Ingredients
Porridge
- 300 gbarley flour
- 1 litrewater
- 1 tspsalt
To finish
- 100 gniter kibbeh
- 3 tbspberbere
- 200 gyoghurt or ayib
Directions
- Toast the barley flour in a dry pan over a medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens and smells nutty.
- Bring the water to the boil with the salt.
- Whisk a quarter of the flour into a little cold water first, then stir that slurry into the boiling water.
- Add the remaining flour in handfuls, beating each one in completely before the next goes in.
- Beat rather than stir, and beat hard. Ga’at should be stiff enough to hold a shape and completely smooth, and any lump left in it is a pocket of raw flour.
- Cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, working it against the side of the pot the whole time.
- Turn it out into a bowl, shape it into a mound, then press a deep crater into the top with the back of a wet spoon.
- Melt the niter kibbeh with the berbere and pour it into the crater until it fills and begins to run down the sides.
- That crater of spiced butter is the dish rather than a garnish, and each spoonful of porridge is dragged through it on the way to the mouth.
- Spoon yoghurt or crumbled ayib around the edge of the plate.
- Serve hot, eaten from the outside inward with the fingers or a spoon.
- It is traditionally cooked for women after childbirth to rebuild strength, and it is dense warming food made for exactly that.
Technique
- Toasting the flour first is what gives it the nutty depth. Untoasted it tastes raw and pasty.
- Niter kibbeh, the spiced clarified butter, is worth making a batch of. It keeps for months.
- It is eaten communally from one plate, working inward toward the butter.
Substitutions
- Wheat or a barley and wheat blend if plain barley flour is unavailable.
- Clarified butter warmed with garlic, ginger and cardamom in place of niter kibbeh.
Variations
- Genfo, the closely related Ethiopian version.
- Made with less berbere for children.
- With honey instead of berbere, as a sweet version.
History
Barley porridge mounded with a butter and berbere crater, traditionally cooked for women after childbirth to rebuild strength.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ga’at?
Ga’at is a breakfast from Eritrea: stiff barley porridge crater filled with spiced butter and yogurt. Barley porridge mounded with a butter and berbere crater, traditionally cooked for women after childbirth to rebuild strength.
How long does Ga’at take to make?
Ga’at takes 10 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Ga’at?
Yes, within limits. Wheat or a barley and wheat blend if plain barley flour is unavailable. Clarified butter warmed with garlic, ginger and cardamom in place of niter kibbeh.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ga’at?
Beat rather than stir, and beat hard. Ga’at should be stiff enough to hold a shape and completely smooth, and any lump left in it is a pocket of raw flour.
