Cuisine of Ethiopia
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Ethiopian cuisine consists of various vegetable or meat side dishes and entrees, usually a wat or thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread, which is 50 cm (20 inches) in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses injera (always with the right hand) to scoop up the entrees and side dishes.
Traditional Ethiopian cuisine employs no pork of any kind, as most Ethiopians are either Muslims or Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, and are thus prohibited from eating pork. Furthermore, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church prescribes a number of fasting (tsom Ge'ez: ጾም ṣōm) periods, including Wednesdays, Fridays, and the entire Lenten season, so Ethiopian cuisine contains many vegetarian (Amharic: ye-tsom የጾም ye-ṣōm, Tigrinya: nay-tsom ናይጾም nāy-ṣōm) dishes. Ethiopian restaurants are a popular choice for vegetarians living in Western countries.
Ethiopian cusine is also known for its spiciness. J. Innes Miller cites a publication of the Ethiopian Ministry of Education that listed a number of spices grown in Ethiopia in 1954, which include fenugreek, cumin, basil, coriander, ginger, saffron, mustard, cardamom, "Red pepper" (Capsicum annuum) and thyme. Innes Miller notes that "all of these, except red pepper, belonged to the Roman world."[1]
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[edit] Types of Ethiopian Cuisine
Berbere, a combination of powdered chile pepper and other spices (somewhat analogous to Southwestern American chili powder), is an important ingredient used in many dishes. Also essential is niter kibbeh, a clarified butter infused with ginger, garlic, and several spices.
[edit] Wat
Wat stews all begin with a large amount of chopped red onions, which the cook simmers in a pot. Once the onions have softened, the cook adds niter kebbeh (or, in the case of vegan dishes, vegetable oil). Following this, the cook adds berbere to make a spicy qey (Amharic: ቀይ ḳey, Tigrinya: ቀይሒ ḳeyḥī; "red") wat, or may omit the berbere for a milder alicha wat or alecha wat (Ge'ez : አሊጫ ālič̣ā). In the event that the berbere is particularly spicy, the cook may elect to add it before the kibbeh or oil so the berbere will cook longer and become milder. Finally, the cook adds meat such as beef (siga, Ge'ez: ሥጋ śigā), chicken (Amharic: ዶሮ dōrō, Tigrinya: ደርሆ derhō), or lamb (Amharic: በግ beg, Tigrinya በግዕ beggiʕ); legumes such as split peas (Amharic: ክክ kik, Tigrinya: ክኪ kikkī) or lentils (Amharic: ምስር misir, Tigrinya: ምስሪ misrī); or vegetables such as potatoes (dinich, Amharic: ድንች dinič).
[edit] Tibs
Alternatively, rather than being prepared as a stew, meat or vegetables may be sautéed to make tibs (also tebs, t'ibs, tibbs, t.ibs, etc., Ge'ez ጥብስ ṭibs). Tibs is served normal or special, "special tibs" is served on a hot dish with vegetables (salad) mixed in. The mid-18th century European visitor to Ethiopia, Remedius Prutky, describes tibs as a portion of grilled meat served "to pay a particular compliment or show especial respect to someone."[2]
[edit] Kitfo
Another distinctive Ethiopian dish is kitfo (frequently listed as ketfo), which consists of raw (or rare) ground beef marinated in mitmita (Ge'ez: ሚጥሚጣ mīṭmīṭā, a very spicy chili powder) and niter kibbeh. Gored gored is very similar to kitfo, but uses cubed, rather than ground, beef.
[edit] Breakfast foods
Firfir or fitfit, (Ge'ez: ፍርፍር firfir; ፍትፍት fitfit) made from shredded injera with spices, is a typical breakfast dish. Another popular breakfast food is dulet (Ge'ez: ዱለት dūlet), a spicy mixture of tripe, liver, beef, and peppers with injera. Fatira consists of a large fried pancake made with flour, often with a layer of egg, eaten with honey. Chechebsa (or kita firfir) resembles a pancake covered with berbere and kibbeh, or spices and honey, and may be eaten with a spoon.
[edit] Ethiopian beverages
Tej is a honey wine, similar to mead, that is frequently drunk in bars (in particular, in a "tej bet"; Ge'ez ጠጅ ቤት ṭej bēt, "tej house"). Katikal and Araki are inexpensive local spirits that are very strong. Coffee (buna) originates from Ethiopia, and is a central part of Ethiopian beverages. Equally important is the ceremony which accompanies the serving of the coffee, which is sometimes served from a Jebena (ጀበና). In most homes a dedicated coffee area is surrounded by fresh grass with dedicated coffee furniture for the coffee maker.
[edit] Serving style
A mesob (Ge'ez: መሶብ mesōb) is a tabletop on which food is traditionally served. The mesob is usually made of straw. It has a lid that is kept on it until time to eat. Just before the food is ready, a basin of water and soap is brought out for washing one's hands. When the food is ready, the top is taken off of the mesob and the food is placed in the mesob. When the meal is finished, the basin of water and soap is brought back out for the hands to be washed again.
[edit] Gurage dishes
Gurage cuisine additionally makes use of the false banana plant (enset, Ge'ez: እንሰት inset), a type of ensete. The plant is pulverized and fermented to make a bread-like food called qocho (Ge'ez: ቆጮ ḳōč̣ō), which is eaten with kitfo.[citation needed] The root of this plant may be powderized and prepared as a hot drink called bula (Ge'ez: ቡላ būlā), which is often given to those who are tired or ill. Another typical Gurage cuisine is coffee with butter (kebbeh).
[edit] Notes
- ^ J. Innes Miller, The Spice Trade of the Roman Empire (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), p. 108
- ^ J.H. Arrowsmith-Brown (trans.), Prutky's Travels in Ethiopia and other Countries with notes by Richard Pankhurst (London: Hakluyt Society, 1991), p. 286
[edit] External links
- Ethiopian Restaurants: Worldwide Listing
- Eating and Drinking in Ethiopia
- Ethiopia: Spicy Food from the Cradle of Civilization
- Injera recipe Injera is a traditional Ethiopian bread
- - African spices - Recipy
- - Berbere - Spice up your dish
- - Teff - Injerra
- - Teff - Injerra
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