Recipe of the Day: Ethiopian Lamb Tibs

This is a quick and easy dish to make and delicious.

Ethiopian lamb tibs is spicy, but the combination of flavours makes it possible to enjoy the dish nicely hot, or not.

Chef Fedaki Shiferow’s recipe from the Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa is delicious and a traditional favourite.

Ingredients

650g boneless, cubed lamb

Half a teaspoon of salt

A tablespoon of olive or canola oil

Two teaspoons of butter or clarified butter, the traditional Ethiopian way

Half an onion, sliced

One jalapeño pepper

Three tablespoons of crushed ginger

A tablespoon of crushed garlic

About one and a half teaspoons of fresh rosemary

Some fresh, diced tomato

A quarter cup of water

Berbere spice mix, to taste. For a local substitute, Woolworths has a 6-Spice mix, or you can use baharat spice mix.

Method

Season the lamb with half of the salt. Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the lamb and cook it evenly for about eight minutes, or until cooked to your liking, then transfer to a plate.

While the lamb rests, use the same pan to add the butter, then fry the onion, jalapeño, ginger, rosemary and garlic together with the berbere spice mix. Stir often and cook for around two to three minutes.

Add the remaining salt, then the tomato, and simmer the whole lot together until the tomato softens. This should take another three to four minutes. Do not forget to stir the mixture every now and then.

Once the mixture has cooked, stir in the water, give it a final stir or two and return the lamb to the pan. Toss everything together until the meat is nicely coated and heated through.

Serve straight away, preferably with traditional Ethiopian injera. Injera is a slightly sour, spongy flatbread made from fermented teff flour. If you do not have injera, a roti will do.