Yeshimbra tibs is roasted chickpea flour — dry-roasted with berbere, onion, and oil into a spicy, crumbly snack. Eaten dry with coffee.
Yeshimbra tibs is a snack made from roasted chickpea flour. The roasting gives it a nutty, dry texture. Eaten with coffee or as a quick snack, it is the dry/grain-based equivalent of kolo (roasted barley).
A bowl of golden-brown, dry, crumbly powder with flecks of red berbere. The texture is grainy (like cornmeal); the flavor is nutty, spicy, slightly smoky. Eaten by the spoonful with coffee.
Dry-roasting gelatinizes the chickpea flour's starches and triggers Maillard reactions (nutty aroma, golden color). The high oil content of chickpea flour means the 'tibs' stays moist enough to eat despite the dry appearance.
Variations
Spice level varies; some add chopped onion; some add oil for a wetter version.
On the Palate
Where Yeshimbra Tibs sits in the Ethiopian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
5 steps · 30 min active + 15 min waiting
- 18 min
Dry-roast chickpea flour in a pan until golden and fragrant (8 min).
Watch outDry-roast the flour until it turns golden and smells toasty and nutty; pull it before it darkens or the whole dish goes bitter.
- 25 min
Add oil, chopped onion, berbere, salt.
- 32 min
Stir-fry until onion is soft and mixture is crumbly (5 min).
Watch outStir-fry until the mix goes dry and crumbly and holds together in loose clumps — that texture is the whole point of 'tibs'.
- 41 min
Cool slightly.
- 51 min
Serve in a bowl with coffee or as a snack.
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