Note to self: Can I just say Ethiopian food is SO bomb! Like seriously amazing and I can’t wait to try out more of their foods! Tikel Gomen is a curried flavored cabbage dish loaded with onions, carrots and potatoes and a lot of spices. But don’t let the long list of ingredients daunt you from trying out this recipe, it’s totally worth it! It’s traditionally eaten with a soft spongy bread called injera. I had it for the first time at my sister-in-law’s house and it was really yummy. It’s made with teff flour and one of these days I want to recreate it at home. But in the mean time you can purchase it already made in African marketplaces.
It’s traditionally eaten like this next picture…with a bunch of different veggies and curries and stews.
Oh! And another thing…so this recipe says to use nigella seeds (If you’re Pakistani, like me, you’ll probably know it as kalonji). They sort of look like black sesame seeds but are anything but.
If you haven’t come across it, you can find any Indian/Pakistani store…to locate one by your area you can go to zabihah.com, click the near me button on the top left corner, and then there will be 4 tabs and you click the tab that says market and a list of markets near you will pop up. Just choose one nearest to you that has the Pakistani tag on it and there ya go! Instant access to many spices and foods from the Indian subcontinent.
This recipe is a definite holy grail and a must try! I adapted this recipe from LoveAndMagicKitchen.com and you guys HAVE to give this a try! It’s amazeballs! 🙂
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ of an onion sliced thinly
- ½ of a small jalapeño minced
- ½ tbsp ginger paste (heaping)
- ¾ tsp tumeric
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp nigella seeds
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- a pinch of ground cloves
- ¼ green bell pepper sliced thinly
- 1 heaping tsp of minced garlic
- 1½ cups of chopped cabbage
- ½ cup of carrots coined
- ½ cup of potatoes
- 1 cup of water divided
Directions:
- In a pot on medium heat, put ¼ cup olive oil and once oil is warmed up add ½ of an onion (thinly sliced), ½ of a small jalapeño (minced), a heaping ½ tbsp ginger paste and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add ¾ tsp tumeric, ¾ tsp sea salt, ½ tsp ground cumin, ⅛ tsp ground cardamom, ¼ tsp nigella seeds, ¼ tsp ground coriander, ¼ tsp black pepper, a pinch of ground cloves, 1 heaping tsp of minced garlic, and ¼ green bell pepper sliced thinly.
- Mix well and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add ½ cup of carrots (sliced into coins), ½ cup of potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add 1½ cups of chopped cabbage, and ½ cup of water…mix well, cover pot and cook for 10 minutes. (Check on it frequently to mix and to make sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom)
- After 10 minutes add another ½ cup of water, mix, cover, and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Serve with injera bread.
Serving size: 2-4 people
Recipe adapted from: https://loveandmagickitchen.com/2016/04/25/cabbage-for-momma/