🇹 Ethiopian · Traditional Side Dishes & Condiments
🫘 Ethiopian Shiro Powder
ሽሮ ዱቄት — Shiro Duqet
Ethiopian Homemade Shiro Powder — roasted chickpeas, dried onion, garlic powder, berbere, and ground spices ground together into the pre-seasoned flour used for Shiro Wat. Making shiro powder at home produces a dramatically superior result to commercial versions.
Homemade shiro powder is a revelation — where commercial shiro is often bland and one-dimensional, home-made shiro from freshly roasted chickpeas with a custom berbere blend produces a Shiro Wat of extraordinary depth.
Ingredients
Equipment: Dry pan, Grain mill or high-powered blender, Airtight jar
- 2 cups dried chickpeas (or yellow split peas)
Spice blend
- 3 tbsp berbere
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp salt
Method
- Dry roast chickpeas in a heavy pan over medium heat for 18—20 minutes, stirring constantly, until deeply golden and nutty-smelling.
- Cool completely.
- Grind roasted chickpeas to a fine powder.
- Add berbere, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, and salt.
- Grind together until uniformly fine.
- Store in an airtight jar.
Chef Tips
- Roast chickpeas very thoroughly — light roasting produces a starchy, flat shiro.
- The grinding must be fine — coarse shiro produces a grainy Shiro Wat.
- Home-made shiro powder makes dramatically better Shiro Wat than commercial powder.
- Yellow split peas can substitute for chickpeas — slightly different flavour.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Light roasting — insufficient depth of flavour.
- Coarse grinding.
The Science
See ETH102 for shiro cooking science. Home-made shiro retains the volatile aromatic compounds from freshly roasted chickpeas — these begin dissipating immediately after grinding. Commercial shiro, ground weeks earlier, has lost most of these volatile aromatics, which is why home-made is dramatically superior.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- The berbere in the shiro powder provides significant antioxidants.
- Chickpea protein.
- Broad vitamin profile.
Cultural Note
Home-made shiro powder is the mark of the committed Ethiopian cook — the person who takes the time to roast and grind their own chickpeas produces Shiro Wat at a quality level that commercial shiro cannot match. Ethiopian grandmothers make their own shiro powder the same way their grandmothers did.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Airtight jar — 6 months. Freeze for longer.
Reheating: Not applicable.
Serve with: Used to make Shiro Wat (ETH102), Stored as a pantry staple for fasting periods