Shimbra Asa (ሽምብራ ዓሳ): The Fish Made of Chickpeas

Ethiopian fasting cuisine solved "what's for dinner without meat" centuries ago — and occasionally it solved it with a wink. Shimbra asa (ሽምብራ ዓሳ) means "chickpea fish": a dish, often served during fasting holidays when Ethiopians eat no meat, of chickpea dough formed into little fish-shaped pieces, fried, and blended into a spicy kulet.

The joke that became a classic

On the strictest fasting days even fish is off the table — so cooks made their own. Chickpea flour, water, and spice knead into a firm dough; small pieces are shaped (traditionally like tiny fish, fins pinched by hand), fried until golden, then simmered briefly in a berbere-onion sauce where they soften just enough while keeping their chew. The result eats somewhere between dumpling and fritter, with all the deep flavor of a proper wot.

Chickpea nation

Shimbra (chickpea) runs through the whole fasting canon: ground into shiro, boiled into nefro, roasted into kolo, pressed into hilbet paste. Shimbra asa is its most playful form — proof that a devotional cuisine can still have fun.

Make it

Knead chickpea flour with water, salt, and a spoon of berbere into a stiff dough; shape small flat fish or simple ovals; shallow-fry until golden; then simmer ten minutes in a fasting kulet. Serve on injera with something green.

Chickpea headquarters: Mitin Shiro and Berbere — and the wider fasting table awaits in our guide.