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.
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.
Ethiopian Berbere Spiced Chickpeas and Polenta
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil divided
- 1 roll 18 oz. precooked polenta, cut into 1 inch slabs
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1-14 oz. can or 1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. berbere seasoning
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 large green bell pepper diced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
Prepare the Polenta
- Coat a large skillet with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and place over medium-high heat.
- Arrange polenta slabs in a single layer and cook about 5 minutes, until bottoms become crispy and begin to brown.
- Gently flip and repeat on other side. Do this in batches if you don't have enough room.
- Transfer polenta slabs to a plate and set aside.
Prepare the Chickpeas
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and ginger. Saute another minute.
- Add broth, chickpeas, tomato paste, sugar, berbere seasoning, and salt. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- 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
- Arrange polenta slabs on plates and top with chickpeas. Sprinkle with cilantro.
Wow, this looks amazing! Just ate some Ethiopian food today, love the polenta idea!
Mmmmmm…I love Ethiopian food! The polenta was an awesome base. I’m still jealous though. ;)
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.
Thank you! Ethiopian food really is delicious – definitely give is a shot if you ever have a chance! :)
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.
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!
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!
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!
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
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!
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. :)
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!!!
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you like it! I feel the same way about berbere spice. :) THanks Jen!
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!
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Sarah!