Legume Dishes Recipes: Fiqe (Red Sorghum, Beans and Teff Flour)

Legume Dishes This section features dishes that are made of the bean family, particularly stews that are made of different kinds of beans, green grams, lentils, or peas. Some bean dishes in this section are unique to certain communities, such as Ndoto among the Taita community and Fiqe among the Burjis.

Fiqe (Red Sorghum, Beans, and Teff Flour)
A mixture of sorghum flour and cooked beans is stirred together as a paste until firm. It is best enjoyed
with a strong cup of black tea. Eaten by everybody. Can also be made with maize flour or any other grain
flour. Traditionally, a bean and ghee must be added. In modern times normal cooking oil is used.

Ingredients
– 1 ½ cups (262 g) beans kidney, raw
– 1½ cups (207 g) red sorghum flour
– 2 cups (323 g) teff flour
– 1 medium-size bowl (611 g) sukuma wiki leaves, raw
– 1 ½ tbsp. (22 g) salt iodized
– 7 tbsp. (88 g) ghee
– 8 2/3 cups (1882 g) water

Preparation 10 minutes | Cooking 2 hours 45 minutes | Serves 4
• Boil beans in 8 2/3 cups of water until cooked (1 hour).
• Wash and cut the sukuma wiki.
• Add diced sukuma wiki into the boiled beans in the same cooking pot and cook for 20 minutes.
• In a separate bowl, mix the teff flour and the red sorghum flour together.
• Add the mixed flour to the mixture of beans and kale. Add salt and stir gently until evenly mixed.
• Add ghee after 20 minutes and continue mixing for 10 minutes.
• Serve hot.

Teff, one of the oldest and tiniest grains in the world, has been a mainstay of Ethiopian cuisine for centuries. Although some of the teff sold on the market is also cultivated on American soil, it was first domesticated for food production purposes more than 3,000 years ago. Teff is still the most widely planted crop in Ethiopia.

Today, teff is becoming more popular outside of the boundaries of the country of East Africa, contributing to a rise in consumer interest in so-called “ancient grains” like farro, quinoa, spelt, and amaranth. These grains are popular because they are nutrient-dense and non-genetically altered.

Content courtesy of Kenya Food Recipes, Mama Ntilie & NFH
A Recipe Book of Common Mixed Dishes With Nutrient Values, As Prepared By Communities