Fit-fit

The sauce is made first and the torn bread is folded into it, never the other way round.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (butter), dairy (niter kibbeh), dairy (yoghurt).

Ingredients

• 4 injera, or 4 kitcha, as on its own page, a day old
• 5 tablespoons niter kibbeh, as on its own page
• 2 teaspoons berbere
• 1 small onion, sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 150 ml water
• 100 g plain yoghurt, to serve

Method

1. THE SAUCE IS MADE FIRST AND THE TORN BREAD IS FOLDED INTO IT, NEVER THE OTHER WAY ROUND. Its article sets the order out: fit-fit IS SERVED BY PREPARING A SAUCE FROM THE BUTTER AND SPICES, AND BLENDING IT WITH THE SHREDDED FLATBREAD. Pour spiced butter over dry bread and the top layer soaks and the rest stays dry; fold bread into a finished sauce and every piece takes the same amount.
2. AND THE BREAD DECIDES WHICH DISH IT IS. The article names two varieties by that alone: THE SOURDOUGH INJERA and THE UNLEAVENED KITCHA. Injera brings its own sourness and needs less; kitcha brings none and takes more butter.
3. A DAY-OLD BREAD IS WANTED, NOT A FRESH ONE. Fresh injera collapses to paste. A day old it tears into strips that keep their edges.
4. TEAR IT BY HAND INTO STRIPS A FINGER WIDE. Cutting gives clean rectangles that pack together; torn edges catch the sauce.
5. SOFTEN THE ONION AND GARLIC IN THE NITER KIBBEH OVER A LOW HEAT. Five minutes, until translucent and not coloured.
6. THE BERBERE GOES IN OFF THE HEAT, THEN THE WATER. Ground chilli in hot fat scorches in seconds. Take the pan off, stir it in, then the water back on the heat to a simmer.
7. IT SHOULD BE LOOSER THAN YOU THINK BEFORE THE BREAD GOES IN. The bread drinks for a full minute after it looks done. A sauce that looks right at this stage will be dry on the plate.
8. FOLD THE BREAD THROUGH OFF THE HEAT AND SERVE IT WARM, WITH THE YOGHURT. Two or three turns with a spoon, no stirring; stirred, it goes to porridge. It is a breakfast dish, which is the article's own note.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Ethiopia · All recipes