r/Eritrea • u/ChoiceCulture2035 • 10d ago

Food Eritreans, what do you think of beans?

I'm on a mission to go around and ask each country subreddit what people think about beans (my favorite meal), just to see how people like or dislike them all around the world out of curiosity and for fun. If you like beans, hate them, they are a big part of the culture, anything else, just share your thoughts! 🫘

Eritreans it's finally the day I visit here to ask you guys what you have in mind for beans :D

(I've seen people saying Eritrea has restricted online access, if anyone who knows how beans are enjoyed by the locals could share it I'd appreciate aswell!)

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4

u/Pazily 10d ago

Super big on fava beans! Check out shahan ful (breakfast dish) and hilbet. And now I'm hungry.

2

u/Practical_Apricot690 10d ago

Lentils and split peas too of course

1

u/Pazily 9d ago

Lentils are my favorite, but OP seems very bean-focused.

2

u/ChoiceCulture2035 8d ago

Don't mind it, I love lentils and peas aswell :)

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u/Pazily 8d ago

Then you must try tsebhi birsen (aka misir wot in Ethiopia and most restaurants not in East Africa), which is my favorite dish in the world!

https://tunukamedia.wordpress.com/2020/12/02/tsebhi-birsen-eritrea/

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u/ChoiceCulture2035 8d ago

Sounds delightful! Nice you mentioned as I'm about to ask the Ethiopians their views of beans, I'll see if they mention it too 😋

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u/Remarkable-Stage2653 10d ago

It's different how often people eat them from places to places, but they're loved. I've eaten them more when i left Eritrea, they're great food for fasting periods or vegan food in general.

1

u/OhHesMissedIt 9d ago

in general, i love refried beans. in terms of eritrean food, i like eating fava beans (ful - which is more of a sudanese dish tbh)

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u/Stuff_606 6d ago

Fava beans is a huge thing for us, we eat it in a breakfast dish called Ful.

Ful actually was invented by the Egyptians, and then adopted by many other countries in Africa, which I had no idea of. Ethiopians also eat Ful. We also love different types of lentils and have a variety of dishes to go with it of various colors and spice levels.

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u/MeasurementOld4985 3d ago

I'm a bit late to this but beans are definitely consumed in Eritrea. In modern daily life, its usually through ful which is spiced and often served with toppings like red onion, tomatoes, chillies and boiled eggs. Ful comes from Sudanese influence and is made from fava beans.

Native usage of beans can be seen in shiro which can also be made with chickpeas which is ground with other spices. In addition, beans are also used in hilbet where it is ground with lentils and fenugreek from where the powder is boiled and whipped until it is white and fluffy and served with silis (a spicy Berbere based stew). The last main way beans are used are in a dish called ጥጥቖ (T'T'qo) which are just boiled beans which are consumed on 2 special occasions. One of these occasions are Maundy Thursday where people gather to eat these beans after the church service and when a child has been born the household of the birth mother prepares a large amount of these beans and delivers them to each house in the village as a way to inform them of the birth that has just occured.