Eritrea | Stew

Zigini with Injera

A slow Eritrean beef stew with berbere, tomato, onions, garlic, ginger, and a thick red sauce for injera.

Country
Eritrea
Region
East Africa
Time
100 min
Serves
4
Level
medium
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Use this overview to check the occasion, serving ideas, regional context, and cooking commitment before you begin.

When to cook it

Best for everyday meals. Plan on a medium cook and about 100 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Injera, salad, lentils, or sauteed greens

Regional lane

Eritrea national table. A structured Eritrea dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs
  • Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
  • Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
  • Rushing the rest or fermentation period.
How you know it is ready
  • The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
  • The bread or batter should smell pleasantly fermented, toasted, or nutty rather than floury.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Recipe photos

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Zigini with Injera recipe from Eritrea
Zigini with Injera finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Zigini with Injera

Injera, salad, lentils, or sauteed greens

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Eritrea national table

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Servings 4

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How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Eritrea
5 steps 25 min prep 75 min cook 100 min total medium
1
Brown the beef
Season beef with salt and pepper. Brown it in hot oil, then remove from the pot.
Brown beef 10:00
2
Cook the onion base
Add onions to the same pot and cook until soft and beginning to brown. Stir in garlic, ginger, and berbere.
Cook onions 15:00
3
Build the sauce
Add tomato paste, tomatoes, and stock or water. Stir until the sauce is smooth.
Start sauce 05:00
4
Braise
Return beef to the pot, cover, and simmer gently until tender and the sauce is thick.
Braise beef 60:00
5
Finish
Taste for salt. Stir in tesmi or niter kibbeh only if using, then serve over injera.

Some cooks use tesmi or niter kibbeh, while many home versions use oil and keep the stew dairy-free.

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