Ethiopian Tibs: Tibs, Derek Tibs and Tibs Firfir in Dakar

Tibs are meat sautéed over high heat with onions, tomatoes and herbs, one of the best-loved meat dishes in Ethiopian cooking. At Ge'eza the menu offers three versions: Tibs at 8,000 F, Derek Tibs at 8,000 F and Tibs Firfir at 9,000 F. All are served on injera, with meat bought fresh in Dakar. The restaurant is at 656 avenue Birago Diop in Point E, open Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 10pm.

Tibs: the Ethiopian sauté

The word tibs evokes the action of frying or grilling. Unlike wot, the stew that simmers for a long time in its sauce, tibs is quick cooking: the meat is cut into pieces, seared over a fierce heat, then seasoned with onions, tomatoes and fresh herbs. The result is drier than a wot, closer to a sauté than a dish in sauce.

The Ge'eza menu sums it up this way: meat sautéed over high heat with onions, tomatoes and fresh herbs. All the house's meat is bought fresh in Dakar and prepared following traditional Ethiopian recipes with kibbeh, the herb-infused clarified butter. To find out which meat is available on the day you visit, the simplest thing is to ask the team.

Three dishes, three personalities

The three names are often confused. Here is how to tell them apart, based on the menu.

• Tibs, 8,000 F. The base version: meat sautéed over high heat with onions, tomatoes and herbs. It stays juicy and comes with a little cooking sauce that soaks into the injera.
• Derek Tibs, 8,000 F. Derek means dry in Amharic. The meat is seared over high heat until beautifully caramelised: crisp outside, tender inside, says the menu. It is the most grilled of the three.
• Tibs Firfir, 9,000 F. Here the injera is torn and soaked in the juices of the sautéed meat, lifted with berbere spices. The menu calls it a dish that brings everything together. It is both a tibs and a firfir, more generous, more fragrant, softer to the bite.

The menu marks Tibs Firfir as one of the signature dishes. To understand the principle of firfir, read the page on that dish: firfir.

Which one to choose

A few pointers.

If you like firm textures and golden surfaces, Derek Tibs is the closest to a grill. If you prefer something softer and juicier, classic Tibs fits. If you already enjoy sauce-soaked injera, Tibs Firfir gives you the best of that pleasure, with meat on top.

On price, Tibs Firfir is 9,000 F, which is 1,000 F more than the other two versions.

How to eat them

Like all Ethiopian dishes, tibs are eaten with the right hand and injera. Tear a piece of bread, pick up some meat and onions, fold, and eat in one mouthful. The sautéed onions and tomatoes add softness, the herbs freshness.

In a group you take from the shared dish while staying on your own side, and you happily offer a mouthful to your neighbour, the famous gursha. For the manners of the Ethiopian table, injera explained summarises the customs.

Tibs in a shared meal

Tibs are easy to share. For two people, a Tibs at 8,000 F with a vegetarian dish such as shiro wot at 5,500 F makes a varied meal: 13,500 F for two dishes. For three or four people you can combine a tibs, a derek tibs and a beyaynetu to get meat and fasting dishes together.

The platter that marries both worlds, the Ye Fisig Beyaynetu, is made of three fasting stews and one meat stew of your choice: 7,000 F for one person, 10,000 F for two and 16,000 F for three. It is an alternative when you want meat without giving up variety.

Drinks that go with them

Tibs are rich, savoury, lightly spicy depending on the seasoning. A few ideas:

• A bissap at 1,500 F, a tart hibiscus juice, which refreshes.
• A ginger juice at 1,500 F, for the sharpness.
• A tej at 3,500 F, the Ethiopian honey wine, for a festive meal; its alcohol-free cousin, birz, costs 2,000 F. Tej has its own page: tej, Ethiopian honey wine.
• At the end of the meal, an Ethiopian macchiato at 2,500 F.

When to come

Tibs are on the restaurant menu. They suit a dinner on the terrace under the trees as well as a long lunch in the gallery lounge or under the glass roof. To be sure of a table in the evening or at the weekend, book online. If you have a special diet or an allergy, tell the team before ordering.

To see all the dishes with their prices, open the restaurant page.

Choosing by appetite

If you are hungry and want a dish that fills, Tibs Firfir is the most generous, since it adds the bread to the meat. If you want a lighter plate to share with a fasting dish, Tibs or Derek Tibs are better. And if you are two and cannot decide, you can order one of each and compare: a Tibs and a Derek Tibs together are 16,000 F, a Tibs and a Tibs Firfir 17,000 F.