Zigni berbere (spicy chicken stew)
- Published: 14 Oct 16
- Updated: 4 Mar 25
A classic Eritrean dish, zigni berbere is a spicy stew, with ‘berbere’ being a popular spice blend that goes into it. Negat Hussein’s version is best eaten with injera, a spongy-textured flatbread.
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Serves 4-6
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Hands-on time 25 min, simmering time 1 hour 30 min
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Ingredients
- 50ml vegetable oil
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1kg British free-range skinless and boneless chicken thighs, cut into cubes
- 2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
- 2 beef stock cubes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 125ml dry red wine (optional)
- Bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
- Lemon wedges to serve
- Eritrean injera flatbreads (or regular flatbreads) or rice and a green salad to serve
For the berbere pepper blend
- 1 tsp each ground ginger, fenugreek and black pepper
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- ½ tbsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp mild paprika
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Method
- In a large pan, heat a glug of oil. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes until starting to colour, then add the garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes more or until the onions are golden.
- Mix the berbere ingredients in a small bowl and set aside (or see tip). Add the chicken to the onions and fry, turning, until starting to colour. Add the remaining ingredients, including the berbere blend, and simmer gently until the meat is tender (1-1½ hours). Taste, season and serve with the accompaniments.
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- Recipe from September 2016 Issue
Nutrition
For 6
Nutrition: per serving
- Calories
- 332kcals
- Fat
- 12.3g (2.4g saturated)
- Protein
- 38.3g
- Carbohydrates
- 11.2g (9.5g sugars)
- Fibre
- 4.1g
- Salt
- 3.1g
delicious. tips
As a cheat, you can buy Bart berbere blend from Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.
Cover and chill for up to 48 hours or freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost, then heat.
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