Kitfo sometimes spelled ketfo, is a traditional dish found in Ethiopian cuisine

Cuisine of Ethiopia

Ethiopian cuisine and Eritrean cuisine characteristically consist of spicy vegetable and meat dishes, usually in the form of wat , a thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread, which is about 50 centimeters in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour...

. It consists of minced raw

Raw meat

Raw meat generally refers to any type of uncooked muscle tissue of an animal used for food. In the meat production industry, the term ‘meat’ refers specifically to mammalian flesh, while the words ‘poultry’ and ‘seafood’ are used to differentiate between the tissue of birds and aquatic creatures...

 beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

, marinated in mitmita

Mitmita

Mitmita is a spicy powdered seasoning used in the cuisine of Ethiopia. It is orange-red in color and contains ground African birdseye chili peppers, cardamom seed, cloves, salt, and occasionally other spices including, but not limited to, cinnamon, cumin, or ginger. It is used to season the raw...

, a spicy chili powder based spice blend, and niter kibbeh (a clarified butter

Clarified butter

Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the different components to separate by density...

 infused with herbs and spices). The word comes from the Ethio-Semitic

Ethiopian Semitic languages

Ethiopian Semitic is a language group, which together with Old South Arabian forms the Western branch of the South Semitic languages. The languages are spoken in both Ethiopia and Eritrea...

 root k-t-f, meaning "to chop finely; mince."

Kitfo cooked lightly rare is known as kitfo leb leb. Kitfo may be served alongside, or mixed with, mild cheese and cooked greens

Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, green vegetables, greens, leafy greens or salad greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots...

. In many parts of Ethiopia, kitfo is served with injera

Injera

Injera is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea...

, a flatbread made from teff

Teff

Eragrostis tef, known as teff, taf , or khak shir , is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the northern Ethiopian Highlands of Northeast Africa....

, although in traditional Gurage

Gurage

Gurage is an ethnic group in Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, its population is 1,867,377 people , of whom 792,659 are urban dwellers. This is 2.53% of the total population of Ethiopia, or 7.52% of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region...

 cuisine, one would use kocho, a thick bread made from the ensete

Ensete

Ensete, or Enset, is a genus of plants, native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. It is one of the three genera in the banana family, Musaceae.- Domesticated enset in Ethiopia :...

plant. An ensete leaf may be used as a garnish. Though not considered a delicacy, kitfo is generally held in high regard.

External links

• Kitfo recipe