Kulwa

Name: Kulwa
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Eritrean
Ingredients: 600 g beef sirloin or rump; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 red onion; 2 green chillies; 2 garlic cloves; 1 rosemary sprig; 2 tbsp spiced clarified butter (tesmi) or ghee; 1 tsp berbere spice; 0.75 tsp salt

Pan-fried beef with berbere butter

Eritrean pan-fried beef with onion, rosemary and berbere butter

Features:

High protein Quick

Cuisine:

Eritrean

Kulwa (also called tibsi in parts of the Horn) is the fast, sizzling beef dish that Eritrean restaurants in Asmara and Massawa bring to the table in a hot clay dish: small strips of beef fried hard with onion, green chilli, a sprig of rosemary and a spoon of spiced butter, with a dusting of berbere. It is eaten with injera or bread as a weekend treat. The mistake is overcooking the beef until dry: it needs only a few minutes over high heat. Chef's tip: let the pan get really hot before adding the meat, and serve it still sizzling.

Total time: 25 min
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4

One step at a time, big text, timers, read-aloud. Your screen stays on.

Ingredients

Serves4

1 ⅓ lb beef sirloin or rumpin thin strips
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red onionsliced
2 green chilliessliced
2 garlic clovessliced
1 rosemary sprig
2 tbsp spiced clarified butter (tesmi) or ghee
1 tsp berbere spice
¾ tsp salt

Shop this recipe on Amazon

Spices & pantry

Fresh ingredients (4)

Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.

Method

0/5 done

Step 1: Pat 1 ⅓ lb beef sirloin or rump dry. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy frying pan over a high heat until smoking.
Step 2: Add the beef in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes without moving, then stir-fry for 1 minute. Lift out. Cook in 2 batches if your pan is small.
5 min
Step 3: Add 1 red onion, 2 green chillies, 2 garlic cloves and 1 rosemary sprig and stir-fry for 3 minutes until the onion softens at the edges.
3 min
Step 4: Return the beef with 2 tbsp spiced clarified butter (tesmi) or ghee, 1 tsp berbere spice and ¾ tsp salt and toss for 1–2 minutes until glossy and sizzling. The strips should be browned outside; the centre of a strip should reach 145°F; for young children or pregnant guests cook until no pink remains (160°F).
2 min
Step 5: Serve at once with injera or bread.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 360 kcal
Protein: 32 g
Carbs: 6 g
Fat: 23 g
Fibre: 1 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does kulwa take?: About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it gluten free?: Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
Is it very spicy?: It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
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 cloves?: ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.

Rate this recipe

Pork souvlaki

This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.

32 min

Greek Meat

by KrazyBadal 1 views

Pfälzer SaumagenStuffed pig's stomach

Saumagen is the pride of the Palatinate, served at wine-village festivals and family dinners from the Haardt hills to Ludwigshafen. A cleaned pig's stomach is stuffed with diced pork shoulder, pork sausage meat, potato and carrot seasoned with marjoram and nutmeg, poached slowly, then sliced thick and fried until crusty. The stomach works only as a casing and is ordered from a butcher; if you can't get one, bake the same filling in a covered terrine in a water bath. Serve with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Chef's tip: fill the stomach only three-quarters full, or it bursts as the potatoes swell.

225 min

German Meat

by KrazyBadal 1 views

Chha goshtLamb in buttermilk gravy

Up in the hill villages of Himachal Pradesh, where flocks are walked to summer pastures, lamb is often cooked in chhaachh, the thin buttermilk left after churning butter. Thickened with a spoonful of gram flour, it makes a pale, gently sour gravy that is milder and lighter than the red curries of the plains, and it is a favourite at dhams, the festive meals of the Kangra and Chamba valleys. Serve it with steamed rice or makki ki roti. Chef's tip: whisk the gram flour into the buttermilk until there are no lumps before it goes near the pot; once it hits the heat, any lumps stay lumps.

105 min