What Is Firfir? The Ethiopian Torn Injera Dish Explained
Firfir, also called fitfit, is torn injera tossed in a spiced berbere and niter kibbeh sauce, a classic Ethiopian and Eritrean breakfast.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Firfir, also spelled fitfit, is an Ethiopian and Eritrean dish of torn or shredded injera tossed in a spiced sauce built on berbere and niter kibbeh. Warming, tangy and satisfying, it is a classic way to use up day old injera and a much loved breakfast. African Stores lists shops across the UK where you can find the ingredients near you.
What to remember
- Firfir, also called fitfit, is torn or shredded injera tossed in a spiced sauce.
- The sauce is built on berbere, the Ethiopian chilli and spice blend, and niter kibbeh, the spiced butter.
- There is a saucier cooked version and a drier version tossed with the sauce.
- It is traditionally a breakfast dish and a clever way to use up day old injera.
- The injera, berbere and spiced butter you need are sold by African food shops across the UK.
Few dishes say home quite like a morning bowl of firfir. In Ethiopian and Eritrean households it is the smell that pulls you into the kitchen, berbere and spiced butter warming in the pan, yesterday's injera being torn into soft strips, the whole thing coming together in minutes. It is everyday food, not feast food, and that is exactly why it holds such a tender place in people's memories, tied to ordinary mornings, family tables and the voice of whoever was cooking.
Far from home, a plate of firfir can carry all of that in a single spoonful. It asks for nothing fancy, just good injera, a proper berbere and a little spiced butter, and it gives back the taste of a childhood breakfast. To make it for someone who has never tried it is to hand them a small, honest piece of Ethiopia and Eritrea, the kind of food that was never meant to impress and yet always does.
What Firfir Is
Firfir is one of the most comforting dishes in Ethiopian and Eritrean home cooking, and at heart it is very simple. You take injera, the tangy fermented flatbread, tear or shred it into small pieces, and toss those pieces through a warm, spiced sauce until every scrap is coated. The sauce takes its colour and heat from berbere, the deep red Ethiopian chilli and spice blend, and its richness from niter kibbeh, the fragrant spiced butter, usually cooked down with onion, garlic and a little tomato. The name firfir comes from the idea of the bread being torn up and mixed through, and in the Tigrinya speaking parts of Eritrea and northern Ethiopia the same dish is known as fitfit. It sits right at the centre of everyday Ethiopian food, a plate that is humble, nourishing and full of flavour.
The Two Main Kinds of Firfir
There are two main ways people make firfir. The first is a saucier, cooked version, sometimes called firfir proper, where a berbere and spiced butter sauce is simmered on the stove and the torn injera is folded in so it softens and drinks up the liquid, leaving a soft, almost stew like plate. The second is a drier version, often called fitfit, where the torn injera is tossed with the sauce, or with berbere, spiced butter and a squeeze of something sharp, so the pieces stay a little more separate and springy. Both start from the same clever idea, which is using up day old injera. Fresh injera is soft and spongy, but after a day or two it firms up, and rather than waste it, cooks tear it into a sauce and turn yesterday's bread into today's breakfast. That thrift is a big part of why firfir became such a staple.
How Firfir Is Eaten and Served
Firfir is most often eaten in the morning, and it is the kind of warming, filling breakfast that sets you up for the day, though it is just as welcome at lunch or as a light supper. It can be made purely from bread and sauce, or dressed up with additions such as a spoonful of yoghurt or fresh cheese to cool the heat, a scattering of chopped onion and chilli, or pieces of meat for a heartier plate. Because it is already made of injera, it is usually eaten with a spoon or scooped up with a little more fresh injera on the side, rather than served on a bare plate. Alongside a cup of strong coffee or tea, a bowl of firfir is exactly the sort of unfussy, deeply flavoured food that Ethiopian and Eritrean cooks turn out day after day.
Where to Buy Firfir Ingredients in the UK
You will not usually buy firfir ready made, since it is put together fresh at home, but every ingredient you need is easy to find at Ethiopian and Eritrean grocers and many African food shops in the UK. The bread itself, injera, is sold fresh or vacuum packed, and day old packs are perfect for firfir. Berbere is stocked as a ready mixed spice blend in bags and tubs, and niter kibbeh, the spiced butter, is sold in jars and tubs near the other cooking fats, or you can buy the whole spices to make your own. You can find African food stores near you that carry injera, berbere and spiced butter, and the staff will happily point you to the brands they favour. With those three things in the cupboard, a plate of firfir is only minutes away.
Frequently asked questions
What is firfir?
Firfir is an Ethiopian and Eritrean dish of torn or shredded injera tossed in a spiced sauce built on berbere and niter kibbeh. Warming, tangy and satisfying, it is a much loved breakfast and a clever way to use up day old injera. In Tigrinya speaking areas it is known as fitfit.
What is the difference between firfir and fitfit?
Firfir and fitfit are two names for the same basic idea, torn injera mixed with a spiced sauce, and the words are often used interchangeably. In general firfir tends to describe the saucier, cooked version where the injera softens in a simmered berbere and spiced butter sauce, while fitfit tends to describe the drier version where the torn injera is simply tossed with the sauce so the pieces stay more separate.
What is firfir made of?
Firfir is made of injera, the tangy fermented flatbread, torn or shredded and tossed in a spiced sauce. The sauce is built on berbere, the Ethiopian chilli and spice blend, and niter kibbeh, the spiced butter, usually cooked with onion, garlic and a little tomato. It can be finished with additions such as yoghurt, fresh cheese, chopped onion, chilli or pieces of meat.
When is firfir eaten?
Firfir is most often eaten as a breakfast, being warming and filling enough to start the day, though it is also enjoyed at lunch or as a light supper. It is traditionally a way to use up day old injera, since bread that has firmed up after a day or two is torn into the sauce rather than wasted.
Where can I buy the ingredients for firfir in the UK?
The injera, berbere and niter kibbeh you need are sold by Ethiopian and Eritrean grocers and many African food shops, with injera available fresh or vacuum packed and berbere and spiced butter sold in bags, tubs and jars. African Stores lists African and Caribbean food shops across the UK, so you can find one near you that stocks everything for firfir.