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Chumbo (Layered Enset Pie Filled with Spiced Cottage Cheese and Butter)
A rich, celebratory Southern highland pie made of toasted kocho dough layered with herbed ayib cheese and drenched in golden niter kibbeh.
The story
Chumbo is an esteemed ceremonial dish of the Oromo and Gurage communities of southern and southwestern Ethiopia, traditionally served during seasonal harvest celebrations and welcoming banquets. It centers upon kocho, the fermented fibrous pulp harvested from the pseudostem and corm of the false banana (Ensete ventricosum). The dish combines savory flatbread discs with thick layers of ayib cheese and spiced butter, creating a multi-tiered savory torte that honors guests of high standing.
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