Kitcha
Abuja, Nigeria · View all recipes
Overview
Kitcha is an unleavened Ethiopian and Eritrean flatbread, wheat flour, water and salt, rolled thin and cooked dry in a pan on both sides until it colours in characteristic dark spots. It is written ቂጣ in Amharic and ቂቻ in Tigrinya, and it belongs to both traditions. Its simplicity is the point: no yeast, no rising time, three ingredients. It is the bread you make when bread is needed now, and it is one of the first things many people learn to cook. It is usually served warm with melted spiced butter, which turns something plain into something rich. Chilli and cardamom are sometimes worked into the dough itself. Its most important role is as the base of fit-fit, also called fir-fir, where the bread is torn into pieces and mixed with spiced butter, berbere and sometimes stew, and eaten with the hands. Kitcha fit-fit is a breakfast staple across Ethiopia and Eritrea, and it is the reason kitcha is often made in quantity: the bread is the ingredient rather than the finished thing. The dark spots that appear during cooking are correct, not a mistake.
AFN Heritage Note
Kitcha is an unleavened flatbread of Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine, written ቂጣ in Amharic and ቂቻ in Tigrinya. It serves as the base for kitcha fit-fit, in which the bread is torn and mixed with spiced butter and berbere.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Place the butter in a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Once the butter melts, add the berbere and cook, stirring, until the spices sizzle and smell fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- 2
Add the kicha pieces and sprinkle with the salt. Cook, stirring, until all the pieces of kicha are coated with the spiced butter and warmed through, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a serving platter or individual bowls, top with the yogurt, and serve immediately.
- 3
Place the whole wheat and all-purpose flours and salt in a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Using your hands, mix in the water. The batter will be like a very thick pancake batter.
- 4
Line a plate with paper towels and set aside. Set a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil, tilting the pan so the oil lightly greases the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is hot, add half the dough to the skillet and use wet fingertips to gently and carefully press the dough into a wide circle that covers the surface of the skillet. Cover the skillet and cook until the top of the dough is glossy and the underside is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip the bread over, cover, and cook until the second side is browned, another 2 to 3 minutes.
- 5
Transfer the flatbread to the prepared plate, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan, and repeat the process with the remaining dough.
- 6
Serve immediately while the breads are warm, or let cool to room temperature to use for Kicha Fit Fit. Leftover breads can be stored in a plastic bag at room temperature for a day and rewarmed in a skillet over low heat.
Africook’s Notes
- Cook it dry on a hot pan. Oil in the pan changes the texture and stops the spots forming.
- Roll it thin and even. Thick patches stay doughy in the middle while the edges colour.
- The dark spots are the sign it is cooking properly. Do not turn the heat down to avoid them.
- Serve warm. Kitcha stiffens as it cools, though that matters less if it is going into fit-fit.
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