Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese with Collard Greens (Ayib Be Gomen Recipe) (2024)

By: Author Kate

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Spice up your dinner with Ayib Be Gomen (Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese served over Sauteed Collard Greens) - a delicious, healthy side dish or appetizer.

Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese with Collard Greens (Ayib Be Gomen Recipe) (1)

Ethiopian cottage cheese recipe

A couple of weeks ago we visited our friends who live in the Boston area. For lunch, we went out for Ethiopian food in Boston.

Have you ever had Ethiopian food? No? Well, it is SO GOOD. If you like curries, stews, spices, amazing flavors with lots of depth, you'll love Ethiopian food.

Ethiopian food is usually served on a large platter family style. And the platter is lined with injera bread, which is kind of like a giant spongy crepe. You have to rip off pieces of injera and use it as a utensil, to pick up chunks of stewed meat, flavorful chickpeas and lentils, and to sop up the juices. Yummy. It's a fun eating experience.

Whenever we go out for Ethiopian we usually get some kind of combo meal, sort of an 'Ethiopian 101,' if you will. Most restaurants have this option on their menu. Everything we've ever had from that section of the menu has always been good, even if I can't always remember the names of the things I am eating.

This time we decided to try a couple of appetizers too. One of the things we got was this awesome Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese served with sauteed collard greens. It was called Ayib Begomen.

Ayib means cheese, and gomen means collard greens (based on my googling). I absolutely loved this appetizer.

It was different than the other Ethiopian food we had, and as we were eating it, it occurred to me that I can totally make this at home! That's one of my favorite things about cooking - trying something new and having that light bulb go off in my head when I realize I can make this for myself anytime!

So after dinner, we stopped by an Ethiopian grocery store and bought some Ethiopian spices. I got some berbereand some mitmita. Both are Ethiopian spice blends. Mitmita is super spicy, but berbere is just a bit spicy but also has so much flavor.

I've been using the spices in lots of recipes, such as my Ethiopian Chicken Stew, side dishes such as my Ethiopian Chickpeas, pan-fried potatoes, and for this recipe Ayib Begomen recipe:

Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese with Collard Greens (Ayib Be Gomen Recipe) (2)

So back to this Ethiopian Cottage Cheese recipe! Traditionally you're supposed to eat it with injera, but I didn't have time for that this time.If you don't want to bother with injera, I bet this would be amazing on a pita or on some roti.

We just had this as a side dish, and we devoured it in one sitting. So if you're cooking for more than 2 people, I would say double this recipe.

This was so easy to make and is a super healthyside or snack since it contains so much protein from the cottage cheese and lots of collard greens. If I was to make a habit of this, I would cut down on the butter ormaybe use olive oil. But for the first time, I wanted to make it extra delicious, so 4 tablespoons of butter went into this. Yum.

So if you want to try something new, different, and delicious, I really urge you to try making this Ethiopian spiced cottage cheese. It's a wonderful appetizer or snack!

And if you're still here, you might be interested in checking out more savory cottage cheese recipes!

Oh, and if you're interested in trying more easy Ethiopian recipes, check out my Ethiopian Chicken Stew and Ethiopian Chickpeas:

Ethiopian Chicken Stew:

Ethiopian Chickpeas:

Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese with Collard Greens (Ayib Be Gomen Recipe) (5)

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5 from 6 votes

Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese with Collard Greens (Ayib Begomen Recipe)

Spice up your dinner with Ayib Begomen (Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese served over Sauteed Collard Greens) - a delicious, healthy side dish or appetizer. Keto-friendly, too!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Snack

Cuisine: African, Ethiopian

Servings: 2

Author: Kate

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • ½ small yellow onion - , diced
  • 3 garlic cloves - , minced
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom powder
  • ½ lb collard greens - (about 10-15 large leaves), chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon salt - , or to taste
  • 1 cup cottage cheese - (any kind, I used fat free)
  • ½ teaspoon berbereseasoning

Instructions

  • In a large skillet, melt the butter, and add the diced onion, minced garlic, and ground cardamom. Saute for 3 minutes until the onion softens and turns a nice yellow color.

  • Add the sliced collard green leaves and season with salt. Saute for a few minutes, and then cover with a lid and let the collard greens steam in the skillet for 10 minutes.

  • In the meantime, add the ½ teaspoon berbere to the cottage cheese and mix.

    To serve, make a bed of sauteed collard greens, and place the spiced cottage cheese on top of the leaves. If you have some injera, pita bread, or roti around, they would go well with this side dish or snack.

Notes

Berbere mixtures can vary in spice, so if you know you don't like things too spicy, err on the side of caution. You can always add more later, you can't take it out. 🙂

Nutrition

Calories: 346kcal (17%) | Carbohydrates: 11g (4%) | Protein: 15g (30%) | Fat: 27g (42%) | Saturated Fat: 16g (80%) | Cholesterol: 78mg (26%) | Sodium: 892mg (37%) | Potassium: 368mg (11%) | Fiber: 4g (16%) | Sugar: 3g (3%) | Vitamin A: 6540IU (131%) | Vitamin C: 41.4mg (50%) | Calcium: 365mg (37%) | Iron: 0.5mg (3%)

The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.

Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese with Collard Greens (Ayib Be Gomen Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is ayib made of? ›

Ayib, a traditional Ethiopian cottage cheese, is a popular milk product consumed by the various ethnic groups of the country. It is made from sour milk after the butter is removed by churning.

What is Ethiopian Gomen made of? ›

Ethiopian Collard Greens aka Ye'abasha Gomen- Braised collard greens and kale seasoned with aromatics; Quick, easy and tasty.

What is a substitute for ayib? ›

The texture of ayib will remind you of goat cheese, which you can use as a substitute. Goat cheese has a more assertive flavor, and the ayib adds a nice lactic element to the dish without taking over.

How to season up cottage cheese? ›

SAVORY
  1. Veggies. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and avocado: pretty much whatever suits your fancy. And a drizzle of olive oil.
  2. Seeds and nuts. Stir in your favorites together or separately.
  3. Grains. Quinoa, anyone?
  4. Salsa. You decide: mild, medium or hot! Or try hot sauce.
  5. Eggs. Plus salt and pepper.
  6. Crumbled bacon. Yum!

What does Ayib cheese taste like? ›

"[This is] a soft cheese with a mild flavor, similar to a ricotta or cottage cheese," explains recipe developer Kara Barrett. Likewise, the berbere isn't all that different from spices common to North American or Asian cooking. "[It's] a traditional Ethiopian spice that is hot and peppery.

What does ayib taste like? ›

In Lebanon, where it is known as kebab cheese, it is cubed, threaded on skewers, grilled over charcoal, and then sold as a popular street snack. Its taste is salty but mild with a tangy flavour.

What is a crucial ingredient in Ethiopian cuisine? ›

Fenugreek seeds are ground and used as a key ingredient in the Ethiopian berbere. The seeds are also used to make injera and niter kibbeh. Cardamom is the third most expensive spice after saffron and vanilla. The Ethiopian cardamom is known as "false cardamom".

What is Ethiopia's national dish? ›

Doro wat (wett)

It is the most popular traditional food in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Considered the national dish, it is the food of choice during formal and informal gatherings, eaten together as part of a group who share a communal bowl and basket of injera.

What oil is used in Ethiopian cooking? ›

In their adherence to strict fasting, Ethiopian cooks have developed a rich array of cooking oil sources—besides sesame and safflower—for use as a substitute for animal fats which are forbidden during fasting periods. Ethiopian cuisine also uses nug (also spelled noog, also known as "niger seed").

What is Ayib cheese in English? ›

Ayib (aka Ayibe) is a soft Ethiopian fresh cheese similar to cottage cheese. It is usually made at home or through farmhouse production, as a by-product of making butter (just as cottage cheese is in western cuisine.)

Does Ethiopian food have cheese? ›

Tej: Ethiopian honey wine, a sweet and potent drink that complements the spiciness of the cuisine. Injera with Dips: Injera can also be served with various dips and salads, such as ayib (a mild cheese), and tihlo (roasted barley), as well as sambusas (savory pastries).

What bread is similar to injera? ›

The South Indian bread appam feels so much like Eritrean/Ethiopian injera! Both flatbreads have spongy centers that make them perfect for soaking up sauces. Injera is made from fermented teff flour, while appam is fermented rice.

What's healthier Greek yogurt or cottage cheese? ›

So far, these two high-protein snacks are neck in neck when considering protein, calcium and calories. But one clear distinction steers the choice: Cottage cheese can be loaded with sodium. Just 1 cup of cottage cheese can deliver 8 to 9 times the sodium found in Greek yogurt.

What can I eat with cottage cheese for weight loss? ›

Healthy ways to enjoy cottage cheese

You can cut calories and fat from your diet and promote healthy weight loss by substituting cottage cheese for other foods. Here are some suggestions: Add cottage cheese to your morning smoothie. Top cottage cheese with fresh berries, mango, or pineapple for a healthy snack.

What is the ingredient of injera? ›

"Injera" is an Amharic term for Ethiopian bread similar to pan cake, made usually from teff. Injera is thin, prepared from teff flour, water and starter (a fluid collected from previously fermented mix) after successive fermentations [1].

What is the key ingredient in injera? ›

Injera is made with teff, a tiny, round grain that flourishes in the highlands of Ethiopia. While teff is very nutritious, it contains practically no gluten. This makes teff ill-suited for making raised bread, however injera still takes advantage of the special properties of yeast.

What is Kocho Ethiopian food made of? ›

Kocho is an Ethiopian flatbread that can be served with other dishes. It is made from the scraped leaf sheath fibre and pulverised corm of the enset plant. Kocho can be stored underground from three months to twelve months, making it a ready source of nutrition during periods of food scarcity.

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