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Dabo firfir
Bread in berbere sauce
ዳቦ ፍርፍር (dabo firfir): torn bread tossed in berbere-tomato sauce with spiced butter
Injera firfir is the famous one, but Addis Ababa cafés and Bole apartment kitchens make dabo firfir when there is yesterday's bread to use up: torn chunks of soft white dabo stirred into a quick sauce of red onion, tomato and berbere enriched with niter kibbeh, the spiced clarified butter. It is a hot, spicy, buttery breakfast, eaten with a spoon and a glass of sweet spiced tea, and children love the softer, less spicy version. On fasting days swap the butter for oil to make it vegan. Contains wheat and dairy. The mistake is drowning the bread so it turns to paste; toss it through the sauce off the heat so the edges stay a little chewy. Chef's tip: toast the torn bread in a dry pan for three minutes first; it drinks up the sauce without falling apart.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 3
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz day-old white bread or dabotorn into 3 cm pieces
- 3 tbsp niter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter)or vegetable oil on fasting days
- 1 red onionfinely chopped
- 2 cloves garlicminced
- 1 ½ tbsp berbereless for children
- 2 tomatoesfinely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 green chilli (optional)sliced
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Toast 10 ½ oz day-old white bread or dabo in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for about 3 minutes, tossing, until the edges are just crisp. Tip into a bowl.
3 minStep 2: In the same pan, cook 1 red onion in 1 tbsp of 1 tbsp niter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter) over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.
5 minStep 3: Add the rest of 2 tbsp niter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter), 2 cloves garlic and 1 ½ tbsp berbere and stir for 1–2 minutes until the butter turns red.
2 minStep 5: Take the pan off the heat, add the toasted bread and toss gently until evenly coated but not soggy.
1 minStep 6: Serve at once, topped with 1 green chilli.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does dabo firfir take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 3 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of red onion?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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