Eritrea

Staples

• Taita (teff and sorghum fermented sourdough flatbread)
• Ga'at (stiff barley or wheat porridge with a spiced butter well)
• Shiro (roasted ground chickpea and grass pea flour)
• Kitcha (unleavened whole wheat pan bread used in fit-fit)
• Mashilla (sorghum grain used for brewing and flatbreads)

Seasonings

• Berbere (complex sun-dried red chili, spice, and herb blend)
• Tesmi (clarified butter spiced with garlic, ginger, and sacred basil)
• Awaze (piquant paste made of berbere, garlic, and honey wine)
• Korarima (indigenous black cardamom pods)
• Mitmita (ground fiery bird's eye chili powder with cloves)

Techniques

• Slow simmering rich tsebhi stews over charcoal
• Fermenting teff batter across multiple days
• Baking flatbreads on a covered clay mogogo
• Infusing hot clarified butter with whole aromatics

At the table

Meals are traditionally prepared by women and served communally on a woven mesob, featuring a wide platter of spongy taita layered with mounds of zigni, alicha, and shiro stews eaten using the right hand. While the central highlands rely heavily on teff sourdough and legume-dense vegetarian dishes, coastal lowlanders around Massawa integrate fresh Red Sea fish, cumin-heavy sauces, and Yemeni-influenced flatbreads.