Talk:Cuisine of Ethiopia

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Oh come on, an entire article on ethiopian cuisine and not one joke? I say we add a joke section, or atleast acknoledge in some way that jokes exist. —the preceding comment is by 71.106.115.131 - 23:43, 8 April 2006: Please sign your posts!

I have a pretty good idea about the sort of "jokes" you have in mind. They are unencyclopedic, at best, and I suggest you not post them. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 00:46, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Eritrean cuisine

I'm wondering if Eritrean cuisine could be included here (and if so, should the article be renamed)? Eritrean cuisine employs more pasta (and, I think, pastries), but otherwise consists of injera, wat, etc. In fact, the picture in the article was first used in the Eritrea article but since the food was the same I included it here, as well. But not being as familiar with Eritrea as I am with Ethiopia, I don't know if there are indeed more differences.

Also, there is no mention of the coffee ceremony! (Could also be added to the Coffee article). I think I have a couple of photos I could use.

I could also add a picture (and description) of a mesob (sp?). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 17:33, 4 May 2005 (UTC)

That could be done, but then the question of whether to include Somali food in here would arise, too, since they also eat injera (injelo in Somali) be wet. I believe that mesob is the correct spelling (AFAIK).
Yom 00:52, 25 March 2006 (UTC)
Well so much for my pictures. "Someday." -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:49, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chechebsa?

The article says chechebsa is a pancake served with honey and spices. I think it's better to say it resembles a pancake, lest readers confuse it with the typical Western pancake (though I guess technically, it's correct). Also, I've heard chechebsa called "kita firfir" (or is that "kita fitfit"?), I think the food and the name "Chechebsa' are both of Oromo origin. But is it really served with honey? I've had it with coffee and it was covered with kibbeh mixed with berbere. I asked about the honey, and the response was "you must be kidding." But perhaps this is a regional variation, so I left it in. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:49, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

I've never heard of chechebsa, but "fitfit" is just basically injera with some sort of wet where the injera is broken up into small pieces and mixed in with the wet. I've only seen this done with beg (alicha, meaning not spicy) or "lamb" wet though, i.e. one without any significant sauce so that the injera maintains its consistency and doesn't break apart. It's very messy.
Yom 04:09, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
Yes, different fitit. (I'd never heard chechebsa called anything else until the other day.) What you've described, I've heard called beg fitfit, but I've also had timatim fitfit (or is it salat fitfit?), i.e. cold salad with injera pieces. I've had chechebsa a couple of times with coffee, and thought it was extremely rich (I couldn't eat much). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 03:14, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
Oh! I think I know what you're talking about (based on kita fitfit). Kita is a flat bread (not injera - it's not sour at all) that is usually eaten with butter (qibé) and spices (berberé). Kita fitfit (I don't remember what the name I know it by is) is just small pieces of kita in a bowl mixed with butter (not that much) and berberé. I had some not too long ago, actually. I've never heard of having it with honey though. You should probably remove it. As far as I know, it's not Oromo, but I could be wrong. Maybe the honey part is (the name definitely could be)?
Yom 03:24, 29 March 2006 (UTC)


[edit] spicy green?

What is that green spicy sauce they serve with injera dishes?--Sonjaaa 03:37, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean. Alecha wat can be sort of greenish in color, but isn't spicy at all. Sometimes chopped jalapenos are provided but I wouldn't call this a sauce. Gomen (chopped spinach or greens) could be made spicy, but this isn't really a sauce either. Was this at a restaurant? Do you remember what you ordered? -- Gyrofrog (talk) 04:43, 30 May 2006 (UTC)


I'll take a pictuer next time! :)--Sonjaaa 06:34, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What about Tibbs

Is it my eyes or is there no mention of Tibbs, like one of the most popular dishes. And also you should add "special food" as a new dish. I am getting hungry---Halaqah 22:49, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

It's only one sentence, but tebs (sp?) is mentioned: "Alternatively, rather than being prepared as a stew, meat or vegetables may be sautéed to make t.ebs." What is "special food?" When I've seen "special" on a menu, it's always in the context of ketfo (e.g. "ketfo special" has gomen and ayb mixed together). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 22:23, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Special food is served in a small metal container, it is egg, BirBiri, beans all together, it always comes with Dabo (bread). It is served hot. It is a strange dish because it is very popular if you know to ask for it, next time ask for "special food" and they will know what you mean. I think you can only get it in Ethiopia, especially outside of Addis (north and South). And then there is special Tebs (Tibbs)--Halaqah 08:28, 21 October 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Ge'ez needed here

Can someone add the Amharic spelling here?--Halaqah 21:53, 29 October 2006 (UTC)


And like the Somali cusine page we should add images of key dishes, Wish i had one of t.ebs---Halaqah 01:33, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re-named section

I have re-named the "Firfir" section to "Breakfast foods." Firfir was just one of four different foods mentioned in that paragraph. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 17:45, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pork

While pork (asama) is traditionally absent from Ethiopian cuisine, I've recently heard about farmers raising swine for meat in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, this information is simply what I've been told, nothing I could attribute to a reliable source. But my understanding is that one can now purchase mortadella in Addis Ababa (by comparison, I can't buy mortadella where I live (in the U.S.) without driving 30 or 40 miles). I thought perhaps there was an expatriate community in Ethiopia who is buying and eating this pork, but it seems Ethiopians are among the consumers. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 22:04, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gomen kitfo

I know gomen can refer to either spinach (or similar leafy greens, e.g. turnip greens, collard greens etc.), or to cabbage. But in the case of gomen kitfo, doesn't it specifically mean spinach? The article says gomen kitfo is made from cabbage, and doesn't mention anything about mixing this with the kitfo (meat) itself. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 14:53, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Minchetabesh?

Last week we were at an Ethiopian restaurant and I ate something called Minchetabesh and really loved it. I saw that there is no mention of this dish in the article so I was wondering if this is considered a traditional dish and how popular it is? Thanks, --Kudret abi 20:53, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

  • From what I understand, it is a type of wat using ground prime rib. (Sounds tasty!) I think "minchetabesh" is a compound word, with "-abesh" referring to Habesha (not sure what "minchet" is). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:41, 12 September 2007 (UTC)
    • Tasty would be an understatement actually :) Thanks for the linguistic information, as to minchet, I recall it said something on the menu about this being a King's Dish so I wonder if that's what it is. Well, perhaps someone from Ethiopia will come across this discussion and let us know one day... --Kudret abi 06:24, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Raw meat

(I know I asked this on a talk page somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment.) I've been reading Hormuzd Rassam's account of his embassy to Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, and encountered his description of watching inhabitants of Balwaha eat what he calls Brundo: this consists slicing meat off of a recently-slain cow & eating it raw. Now food customs do change (I'm sure I'd be just as surprised at the diet of my ancestral Amricans circa 1865 as would modern Ethiopians), but I've seen this dish described in various traveller's accounts back into the 17th century, & wonder if this is an older version of kitfo or gored gored -- or another dish entirely? -- llywrch (talk) 21:36, 28 December 2007 (UTC)