek at the menu, having no clue what Ethiopian food was like, and of course when I discovered an abundant vegetarian section on said menu, I had to try something.

    The experience of eating Ethiopian food is almost as much fun as the food itself is delicious. You generally get a big piece of injera, a sour, spongy, pancake-like bread, served alongside a stewy main course that you dip the bread in. I remember during that first dining experience my friends poking and commenting perplexedly on my bread and stew. They weren't into it and would have probably preferred the show take place atop a Burger King. I didn't care. I was in love.

    berbere chickpeas and polenta top portrait

    I have no idea where the closest Ethiopian restaurant to my home is these days, so at some point I started experimenting with Ethiopian food in my own kitchen. I've only been partly successful. Injera would be the unsuccessful part of my experiments. It's a little complicated. For one thing, it takes a few days of fermentation - that would be where the sour comes from. For another, it involves teff flour, which is a new grain for me to work with. All of my injera experiments resulted in an un-fluffy, unsour mess of dough.

    So, maybe injera is a bit tricky. I'll certainly give it a few more tries, but in the meantime I can still enjoy Ethiopian cuisine. I started serving Ethiopian-inspired stews atop rice, which worked out pretty well. This time around, I decided to try a polenta base, which worked out amazing. The mixture of textures was so much more perfect than anything I'd ever imagined.

    Now, about the flavor. Berbere is a spice blend you'll find in lots of Ethiopian dishes. It's a mixture of hot and savory spices including everything from cinnamon to paprika to cumin and chili powder. If you're a fan of Indian and Middle Eastern, you'll probably be on board with Ethiopian flavor. I like to make my own spice blends when I can, but this time around I just bought some. The recipe includes a link to where you can buy it on Amazon. If you want to try making your own, go right ahead - you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry. Here's a recipe you can try.

    berbere chickpeas and polenta side detail
    Plate Containing Greens and Ethiopian Chickpeas Over Polenta with Water Glass in the Background
    5 from 2 votes
    Print

    Ethiopian Berbere Spiced Chickpeas and Polenta

    This easy Ethiopian-inspired vegan meal is loaded with flavor and easy to make!

    Course Entree
    Cuisine American, Ethiopian
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Total Time 25 minutes
    Servings 4
    Author Alissa

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ tbsp. olive oil divided
    • 1 roll 18 oz. precooked polenta, cut into 1 inch slabs
    • ½ red onion diced
    • 3 garlic cloves minced
    • 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
    • 1 cup vegetable broth
    • 1-14 oz. can or 1 ¾ cups cooked chickpeas rinsed and drained
    • ¼ cup tomato paste
    • 2 tsp. sugar
    • 2 tsp. berbere seasoning
    • ¼ tsp. salt
    • 1 large green bell pepper diced
    • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

    Instructions

    Prepare the Polenta

    1. Coat a large skillet with ½ tablespoon of olive oil and place over medium-high heat.
    2. Arrange polenta slabs in a single layer and cook about 5 minutes, until bottoms become crispy and begin to brown.
    3. Gently flip and repeat on other side. Do this in batches if you don't have enough room.
    4. Transfer polenta slabs to a plate and set aside.

    Prepare the Chickpeas

    1. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
    2. Add garlic and ginger. Saute another minute.
    3. Add broth, chickpeas, tomato paste, sugar, berbere seasoning, and salt. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
    4. Add bell pepper and simmer another 5 minutes, until pepper is softened and sauce is thick. Add a bit of water if sauce becomes too thick during cooking.

    Serve

    1. Arrange polenta slabs on plates and top with chickpeas. Sprinkle with cilantro.
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    About Alissa Saenz

    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.

    I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nicole @ Vegan Nom Noms says

      September 19, 2014 at 8:44 pm

      Wow, this looks amazing! Just ate some Ethiopian food today, love the polenta idea!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 19, 2014 at 9:50 pm

        Mmmmmm...I love Ethiopian food! The polenta was an awesome base. I'm still jealous though. ;)

        Reply
    2. Rosie says

      September 20, 2014 at 6:04 am

      I've never had Ethiopian food before (we don't have any Ethiopian restaurants here unfortunately) but your food looks amazing! Reading all those lovely spices is making my mouth water.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 21, 2014 at 10:13 pm

        Thank you! Ethiopian food really is delicious - definitely give is a shot if you ever have a chance! :)

        Reply
    3. Jennifer says

      September 22, 2014 at 9:59 am

      Man I had Ethiopian food once, and since I haven't found a friend to agree to go with me. *sigh* BUT I have made a few dishes from Vegan Eats World Cookbook. She has a recipe for injera that is a little bit of a cheaters recipes. It uses a mix of flour and teff, which might fill your needs until your perfect the fermentation recipe.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 22, 2014 at 10:06 pm

        I've so been there! Now that I live with someone who would totally eat Ethiopian food, there isn't a restaurant to be found. A cheater's injera recipe sounds perfect for me - I will definitely check that out. Thank you!

        Reply
        • David says

          September 05, 2015 at 8:28 pm

          A friend (who isn't gluten free but tries to minimize gluten) and I went to an Ethiopian restaurant recently and he asked the waitress about injera. She said that it is common for Ethiopian restaurants to use a mix of teff and wheat in their injera, especially for their non-Ethiopian customers, who find the pure teff version too fermented for their liking. That surprised me!

          Reply
          • Alissa Saenz says

            September 06, 2015 at 10:23 pm

            Huh, this is news to me! I may just have to seek out some recipes using a mix of teff and wheat flour to see if that works out better for me. Thanks for the info!

            Reply
          • Jen says

            May 30, 2019 at 11:31 pm

            I can second this- my local Ethiopian restaurant only serves the gluten free (pure teff) version by special request. I find the sourness of the fermented teff to be truly sublime

            Reply
    4. Cassie says

      May 11, 2016 at 8:51 pm

      My boyfriend and I just made this and it's our new favorite dish! Not only is this delicious but it's super fast (and easy) to make! I have a feeling this is about to become our new go-to meal. We bought some fresh sourdough bread (I'm not a fan of polenta) and it was great. I sent this recipe to a couple of my friends because I know they would like it, too. Thanks for my new favorite homemade meal!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        May 16, 2016 at 11:02 pm

        I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And sourdough sounds like an awesome addition. I still haven't managed to successfully make homemade injera, so I might try sourdough next time myself. :)

        Reply
    5. Jen says

      May 30, 2019 at 11:28 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you SO much for this delicious recipe! It has become a staple in my house; even my picky kids love it!!! Berbere spice has a flavor that is so warm and complex- we cannot get enough. I use a teaspoon or two more of the Berbere than the recipe calls for, and add some freshly ground black pepper. I wouldn’t have thought of serving it over polenta but WHOA it’s just incredible! I can’t say enough great things about this, thank you again!!!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        June 01, 2019 at 10:31 am

        That's awesome! I'm so glad you like it! I feel the same way about berbere spice. :) THanks Jen!

        Reply
    6. Sarah says

      June 05, 2019 at 7:58 pm

      5 stars
      I searched online to find a recipe that used chickpeas and polenta as I had both to use up and came across this recipe. I also love ethiopian food so was excited to try this out. I love it! what a great dish. I added more berbere spice as Jen suggested above. I also made my own polenta (super easy!), let it set in a pan and cut out rounds with a cookie cutter. Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        June 09, 2019 at 2:26 pm

        Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Sarah!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors!

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