Shiro-Style Chickpea Stew

Ingredients

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained (blended smooth with 1½ cups water — the shiro-flour shortcut)
• 1 red onion, very finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp berbere
• 3 tbsp oil or niter kibbeh
• 1 tomato, grated
• Injera or flatbread, and a whole jalapeño for the traditional garnish

Method

1. Dry-cook the onion in the pot 4 minutes (the Ethiopian opener), then add the oil, garlic, and berbere for 2 fragrant minutes.
2. Add the grated tomato and cook 3 minutes into a red base.
3. Pour in the blended chickpeas and simmer, stirring often, 15 minutes — it will spit like polenta; wield the lid as a shield.
4. It's done when it thickens to a silky, pourable porridge that coats the spoon and slowly settles flat.
5. Serve hot with injera and the jalapeño riding on top. Shiro is Ethiopia's daily anchor — fasting food, comfort food, and dinner-of-record all at once.