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Buticha (whipped chickpea flour dip)
Buticha: cooked chickpea flour whipped with lemon, oil, onion and chilli until fluffy
Ethiopian Orthodox kitchens make buticha on fasting days as a plant-based stand-in for scrambled egg or fresh cheese, and it often sits as a pale, fluffy mound on the vegan platters of Addis Ababa's restaurants. Chickpea flour is cooked with water into a thick paste, cooled, then beaten with oil and plenty of lemon juice and mixed with raw red onion and green chilli. The texture is soft, crumbly and light, the flavour tangy and fresh against the rich, red wats. Serve it cool with injera, or as a dip with kita. A common mistake is beating it while still hot, which makes it gluey instead of fluffy; let it cool completely first. Chef's tip: cook the paste a full eight minutes after it thickens, so no raw, beany taste is left.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 4 oz chickpea flour
- 1 ¾ cups water
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp lemon juiceabout 1.5 lemons
- 1 red onionvery finely chopped
- 2 green chilliesseeded and finely chopped
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Whisk 4 oz chickpea flour into 1 ¾ cups water in a saucepan with ½ tsp salt until smooth.
Step 2: Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes until it thickens, then keep cooking and stirring for 8 minutes until it forms a thick paste that leaves the sides of the pan.
10 minStep 3: Spread on a plate and leave to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
20 minStep 4: Beat the cooled paste with a fork or wooden spoon, adding 3 tbsp vegetable oil and 4 tbsp lemon juice a little at a time, until light and crumbly.
Step 5: Fold in 1 red onion and 2 green chillies, taste for salt and lemon, and serve cool.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does buticha (whipped chickpea flour dip) take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of lemon juice?
- Lime juice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of red onion?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
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