Cuisine of Eritrea

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This meal is typical of Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine and represents a staple food.

Kitcha fit-fit is presented with a scoop of fresh yogurt and topped with berbere (spice).

The main traditional foods in Eritrean cuisine are tsebhis (stews) served with injera/taita (flatbread made from teff, wheat, or sorghum), and hilbet (paste made from legumes, mainly lentil, faba beans. Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine (especially in the northern half) are very similar, given the shared history of the two countries.

Eritrean food habits vary regionally. In the highlands, injera is the staple diet and eaten daily among the Tigrinya. Injera is made out of teff, wheat or sorghum, and resembles a spongy, slightly sour pancake. When eating, people generally share food from a large tray placed in the centre of a low dining table. Numerous injera are layered on this tray and topped with various spicy stews. People break into the section of injera in front of them, tearing off pieces and dipping them into the stews.

The stews that accompany injera are usually made from beef, chicken, mutton or vegetables. Most Eritreans, with the exception of the Saho, like their food hot and spicy. Berbere, a kind of dried chili pepper, accompanies almost all dishes. Stews include zigni, which is made of beef; dorho which is made of chicken; alicha which is made without berbere; and shiro, a puree of various legumes.

In the lowlands, the main dish is akelet, a porridge-like dish made from wheat flour dough. A ladle is used to scoop out the top, which is filled with berbere and butter sauce and surrounded by milk or yogurt. A small piece of dough is broken and then used to scoop up the sauce.