Help me find name of dish

[AJ Drew]

Decade a go, I know an immigrant from Nigeria who had a carry out. Front of carry out was normal potato chips and bear.  Back of carry out was bulk foods he had shipped from Nigeria.  Most just sort of staples in their diet.  I fell in love with this one thing but can not remember the name to look for it.

It was an off yellow / golden brown powder.  I think it was spice and crushed peas or maybe beans.  You put it in water, simmer, let cool, and you get something kind of like hummas. Much more spice than most hummas.

Name was something like Cherose or Sherose.  I doubt it was strictly Nigerian, just that it was a staple there.  Clue?

 

[hogleg]

Was it "Jollof"?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Sounds like ground egusi, which is dried and ground melon seeds. They make soups and stews out of it. It looks a bit like chick pea flour, is that it?
 
The ingredient:

http://amzn.to/2bzuJB8

The dish:

http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/soups/egusi-soup.html

 

[hogleg]

Sounds like ground egusi, which is dried and ground melon seeds. They make soups and stews out of it. It looks a bit like chick pea flour, is that it?
 
The ingredient:

http://amzn.to/2bzuJB8

The dish:

http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/soups/egusi-soup.html

 
That would have been my second guess but it doesn't sound spicy enough. Jollof has scotch bonnets in it, so it was my first guess.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Well suya spice is their general spice mix and in a lot of dishes. However it is not a ground pea or bean, it could have been a package of egusi with suya spice in it already? Or maybe it was added when cooked? But it is hummus-like.

 

[AJ Drew]

Found it despite my bad memory.  He was from Ethiopian and the dish is Shiro.  Now I have to figure out what the traditional peppers were that he mixed in. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiro_(food)

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Bahaha. Dude I love shiro I eat it all the time. You have good taste. Yes it is chick peas.

When I get it the finished dish is brick red.

 

[AJ Drew]

Bahaha. Dude I love shiro I eat it all the time. You have good taste. Yes it is chick peas.

Ye, I am an odd red neck.  Do you purchase the base powder or make it?  Louisville is about an hour from me.  I have to go to doctors there all time.  Figure either way, there has got to be a place there that carries the stuff.  There is a flat bread that shiro is traditionally served on.  Kind of sour taste.  Something like injara.  Lous wife use to make it and sell it at the carry out.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

The bread it is served on is called injera
The rest i dunno

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Had shiro last night. Took a pic but it looks like something from the other end and not very appetizing lol.

 

[Scorchy]

Found it despite my bad memory.  He was from Ethiopian and the dish is Shiro.  Now I have to figure out what the traditional peppers were that he mixed in. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiro_(food)

 
Could this be the one perhaps?   http://www.rareseeds.com/ethiopian-brown-pepper/

 

[AJ Drew]

Could be.  Have friend that works near the carry out where i first discovered it.  Turns out, the guy that owned it sold it but still owns the building.  He also owns the building where she works. She said if he knows, and he will cause his wife fixes it, she will find out.

 

[Sprawlaholic]

Hey, clearly I am about five months late to the party (and kinda new to THP), but shiro is basically a humus seasoned with a berbere spice mix.  The spice mix is kinda like a curry powder, jerk spice, or chili powder in the sense that there's a basic recipe, but every family/cook has their own little secret mix.  If you're into cooking at all, it's pretty easy to make if you have a spice grinder/mortar and pestle.  You could just make a big batch without spice and keeping grinding and adding different dried pods till you get a taste you like.
 
This is a basic recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/berbere-spice-mix-ethiopian-454642 
 
As far as finding injera in Kentucky, that may be a bit more of a daunting task as it is made from teff, which is a grain native to East Africa.