Ethiopian Vegan Shiro Chickpea Stew

This is my first attempt to recreate some wonderful Ethiopian vegan dishes from @ethiopiques stall just outside The South Bank Centre in London.  First, Shiro, a powdered chickpea (or sometimes broad bean, or lentil) stew.

Whilst powdered chickpea in the form of gram flour is readily available in the UK, I decided to just puree tins of chickpeas to save myself a lot of whisking and the worry of lumps.

Serves a healthy 4

2 tins of chickpeas in water, pureed in their liquid
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 large onions, peeled and finely diced
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 tbsp tomato puree, or a finely chopped tomato

1 tbsp bebere spice, or 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp ground cardamom, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes
1 tsp turmeric

Gently soften the onion in the sunflower oil. Once the onion starts to turn a golden brown, stir in the tomato paste and fry off for a minute or two. Stir in the garlic and ginger, then add the rest of the ingredients plus a tin of hot water.  Simmer for 20 minutes to ensure the onion, garlic, and ginger and thoroughly cooked. Season to taste.

There are many variations of Shiro, ome watery, some thick like porridge.  I originally served this up with  a similarly flavoured side dish of Ye'abesha Gomen (Ethiopian Greens), but would simply wilt greens like spinach or kale into the Shiro in future for a bit of additional texture and colour. 

I also puréed some pickled jalapeños with a tablespoon of olive oil to make a chilli sauce to drizzle  over.

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