Genfo, The Ethiopian Wheat/Barley Porridge Is A Dish To Try

I know Genfo’s appearance may come as a surprise, lol, more like a sacrifice to the Nigerian eye but hey, heard it tastes great, so why not try it? Genfo is a simple Ethiopian porridge that is commonly consumed for breakfast, made by adding dry-roasted barley flour to boiling water and stirring the concoction with a wooden utensil until it develops a smooth, yet extremely thick consistency.
The porridge is then transferred to a bowl, and a hole is created in the center, usually by using a finjal (Ethiopian coffee cup). The hole in the middle of the stiff porridge-like substance is for the dipping sauce, a mixture of butter and red peppers, or pulses such as sunflower, seed, nut and flax.
Genfo is not discussed frequently in the canon of Ethiopian dishes, nor does it conform to Western notions of porridge. Take a deeper look at this simple dish and you will discover the results of geography, history, and evolution of a region. Genfo is the Amharic name for the thick porridge eaten for breakfast in Ethiopia and Eritrea, where it is known as Ga’at, and its most typical version is made with barley flour, although it is recreated in the diaspora using wheat and occasionally corn meal. Following the center moulding, the final step is to fill the well with niter kibbeh (tesmi in Eritrea), butter that has been clarified with spices, and the red-pepper-and-spice blend called berbere. The completed dish is served plain or flanked by scoops of yogurt.
Like other Ethiopian dishes, it’s often shared and can be eaten with your hands, but it can get messy, so it’s not uncommon to eat Genfo using a fork or spoon. Either way, bits of porridge pulled from the outside are dipped into the butter and spice mixture in the center. These Ethiopian flavors have come to represent the cuisine through centuries of trade and influence, both global and local.

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Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoon Ethiopian spicy butter (Kibe), 1 tablespoon berebere (an Ethiopian spice blend usually containing hot peppers, black pepper, fenugreek, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, and cloves. Low on sodium it makes a useful addition to many meals without adding to your salt intake), 1 teaspoon mitemita (Cayenne Pepper), Water, Teaspoon Salt.
How To Make
1. Add 4 cups of water in a pot and a teaspoon of salt and let it boil on a medium hot heat.
2. Once water boils, slowly add the Sift flour onto the water while stirring with a wooden spoon.
3. After adding flour it will become very thick making it hard to stir.
4. At this point you need to remove any lumps by stirring and mixing hard, add more water to help the process. Remove the Genfo from the heat. Add melted butter or oil into a bowl and scoop the Genfo into the bowl in one big ball.
5. In the centre of the Genfo ball, make a well using your spoon. Then add your melted butter and berbere and mitemita while still hot.
6. Mix the berebere and melted butter well and serve.