Mitin Shiro፡ምጥን ሽሮ

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried chickpeas, or split broad beans for a darker shiro
• 1/2 cup berbere
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, sliced thin
• 1 small red onion, sliced thin
• 1 tsp korerima (Ethiopian cardamom), seeds only
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp tikur azmud (nigella seeds)
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 2 tsp salt

Method

1. 1

   Spread the garlic, ginger and onion out and dry them completely — a full day in the sun, or a few hours in a very low oven. Any moisture left will spoil the flour

2. 2

   Roast the chickpeas in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they are golden and smell like toasted nuts, about 15 minutes

3. 3

   Cool them, then rub them between your palms and winnow off the skins

4. 4

   Toast the korerima, fenugreek, nigella and cloves for under a minute

5. 5

   Take everything to a mill and have it ground together as finely as it will go — shiro powder should feel like flour, not semolina

6. 6

   If you are grinding at home, do it in small batches and sieve between passes; expect three or four passes

7. 7

   Mix in the berbere and salt, sieve once more, and store airtight