Eritrea | Stew

Zigini with Injera

Name: Zigini with Injera
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Eritrea, East Africa
Ingredients: 600 g beef chuck or shin, cut into small cubes; 3 tbsp olive oil or neutral oil; 2 large red onions, finely diced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 inch ginger, grated; 2 tbsp berbere spice; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 3 medium tomatoes, chopped; 2 cups beef stock or water; 1 tbsp tesmi or niter kibbeh; salt and black pepper, to taste

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

Level

medium

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01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 4

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 4 servings

Stew

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

Wooden spoon

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

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

Back to Eritrea

5 steps 25 min prep 75 min cook (check method) 100 min total medium

Brown the beef

Season beef with salt and pepper. Brown it in hot oil, then remove from the pot.

Brown beef 10:00

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

Build the sauce

Add tomato paste, tomatoes, and stock or water. Stir until the sauce is smooth.

Start sauce 05:00

Braise

Return beef to the pot, cover, and simmer gently until tender and the sauce is thick.

Braise beef 60:00

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.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for everyday meals. Plan on a medium cook. Allow 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

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

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

Best route from here

Eritrea national table

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