Shiro Wat, also known as Shuro or Shiro Wot, is a staple in any Ethiopian vegetarian platter. It’s a rich and creamy chickpea stew simmered slowly and served over traditional sour flatbread, injera, and a host of other vegetarian dishes. Each bite brings me back to the first time I tried it in Addis Ababa, making it a beloved favorite in my kitchen!
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Ethiopia is heaven for vegetarians (and meat eaters alike!) but this dish is a great way to get started making Ethiopian or Eritrean food at home. You won’t regret it, I promise!
📋 Ingredients and notes
This dish has two components: the Shiro powder and the rest of the spices and aromatics.
To make Shiro powder, you’ll need – chickpea flour, berbere spice blend, garlic powder, ground cardamom, and cumin powder. For the aromatics, you’ll need olive oil, onions, tomato paste, minced garlic and salt. Easy, peasy!
Variations & Substitutions
- Shiro powder. If you live near an Ethiopian or Eritrean neighborhood, you can actually just buy shiro powder off the shelf. This is a great alternative to making at home if you want to make it even easier!
- Ethiopian basil. Shiro powder can be quite complex at times, depending on how much effort you want to put into it. The ingredients I’ve listed above form the basis, but I’ve also seen Ethiopian basil (a variant native to East Africa, also called holy basil) used.
- Berbere powder. One other variation that is commonly seen is folks who prefer to use a combination of paprika, red chili powder, and coriander powder. So if you don’t have berbere, you can use this combination!
📖 How to make shiro wat
Making Shiro Powder
Step 1:
On a large saucepan, dry roast ¾ cup of chickpea flour along with a tablespoon of berbere spice, and 1 teaspoon each of ground cardamom, white cumin powder, and garlic powder. Set aside. You can add the salt now or wait until later. Note: If you have an Ethiopian grocery store nearby, you can also buy shiro powder!
Making Shiro Wat
Step 2:
In a medium-sized pot or Dutch oven, heat ⅓ cup of olive oil on low to medium heat. Add 1 diced onion over low to medium heat for a few minutes. This is just to get the aromatics fragrant, so 1-2 minutes is sufficient, don’t let it brown!
Step 3:
Next, add a teaspoon of minced garlic along with the tomato paste and sauté for 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant.
Step 4:
Now, add the shiro powder, along with salt and 3 cups of water, and bring to a boil on medium heat. Then, turn down the heat to a low to medium, and let it simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken to your desired consistency. Stir at 5 minute increments to ensure it doesn’t stick.
Step 5:
Serve hot with rice or injera!
Shruthi’s Top Tip
You’ll know the shiro wot is done when the olive oil floats to the top. So make sure to cook until that point.
- Gradually add the Shiro powder mixture while stirring to avoid lumps. This helps achieve a smooth consistency.
- If the stew thickens too much, slowly add water until you reach the desired consistency.
👩🏽🍳 Troubleshooting FAQs
Yes! There are two important variations worth noting here: Tegabino Shiro is made with legumes, chickpeas, field peas, and/or fava beans and consumed with dark injera. Shiro is vegan as written, but you can add nitter kibbeh (spiced, clarified butter). If you cook it with injera, it’s called shiro fitfit.
Berbere typically contains garlic, red pepper, cardamom, coriander, and a few other warm spices. For every tablespoon of berbere, I suggest using a teaspoon each of paprika, red chili powder, and coriander powder as a substitute.
Shiro has warm spices but I wouldn’t consider it “hot” spicy. You can also easily adjust the spiciness of the dish to your desire by adding fewer spices as you cook!
🍴 How to serve Shiro wat
Serve leftovers with rice or injera. Garnish it with fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley for a vibrant color. You can also serve it with a side of vegetables like gomen wat or atakilt wat.
🍴Storage and reheating suggestions
Shiro can be stored in the fridge for four to five days, but it’s best eaten fresh. If you plan to make ahead and reheat, I suggest using a stovetop method versus the microwave. This helps preserve flavor better!
🍴 More delicious African recipes
If you liked this, check out these veggie-forward African recipes:
Ethiopian Cabbage
Gomen Wat (Spicy Ethiopian Greens)
Misir Wot – Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ethiopian Shiro Wat
Ingredients
Shiro Powder
- ¾ cup chickpea flour
- 1 tablespoon berbere powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, optional
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste!
Shiro Wat
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 onion, large, diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
Instructions
Making Shiro Powder
- On a large skillet, dry roast ¾ cup of chickpea flour along with a tablespoon of berbere spice, and 1 teaspoon each of ground cardamom, white cumin powder, and garlic powder. Set aside. You can add the salt now or wait until later. Note: If you have an Ethiopian grocery store nearby, you can also buy shiro powder!
Making Shiro Wat
- In a medium sized pot or Dutch oven, heat ⅓ cup of olive oil on low to medium heat. Add 1 diced onion over low to medium heat for a few minutes. This is just to get the aromatics fragrant so 1-2 minutes is sufficient, don't let it brown!
- Next, add a teaspoon of minced garlic along with the tomato paste and sauté for 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant.
- Now, add the shiro powder, along with salt and 3 cups of water, and bring to a boil on medium heat. Then, turn down the heat to a low to medium, and let it simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken to your desired consistency. Stir at 5 minute increments to ensure it doesn't stick. The oil will float to the top when the shiro is done cooking! Taste and adjust salt and serve hot with rice or injera!
Notes
- Ingredient variations: You can buy shiro powder from most Ethiopian or Eritrean grocery stores. If you want to add more complex flavors, you can use Ethiopian basil. Finally, if you don’t have berbere, you can substitute with a teaspoon each of paprika, red chili powder, and coriander powder.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you wanted to make this a little bit heartier, could you mix about a 1-2 cups of cooked chickpeas into this about 5 min before serving?
Yes, absolutely! Black beans also work to give a slightly different texture and flavor profile.
Wow! Great recipe just made and I love it. Thanks for the help
ugh, SOOOOO good. I can’t seem to make enough of this!
Thank you so much – so glad you like it!
How much shiro powder should we use if we buy the powder from a store?
About half a cup!
This was my first time trying shiro wat and it didn’t disappoint. So much flavor and such an easy recipe to put together!
This looks great! Definitely gonna try soon. How long do you roast the chickpea flour for? What heat?
Hi, you can roast on medium heat for about 10 minutes (basically until the chickpea flour has lost it’s “raw” nature)
This is soooo good. I replaced the olive oil with 2T niter kibeh and WOW. This is going into my regular rotation. Thanks!!
I am so glad to hear this, Michele – thank you!
Fantastic recipe. I thru in a little gee and cut back on the oil. Also put over cauliflower hash browns. Do you ever add any other veggies … just to make it a one pot meal?
That sounds great! I usually serve this alongside vegetables (but usually don’t add them in) – but a one pot meal sounds like a great idea!
Hi! This looks so delicious; thank you for supplying a recipe for the spice mix as well! I tried searching on your website but didn’t see an injera recipe- do you have any recommendations? Is there a quick mix or premade injera that is available for sale? My husband and I love Ethiopian food but the process of making injera seems labor intensive; it’s like naan, I’d rather just buy it and have it ready made on hand if possible!
Thank you! I’m working on the last tests for my injera recipe, but it should be up in the next month or so! I think the best bet in the meantime is to pick up pre-made injera from your local East African store or Ethiopian restaurant (the pre-made mixes don’t tend to work super well unfortunately!)
Phenomenal recipe. I’ve used this recipe to make shiro for friends for a potluck and they loved it. Can’t wait to make it again. Assuming I have shiro powder I’d just add 3/4 cup of it or shluldit be closer to 1 cup since the recipeto make shiro has 3/4 cup of chickpea flour and added spices?
Thank you, that means a lot! I would just use 3/4 cup of Shiro powder + maybe a tablespoon on top (the spices don’t add that much bulk!)
For the berbere substitute, in one place it says coriander and the other onion, which is correct? Also, is it 1/3 cup olive oil or 1/2 cup?
Hi Rylie – I suggest using a teaspoon each of paprika, red chili powder, and coriander powder as a substitute. Occasionally, folks use onion powder or garlic powder since it’s more easily available but using coriander powder provides the closest approximation! It’s 1/3 cup of olive oil, sorry about the typo! Hope you love the recipe.
Hi, if we buy ready-made shiro powder, do you still recommend dry-roasting it first?
No, you don’t need to toast premade shiro powder!
Do you use green cardamom (which is what is normally available in American stores) or black cardamom? I didn’t notice the ‘white’ cumin so used the kind normally found in American stores, but did use my black cardamom, and the flavor was quite different than what I’m used to for shiro.
Hi! Typically green cardamom is the one that’s ground! I pick up up ground cardamom from the store (don’t grind it myself since it can be quite tedious!) Black cardamom would impart a very different flavor. Hopefully you’ll try it again with ground green cardamom. Thanks!
Where do you get your white cumin?
I usually get it at the local Indian grocery store!
Can we use besan instead of chikpea flour?
Yes, you can! It tastes slightly different and the consistency is a bit thicker but it can definitely be used in place of traditional chickpea flour.
I absolutely Love Ethiopian cuisine! I’m African American work, but worked as a waitress in an Ethiopian restaurant many years ago. Interestingly the native customers always assumed I was Ethiopian as well. I didn’t really didn’t get to know how to cook the foods, so I truly appreciate your recipe for one if my favorite, shiro wat, especially now that I no longer live near an Ethiopian restaurant. I actually did get my hands on some pre-made shiro powder, but unknowingly added all of the ingredients that you list to add to chickpea flour. It turned super spicy and delicious! My adult children are still talking about it over a week later, lol. I also didn’t have tomato paste, so used what I had on hand, diced canned tomatoes. I’ll be making a new batch this weekend. I also didn’t have injera, or a way to make it; i used frozen Indian parathyroid bread from Trader Joe’s as a replacement. Though not the same as injera, it too was delicious in a pinch. Yum!
Thank you!
That is so great to hear, Makeba – thank you so much for such a wonderful review, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I used a mix I found here in Kenya. Smooth and a little spicy. Really nice to be able to make it at home!
Oh, amazing! The off the shelf shiro powder in East Africa is usually incredible 🙂 Glad you were able to make this at home!
I’m confused about how much chickpea flour is needed. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup, but then the instructions tell you to use 1/2 cup. Did I miss something?
Hi Linda! Sorry, there was a caching issue – it should be 3/4th a cup of chickpea flour!
Appreciate the recipe for shiro powder! My bro-in-law gave me some, but I wasn’t sure what was in it or how to use it. Love Ethiopian food!!
Awesome! Hope you love it 🙂
Excellent! Easy and delicious.
Thank you – so glad you liked it!
This is my second time making this delicious meal! I did substitute vegetable broth instead of the water.