Kitfo

{{short description|Ethiopian dish originated from Gurage people}}

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{{More citations needed|date=March 2023}}

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File:Kitfo with Ayibe..JPG

Kitfo ({{langx|am|ክትፎ}}, {{IPA|am|kɨtfo|IPA}}) is an Ethiopian traditional dish that originated among the Gurage people. It consists of minced raw beef, marinated in mitmita (a chili-based spice powder) and niter kibbeh (a clarified butter infused with herbs and spices). The word comes from the Ethio-Semitic triconsonantal root k-t-f, meaning "to chop finely; mince".

Kitfo cooked lightly rare is known as kitfo leb leb.Mesfin, D.J. Exotic Ethiopian Cooking, Falls Church, Virginia: Ethiopian Cookbooks Enterprises, 2006, pp.124, 129. Kitfo is often served alongside — or sometimes mixed with — a mild cheese called ayibe or cooked greens known as gomen. In many parts of Ethiopia, kitfo is served with injera, a spongy, absorbent sourdough crêpe-like flatbread made from fermented teff flour; traditional Gurage cuisine replaces this with kocho, a thick flatbread made of the ensete plant. An ensete leaf may be also used as a garnish.

Though not considered a delicacy, kitfo is generally held in high regard.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} It is served on special occasions such as holidays like Meskel on 27 September, the feast celebrating the Finding of the True Cross.{{citation needed |date=March 2017}}