Genfo (Ethiopian Porridge) Recipe

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Genfo is one of Ethiopia’s most iconic dishes and has been enjoyed for centuries by people of all ages throughout Ethiopia. It is a thick, doughy porridge made from either wheat, barley, or maize flour and served, and enriched with berbere and niter kibbeh.

Ingredients Required to Make Genfo

  • 1 cup of wheat flour
  • 3 tbsp niter kibbeh (Ethiopian clarified butter)
  • 1 tbsp berbere
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • 2 cups water

Equipment Required to Make Genfo

How to Make Genfo (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

  1. Start by adding the cardamom to the flour and mix.
  2. Boil the water then start adding the flour mix slowly while reducing the heat, stirring thoroghly so as to avoid any lumps from forming and until the mix moistenes well enough.
  3. Then transfer the Genfo to a mid-sized bowl, and create a hole right in the middle.
  4. Melt the Niter Kibbeh, and mix with the berbere, then pour the mix into the hole you created in the middle of the Genfo.
  5. Finally, pour the spicy liquid into the hole you’ve hollowed out in the Genfo and serve while still hot.

Genfo Recipe

Genfo (Ethiopian Porridge) Recipe

5.0 from 1 vote
Recipe by Sara Seife Course: BreakfastCuisine: EthiopianDifficulty: Intermediate
Servings

1

servings

Genfo, which is porridge in Amharic, is a well-known comfort dish and breakfast food, traditionally enjoyed by recovering new mothers. In Ethiopia, it can be made using wheat, barley, or maize, enriched with berbere and niter kibbeh. For this recipe, we will keep it simple and use wheat to make our Genfo.

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup of wheat flour

  • 3 tbsp niter kibbeh (Ethiopian clarified butter)

  • 1 tbsp berbere

  • ½ tsp cardamom

  • 2 cups water

Equipment

Directions

  • Start by adding the cardamom to the flour and mix.
  • Boil the water then start adding the flour mix slowly while reducing the heat, stirring thoroghly so as to avoid any lumps from forming and until the mix moistenes well enough.
  • Then transfer the Genfo to a mid-sized bowl, and create a hole right in the middle.
  • Melt the Niter Kibbeh, and mix with the berbere, then pour the mix into the hole you created in the middle of the Genfo.
  • Finally, pour the spicy liquid into the hole you’ve hollowed out in the Genfo and serve while still hot.

Notes

  • You can use oil instead of the Nitter Kibbeh if you prefer.
  • Genfo is eaten by dipping a spoonful scoop into the spicy mix liquid in the center.

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Sara Seife
Sara Seife

Sara is a blogger, nutritionist, and recipe engineer who loves to create and share Ethiopian food recipes and guides. She is the Chief Editor of The Ethiopian Food, an online platform that aims to help people all over the world learn about and enjoy Ethiopian cuisine. Sara is passionate about sharing her love of Ethiopian food and culture with others, and she hopes that her recipes and guides will help people to create delicious and authentic Ethiopian meals at home.

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