🇪🇹 Ethiopian · Beef & Lamb Dishes
🪔 Ethiopian Clay Pot Tibs
ሸቅላ ጥብስ — Shekla Tibs
Ethiopian Shekla Tibs — beef tibs served sizzling in a hot clay pot (shekla) brought to the table on a charcoal brazier, with the beef continuing to cook tableside. The most theatrical Ethiopian dining experience — the sizzle, the aroma, the drama of the clay pot arriving at the table.
Shekla Tibs is the restaurant dish that makes Ethiopian dining memorable — the clay pot is heated over charcoal until smoking, the tibs is cooked and transferred directly to the hot clay pot, and it is brought to the table still sizzling, placed on a charcoal brazier, and continues cooking gently as you eat. The clay pot imparts a unique earthy fragrance to the beef.
Ingredients
Equipment: Clay shekla pot, Charcoal brazier or oven-safe clay, Heavy saucepan for pre-cooking
- 600g beef — cubed (same as ETH022)
All ETH022 ingredients
- See ETH022
Additional: 1 clay shekla pot per serving (or one large)
- 1 green pepper — diced
- 1 additional tomato — diced
Method
- Heat the clay shekla pot over direct flame or in a very hot oven until smoking.
- Prepare the tibs as per ETH022 — all the way through.
- Carefully transfer the hot tibs into the smoking clay pot.
- Add sliced green pepper and extra tomato directly to the clay pot.
- Bring to the table on the brazier — it will still be sizzling and cooking.
- Warn guests the pot is extremely hot.
- Eat directly from the clay pot — wrap the beef in injera from the basket.
Chef Tips
- The clay pot must be genuinely extremely hot — the sizzle when the tibs goes in is the point.
- Warn guests emphatically — the clay pot can cause serious burns.
- The green pepper added to the clay pot cooks very briefly in the residual heat — adding freshness.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Insufficiently hot clay pot — no drama, no sizzle.
- Not warning guests about the temperature.
The Science
The clay pot's thermal mass holds heat very effectively — even after being filled with tibs, it continues conducting heat to the food surface for several minutes. The clay also releases small amounts of mineral compounds into the food during high-heat cooking, adding the characteristic earthy, mineral note unique to clay pot cooking.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- Same as ETH022.
Cultural Note
Shekla Tibs is Ethiopian restaurant theatre at its finest — the arrival of the smoking clay pot is a moment of genuine excitement. It is the dish that makes first-time visitors to Ethiopian restaurants want to come back.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Best eaten immediately — directly from the clay pot.
Reheating: Not applicable.
Serve with: Injera (ETH001), Ayib (ETH096), As the centrepiece of a restaurant meal