Eritrea

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Gored Gored

ጎረድ ጎረድ

Cubed raw beef served as-is, with mitmita, awaze and niter kibbeh on the side for dipping. The bolder, chunkier cousin of kitfo — celebrating Ethiopia's centuries-old butchery culture.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Hamli

Eritrean sauteed collard greens steamed until tender, then cooked with oil, garlic, and onions; sometimes garnished with parsley and cilantro; a common vegetarian side that complements heavier meat stews; similar to Ethiopian gomen.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Hilbet

Eritrean legume paste made from ground lentils and faba beans; cooked into a smooth, thick spread; seasoned with onions, garlic, and spices; a fasting-day staple when no meat or dairy is eaten; served with injera or kitcha.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Himbasha

ህምባሻ

A lightly sweetened Ethiopian celebration bread, often flavored with cardamom and raisins. Smaller and softer than dabo, it's sliced and served at weddings, holidays and coffee ceremonies.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Injera

እንጀራ

Ethiopia's iconic sourdough flatbread, made from a fermented batter of teff flour and water, cooked into a large spongy round covered in tiny 'eyes'. It serves as both plate and utensil for nearly every Ethiopian meal.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Key Sir

ቀይ ሥር

Literally 'red root' — Ethiopia's beautifully magenta beet-and-potato salad, lightly seasoned and bright with vinegar and lemon. A jewel-toned addition to any beyaynetu.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Kitfo

ክትፎ

Ethiopia's celebrated raw beef dish from the Gurage people: finely hand-minced lean beef seasoned with warm niter kibbeh, mitmita and cardamom. Order it tere (raw), lebleb (lightly warmed) or yebesele (fully cooked), paired with ayib and gomen.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Kulwa

Eritrean dish of lamb or beef chunks fried with berbere spices, ghee, tomatoes, and onions; drier than zigni, more like a stir-fried tibs; served with rice or injera to mop up the sauce; a TasteAtlas-listed dish.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Meat Stew

Siga Tsebhi

Eritrean beef or lamb stew; meat simmered in berbere, onions, and garlic; the general term for meat tsebhi; zigni is the most famous variety; served on injera; a daily staple across the highlands.

🇮🇹Veneto, Italy

Pandoro

Verona's star-shaped Christmas bread, buttery and tall, dusted with vanilla sugar. No candied fruit—just butter, eggs, and vanilla.

🇮🇹Milan, Italy

Panettone

Milan's tall dome-shaped Christmas bread of brioche-like dough studded with raisins and candied orange, slow-proofed for days. A national Christmas ritual.

🇪🇷Asmara, Eritrea

Pasta al Sugo e Berbere

Pasta col Berbere

Eritrean-Italian fusion of pasta in tomato sauce spiced with berbere; a unique interpretation of Italian pasta born from colonial influence; served in Asmara's trattorias; neither fully Italian nor fully Eritrean, but distinctly both.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Qulwa

Eritrean fried meat and onions; cubed beef or lamb sauteed with berbere, onions, and ghee; drier and more caramelized than a stew; similar to Ethiopian tibs; served hot on injera; a quick, flavorful main.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Roasted Barley Snack

ቆሎ

Ethiopia's ultimate crunchy snack — a colorful mix of roasted barley, chickpeas, peanuts and sunflower seeds, often seasoned with a touch of salt or berbere. Served at every coffee ceremony.

🇩🇯Djibouti

Sambusa

ሳምቡሳ

Crispy triangular fried pastries stuffed with spiced lentils, beans or beef. The Ethiopian-Eritrean cousin of the Indian samosa, beloved at fasting tables, breakfast spreads and Ramadan iftars.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Shahan Ful

ሻህን ፉል

Stewed fava beans served with chopped fresh vegetables and spices — a lighter, salad-like cousin of ful medames, popular as a fasting dish and street breakfast.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Shiro Wat

ሽሮ ወጥ

The spicy red version of shiro — chickpea or split-pea flour cooked into a deeply seasoned berbere-and-onion stew. Cheap, fast, vegan, and the dish many Ethiopians could eat every single day.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Silsi

Eritrean tomato-based stew cooked with oil, onions, garlic, and berbere; a fiery, tangy sauce that can feature meat or stand alone as a vegetarian dish; brighter and more tomato-forward than zigni; served with injera.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Spiced Butter

ንጥር ቅቤ

Ethiopia's sacred spiced clarified butter. Slow-simmered with besobela, koseret, korarima, garlic, ginger and warm spices, then strained until liquid gold. The single ingredient that makes Ethiopian food taste Ethiopian.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Spris

ስፕሪስ

Ethiopia's iconic layered fruit juice — vibrant stripes of avocado, mango, papaya, guava and pineapple stacked into a tall glass. Café showpiece, breakfast indulgence, and Instagram dream all in one.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Teff

ጤፍ

The tiny ancient grain that feeds Ethiopia. Ground into flour for injera, teff is naturally gluten-free and packed with protein, iron and fiber. The foundation of Ethiopian cuisine for thousands of years.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Tej

ጠጅ

Ethiopia's national drink: a golden honey wine fermented with gesho branches, served in round-bellied berele flasks. Simultaneously sweet, dry, fizzy and floral — and Ethiopia's contribution to the world of mead.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Tella

ጠላ

Ethiopia's traditional homemade beer — brewed with malted barley, sorghum and gesho over several days of fermentation. Smoky, tangy and refreshing, often served at weddings and holidays.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Tibs

ጥብስ

A whole family of pan-fried Ethiopian meat dishes — beef, lamb or fish sautéed in niter kibbeh with onions, jalapeños, garlic and warm spices. Quick, smoky and explosively savory; the dish you order for a special meal in a hurry.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Tihlo

ጥሕሎ

A Tigrayan specialty of barley dough balls served with meat stew and spiced with berbere. Small roasted barley balls are skewered on a stick and dipped into the spicy sauce — a beloved northern comfort food.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Timtim Fitfit

Timatim Firfir

Eritrean bread salad of torn injera mixed with diced tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and olive oil; a fresh, cold dish; similar to Ethiopian timatim fitfit; served as a light meal or side; refreshing in the highland heat.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Tsebhi Ades

Ades

Eritrean lentil stew cooked with onions, spices, and tomatoes; made with or without berbere depending on the household; a hearty, protein-rich fasting dish; served on injera alongside other tsebhi.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Tsebhi Shiro

Eritrean chickpea flour stew cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and berbere; a smooth, thick purée; a low-cost staple for many families; popular on fasting days; served with injera or kitcha; the Eritrean counterpart of Ethiopian shiro wat.

🇪🇷Asmara, Eritrea

Zigni

The signature Eritrean stew; beef cubes simmered in a deep red sauce of berbere, tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, and garlic; often finished with lemon juice and coriander; served atop injera with hard-boiled eggs; the most iconic dish of Eritrean cuisine.