Tikil Gomen – Simple Ethiopian Cabbage with Potatoes and Carrots

This tasty tikil gomen features stir-fried cabbage and veggies seasoned with fresh ginger, garlic, and jalapeño for a delicious meal with a bit of a kick.

If you like Indian food, but haven’t tried Ethiopian food yet, I think you’ll love this dish!

As with all vegetable stir-fries, you can easily add, remove, or swap ingredients based on what you like or what’s already in your fridge.

For example, try yams in place of Yukon gold potatoes for a more authentic dish, or if you prefer a sweet and spicy flavor. Sweet potatoes are more readily available in the West and also work well in this meal.

This recipe calls for cabbage, which is common in this dish. People also use collard greens commonly, or sometimes mustard greens.

Feel free to use any green you want. If you have Swiss chard from your or someone’s garden, that would be delicious too!

How to serve tikil gomen

This food is delicious on its own.

That being said, a traditional Ethiopian meal would feature multiple different wats, or stews, all served in separate piles on injera.

Injera is a fermented, spongy flatbread made with teff flour. You may be able to find some at a local Ethiopian restaurant or African food market.

If you’re up for a challenge, you can make your own injera following this recipe, which also features a beautiful photo of how different wats (also spelled wots) and salads are arranged on the injera.

Injera is similar to sourdough bread, and you will need to ferment the starter for 4-5 days, so plan accordingly.

Teff, the grain that composes injera, is highly nutritious and contains almost no gluten. If this is a concern for you, you may wish to seek some out. I’ve seen teff flour at grocery and health food stores from Bob’s Red Mill, which confirms it to be gluten free.

As always, check with your doctor, and make sure the packaging says it is gluten free if that’s what you need. Some injera in the West is cut with wheat flour since it’s widely available (and cheaper).

You can also serve tikil gomen with this vegan roti recipe (whole-wheat Indian flatbread).

Tikil Gomen Ingredients

Before you begin, you will need:

Edible Ingredients

• 1 head of cabbage
• 4 carrots
• 4 potatoes (I used Yukon gold potatoes)
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 inches of fresh ginger (for a refresher on how to peel it, see my recipe for tallarin saltado)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Tools and Tips

• A large pot with a lid, like a Dutch oven or stock pot – Use the largest pot you have so that you can stir easily without it overflowing.
• Knife and cutting board
• A stirring utensil – Be cautious with white or wooden utensils as turmeric may stain them (and anything they touch!), so if you use wood, make sure to clean it right away.
• A garlic press, or allow more time for mincing garlic

How to Make Tikil Gomen

1. First, wash and chop all of your vegetables (cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and onion). Set each one aside separately.
2. After that, mince your smaller items (ginger, garlic, and jalapeno).
3. Once everything is prepped, set a large pot (like a Dutch oven or stock pot) over medium-high heat.
4. When it’s hot, add the oil. Then, stir in the onions and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.
5. After that, stir in the carrots and cook until they start to get tender, about 3-4 minutes.
6. Then, mix in the potatoes, cover with the lid, and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Next, stir in the garlic and ginger. Then, add the salt, pepper, and turmeric and combine well.
8. After that, blend in the water and cook for a few minutes.
9. Stir in the jalapeno, and then begin stirring in the cabbage, a handful or two at a time so the pot doesn’t overflow (if you are using a dutch oven). The cabbage cooks down quite a bit, and I found that after three minutes all of the cabbage fit fine in a Dutch oven with room enough to stir carefully.
10. After that, cover the pot with the lid, and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Stir every few minutes so the cabbage at the bottom doesn’t char.
11. Finally, give it a taste, see if you want more salt or anything, then serve and enjoy! (If you can find or make injera, an Ethiopian sourdough flatbread made with fermented teff flour, serve with that! However, it’s delicious on its own as well!)

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Variations on this recipe

You can play with the spices here as much as you’d like. I kept it pretty simple, but cumin and curry would both be lovely in this dish, as would coriander and/or fenugreek.

In order to kick up the heat, garnish your serving with a few crushed red pepper flakes.

Feel free to use whatever oil you normally use for cooking in place of olive oil. Coconut oil would be nice, since the sweetness would complement the spice from the jalapeño.

If you don’t have fresh ginger handy, ground ginger works fine, too.

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Related Recipes

For some info and nutritional benefits of turmeric, check out my silken tofu scramble recipe.

If you liked this dish, I think you’ll enjoy my cholay, or curried chickpeas.

This fragrant cabbage curry is another great way to enjoy budget-friendly cabbage.

Try it with this vegan roti recipe!

Important: This post is for informational and educational purposes only. This post should not be taken as medical or nutritional advice or used as a substitute for such. You should always speak to your own doctor or nutritionist before implementing this information on your own. Thank you!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe for tikil gomen!