ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Cuisine, Dishes And Foods

Ethiopian cuisine characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes. This is usually in the form of wat, a thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread, which is about 50 centimeters (20 inches) in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour.Ethiopians eat exclusively with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church prescribes a number of fasting periods, including Wednesdays, Fridays, and the entire Lenten season, so Ethiopian cuisine contains many dishes that are vegan.

A typical dish consists of injera accompanied by a spicy stew, which frequently includes beef, lamb, vegetables and various types of legumes, such as lentils. Gurage cuisine also makes use of the false banana plant, a type of ensete. The plant is pulverized and fermented to make a bread-like food called qocho or kocho, which is eaten with kitfo.

The root of this plant may be powdered and prepared as a hot drink called bulla, which is often given to those who are tired or ill. Another typical Gurage preparation is coffee with butter (kebbeh). Kita herb bread is also baked.

Pasta is frequently available throughout Ethiopia, including rural areas.Coffee is also a large part of Ethiopian culture and cuisine. After every meal, a coffee ceremony is enacted and espresso coffee is served.

Berbere, a combination of powdered chili pepper and other spices, is an important ingredient used in many dishes. Also essential is niter kibbeh, a clarified butter infused with ginger, garlic, and several spices.

Mitmita is a powdered seasoning mix used in Ethiopian cuisine. It is orange-red in color and contains ground birdseye chili peppers (piri piri), cardamom seed, cloves and salt. It occasionally has other spices including cinnamon, cumin and ginger.

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 is forbidden during fasting periods. Ethiopian cuisine also uses nug or niger seed.

Wat begins with a large amount of chopped red onion, which is simmered or sauteed in a pot. Once the onions have softened, niter kebbeh in the case of vegan dishes, vegetable oil is added. Following this, berbere is added to make a spicy keiy wat or keyyih tsebhi. Turmeric is used instead of berbere for a milder alicha wat or both spices are omitted when making vegetable stews, such as atkilt wat.

Meat such as beef, chicken,fish, goat or lamb,beg is also added. Legumes such as split peas and lentils or vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and chard are also used instead in vegan dishes.

Each variation is named by appending the main ingredient to the type of wat. However, the word keiy is usually not necessary, as the spicy variety is assumed when it is omitted (e.g. doro wat). The term atkilt wat is sometimes used to refer to all vegetable dishes, but a more specific name can also be used as in dinich'na caroht wat, which translates to potatoes and carrots stew; but notice the word "atkilt" is usually omitted when using the more specific term.

Meat along with vegetables are sauteed to make tibs. Tibs is served in a variety of manners, and can range from hot to mild or contain little to no vegetables. There are many variations of the delicacy, depending on type, size or shape of the cuts of meat used.

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."This is perhaps still true as the dish is still prepared today to commemorate special events and holidays.

Kinche or Qinch’e is a very common Ethiopian breakfast, its equivalent of oatmeal. It’s incredibly simple, inexpensive, and nutritious. It is made from cracked wheat. It can be boiled in either milk or water. The flavor of the Kinche comes from the nit'ir qibe, which is a spiced butter.

Oromo dishes

Waadii – also known as tibs; specially seasoned

Anchotte – a common dish in the western part of Oromia (Wallaga)

Baduu – also known as aybe

Marqaa – also known as genfo

Chechebsa – also known as kita

Qoocco – although also known as kocho, it is not the Gurage type of kocho but a different kind; a common dish in the western part of Oromia (Wallaga)

Itto – also known as wat; comprises all sorts of wat, including vegetables and mea

Chuuco – also known as besso; a sweet flavor of whole grain, seasoned with butter and spices

Chuko, barley conserved with butter, is traditional food of Oromia region in Ethiopia. It is traditionally made by women from barley powder mixed with a sufficient amount of distilled butter, along with ginger, onion, salt and spices. Chuko is easy to prepare in a short time, and is full of protein because of its barley content.

To make it, first barley is husked and then roasted over a fire. It is then pounded into a powder. Over this powder, a sufficient amount of butter and spices is added, and mixed to create the finished, piquant product. Individual portions of chuko vary between 2 and 5 kg. Chuko can be stored for up to a year without spoiling.

Chuko is both a part of the everyday diet and prepared for special events. It is popular among those on long journeys or away at university because of its long shelf life. It is also prepared for holidays and festivals. It is traditionally related with Oromo weddings, served by the bride’s parents to the groom’s best men. Chuko is mainly produced for home consumption, but can also be found at local markets.

Production of chuko is totally dependent on the production of barley. Therefore, in times of drought or bad harvests, production subsequently decreases. It is also becoming more difficult for many families to prepare due to the high price related to the large quantity of butter required. It is also slowly losing its importance related to wedding customs, and is being replaced by imported products new to the market, meaning fewer people are left who know how to and continue to prepare chuko.

The traditional products, local breeds, and know-how collected by the Ark of Taste belong to the communities that have preserved them over time

Chororsaa – a common dish in western part of Oromia (Wallaga)

Gurage dishes

Kitfo

Another distinctively Ethiopian dish is kitfo frequently spelled ketfo. It consists of raw or rare beef mince marinated in mitmita,a very spicy chili powder similar to the berbere and niter kibbeh. Gored gored is very similar to kitfo, but uses cubed rather than ground beef.

Ayibe

Ayibe is a cottage cheese that is mild and crumbly. It is much closer in texture to crumbled feta. Although not quite pressed, the whey has been drained and squeezed out. It is often served as a side dish to soften the effect of very spicy food. It has little to no distinct taste of its own. However, when served separately, ayibe is often mixed with a variety of mild or hot spices typical of Gurage cuisine.

Gomen kitfo

Gomen kitfo is another typical Gurage dish. Collard greens are boiled, dried and then finely chopped and served with butter, chili and spices. It is a dish specially prepared for the occasion of Meskel, a very popular holiday marking the discovery of the True Cross. It is served along with ayibe or sometimes even kitfo in this tradition called dengesa.

Breakfast

Fit-fit or fir-fir is a common breakfast dish. It is made from shredded injera or kitcha stir-fried with spices or wat. Another popular breakfast food is fatira. The delicacy consists of a large fried pancake made with flour, often with a layer of egg. It is eaten with honey. Chechebsa or kita firfir resembles a pancake covered with berbere and niter kibbeh, or other spices, and may be eaten with a spoon.

Genfo is a kind of porridge, which is another common breakfast dish. It is usually served in a large bowl with a dug-out made in the middle of the genfo and filled with spiced niter kibbeh. A variation of ful, a fava bean stew with condiments, served with baked rolls instead of injera, is also common for breakfast.

Snacks

Typical Ethiopian snacks are dabo kolo,small pieces of baked bread that are similar to pretzels or kolo - roasted barley sometimes mixed with other local grains. Kolo made from roasted barley, chickpeas and peanuts are often sold by kiosks and street venders wrapped in a paper cone. Snacking on popcorn is also common.

Beverages

Coffee

According to some sources, drinking of coffee (buna) is likely to have originated in Ethiopia.A key national beverage, it is an important part of local commerce

The coffee ceremony is the traditional serving of coffee, usually after a big meal. It often involves the use of a jebena, a clay coffee pot in which the coffee is boiled. The preparer roasts the coffee beans right in front of guests, then walks around wafting the smoke throughout the room so participants may sample the scent of coffee.

Then the preparer grinds the coffee beans in a traditional tool called a mokecha. The coffee is put into the jebena, boiled with water, and then served with small cups called si'ni. Coffee is usually served with sugar, but is also served with salt in many parts of Ethiopia. In some parts of the country, niter kibbeh is added instead of sugar or salt.

Snacks, such as popcorn or toasted barley or kollo, are often served with the coffee. In most homes, a dedicated coffee area is surrounded by fresh grass, with special furniture for the coffee maker. A complete ceremony has three rounds of coffee - Abol, Tona and Bereka and is accompanied by the burning of frankincense.

Tea (shahee) will most likely be served if coffee is declined.

Non-alcoholic brews

Atmet is a barley and oat-flour based drink that is cooked with water, sugar and kibe or Ethiopian clarified butter until the ingredients have combined to create a consistency slightly thicker than egg-nog. Though this drink is often given to women who are nursing, the sweetness and smooth texture make it a comfort drink for anyone who enjoys its flavor.

Other drinks

Ambo Mineral Water or Ambo wuha is a bottled carbonated mineral water, sourced from the springs in Ambo Senkele near the town of Ambo.

Spirits

Tej is a potent honey wine.It is similar to mead, which is frequently served in bars in particular, in a tej bet or tej house. Katikala and araqe are inexpensive local spirits that are very strong.

Tella is a home-brewed beer served in tella bet "tella houses" which specialize in serving tella only. Tella is the most common beverage made and served in households during holidays.

Gursha

A gursha is an act of friendship and love. When eating injera, a person uses his or her right hand to strip off a piece, wraps it around some wat or kitfo, and then puts it into his or her mouth. During a meal with friends or family, it is a common custom to feed others in the group with one's hand by putting the rolled injera or a spoon full of other dishes into another's mouth.

This is called a gursha, and the larger the gursha, the stronger the friendship or bond,only surpassed by the brewing of Tej together. This tradition was featured in "The Food Wife," an episode of The Simpsons that uses Ethiopian cuisine as a plot point.

Ethiopian cuisine characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes, usually in the form of wat also w'et or wot, a thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread,which is about 50 centimeters (20 inches) in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour.

Ethiopians eat exclusively with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes.Utensils are rarely used with Ethiopian cuisine.

Ensete – An economically important food crop in Ethiopia.

Teff – a grain widely cultivated and used in the countries of Eritrea and Ethiopia, where it is used to make injera or tayta. Teff accounts for about a quarter of total cereal production in Ethiopia.

Fit-fit – an Ethiopian and Eritrean food typically served for breakfast

Ful medames – an Egyptian dish of cooked and mashed fava beans served with vegetable oil, cumin and optionally with chopped parsley, onion, garlic, and lemon juice, it is also a popular meal in Ethiopia and other countries

Ga'at or genfo – a stiff porridge

Gored gored – a raw beef dish

Guizotia abyssinica – an erect, stout, branched annual herb, grown for its edible oil and seed

Himbasha

Injera – a spongy, slightly sour flatbread regularly served with other dishes

Kittaa

Kitfo

Niter kibbeh – a seasoned, clarified butter used in Ethiopian cooking

Rhamnus prinoides

Samosa sambusa

Shahan ful

Shiro – a stew with primary ingredients of powdered chickpeas or broad bean meal

Wat – stew or curry that may be prepared with chicken, beef, lamb, a variety of vegetables, spice mixtures such as berbere, and niter kibbeh, a seasoned clarified butter. Wat is traditionally eaten with injera.

Spices

Aframomum corrorima – The spice known as korarima, Ethiopian cardamom, or false cardamom is obtained from the plant's seeds usually dried, and is extensively used in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. It is an ingredient in berbere, mitmita, awaze, and other spice mixtures, and is also used to flavor coffee.

Berbere – usually include chili peppers, garlic, ginger, basil, korarima, rue, ajwain or radhuni, nigella, and fenugreek.

Mitmita – a powdered seasoning mix used in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine

Beverages

Coffee production in Ethiopia and Jebena

Coffee

Tej – a honey wine or mead that is brewed and consumed in Ethiopia and Eritrea

Tella – a traditional beer from Ethiopia and Eritrea


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