Zigni
Eritrean beef stew built on slowly cooked onions and berbere spice paste, simmered until thick, dark red and rich.
Photograph credit: Zigni (image of zigni on Wikidata Q13144008) by LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
The onions are cooked without any oil to begin with, and that surprise is how zigni starts. Chopped onions go into a dry pan and are cooked slowly, stirring, until they lose their water and begin to catch. Only then is the oil added. This technique gives a deeper, sweeter base than frying, and it is common to both Eritrean and Ethiopian stews.
The berbere is the other main part. A good berbere, a blend of chillies, fenugreek, coriander, cardamom, cloves and other spices, is deep red and warm rather than just hot. Fry it with the onions and a spoonful of tomato paste for 10 minutes, until the oil separates. Add a splash of water whenever the pan looks dry. Berbere scorches and turns bitter.
Beef is added next, in 3 cm cubes, with garlic, ginger and some water. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, until tender. The sauce should be thick and almost black-red, glossy with oil.
Hard-boiled eggs are added for the last 5 minutes. Serve on injera, with more injera on the side for scooping. Zigni can be made with lamb or with chicken, and it tastes better the next day.
The Method for Zigni
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Cook the onions in a dry, heavy pan over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring, until they have lost their water and are starting to brown.
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Add the oil, berbere and tomato purée and cook for 10 minutes, adding a splash of water if it catches.
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Add the garlic, ginger, beef, water and salt. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes until tender and the sauce is thick.
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Add the eggs for the last 5 minutes. Serve with injera.
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Tips That Matter
- Stir often while the onions cook.
- Add water when needed to prevent burning.
- The stew improves overnight.
Swaps and Variations
- If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
What to Serve With It
Injera · Ayib (fresh cheese) · Gomen · Tej
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Injera.
Keeping and Reheating
Keeps in the fridge for 4 days and freezes for up to 3 months.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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