Ingredients
Porridge
- 300 gbarley flour
- 1 litrewater
- 1 tspsalt
To finish
- 100 gniter kibbeh
- 3 tbspberbere
- yoghurt or ayib
Directions
- Toast the barley flour in a dry pan over a medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and smells nutty.
- Bring the water to the boil with the salt.
- Add the flour all at once and beat immediately and hard with a wooden spoon.
- Ethiopian cooks add it in one go and beat rather than sprinkling it in gradually. It takes real force, and the result is denser and smoother than a porridge stirred in slowly.
- Cook on a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, beating and folding the mass against the side of the pot the whole time.
- It is ready when it is very stiff and glossy and pulls away from the pot in one piece.
- Turn it out into a bowl, shape it into a mound, and press a deep well into the centre with a wet spoon.
- Melt the niter kibbeh with the berbere and pour it into the well until it brims over.
- Serve hot with yoghurt or crumbled ayib around the edge, eaten from the outside inward with the fingers.
- It is cooked especially for women after childbirth to restore strength, and it is dense, warming food built precisely for that.
- The Eritrean ga’at is essentially the same dish, and the two are made and eaten identically on either side of the border.
Technique
- Toasting the flour is what gives it depth. Untoasted, it tastes flatly of raw grain.
- It is heavy work to beat and a long-handled wooden spoon makes a real difference.
- It is also eaten plainly with milk and honey, which is the everyday version.
Substitutions
- Wheat flour, or a barley and wheat blend, if plain barley flour is hard to find.
- Clarified butter warmed with ginger, garlic and cardamom, in place of niter kibbeh.
Variations
- With honey rather than berbere, as a sweet breakfast.
- Made looser, closer to a pouring porridge.
- Ga’at, the Eritrean version, which is essentially the same.
History
Stiff barley porridge mounded around a well of spiced butter, cooked especially for women after childbirth to restore strength.
Frequently asked questions
What is Genfo?
Genfo is a breakfast from Ethiopia: thick barley porridge with a well of spiced butter and berbere. Stiff barley porridge mounded around a well of spiced butter, cooked especially for women after childbirth to restore strength.
How long does Genfo take to make?
Genfo 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 Genfo?
Yes, within limits. Wheat flour, or a barley and wheat blend, if plain barley flour is hard to find. Clarified butter warmed with ginger, garlic and cardamom, in place of niter kibbeh.
What is the most important thing to get right in Genfo?
Ethiopian cooks add it in one go and beat rather than sprinkling it in gradually. It takes real force, and the result is denser and smoother than a porridge stirred in slowly.
