Characteristic products
A mainstay of Ethiopian cuisine, tef or teff is a cereal native to the high plateaus of Eritrea and Ethiopia. The basic ingredient ofinjera, it is gluten-free and is one of the oldest domesticated plants, cultivated between 4000 and 1000 B.C. Other cereals include wheat, corn, rice, barley, sorghum and millet. Inherited from the Italian presence in the country, pasta is often eaten.
Tubers include potatoes, taro, yams, manioc and sweet potatoes. Similar to a banana plant, theensete is a close cousin of the banana, but its fruit is not edible. However, the pulp contained in its trunk and roots is highly nutritious and transformed into flour. It's a relatively unknown food outside Ethiopia, yet it feeds tens of millions of the country's inhabitants.
Vegetables include carrots, beet, tomatoes, onions, beans, lentils and broad beans, not to mention a multitude of green vegetables such as vegetable coretes, cabbage, taro leaves, sweet potatoes and so on. Also worth mentioning are okra, whose viscous juice is appreciated for thickening sauces, and bitter cucumber or margose. Ethiopian honey is also renowned. The best is found in the north, in Bati, Gondar and especially Dabra Markos, in the Godjam region. In the Omo Valley, in the south of the country, you'll also find some excellent honeys.
Beef, chicken, buffalo, mutton and goat are widely eaten. Pork, on the other hand, is surrounded by numerous dietary prohibitions, and is therefore virtually absent from local cuisine. Ethiopians also eat a lot of fish(assa), found in the country's many lakes and rivers. These are generally Nile perch or tilapia, eaten in fillets(kotlet) or cut into pieces and cooked in spicy sauces.
Dairy products are widely present, but like pork, they are surrounded by dietary prohibitions. Examples includeergo (fermented milk) andayib (fromage frais). Clarified butter is absolutely essential in Ethiopian cuisine. It can be used pure, but is most often found under the name of niter kibbeh, i.e. infused with various spices, herbs and condiments. For meals without animal products, butter is replaced by an oil, flavored with various spices, called yeqimem zeyet.
Local gastronomy is not lacking in flavors, and spices are omnipresent. Berbéré is the best example. This fierce orange-red blend is made up of chili powder, cardamom, fenugreek, coriander, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cumin. Its rich flavor is associated with many dishes, such as chicken stews and baked fish dishes. Rue officinale seeds are sometimes added to berbere, while the leaves are used to flavor coffee and tea. Mitmita is another blend containing piri piri chili powder, cardamom, cloves and salt, with the occasional addition of cinnamon, cumin and ginger.Awaze is a berbere-based sauce bound with clarified butter, tedj (local mead) and garlic puree.
Eating habits
Ethiopia is a multi-faith country, with a Tewahedo Orthodox Christian majority, a sizeable Muslim minority and a small Jewish community, many of whom now live in Israel. Christians observe several periods of fasting called tsom, including every Wednesday and Friday, and throughout the Lenten season. According to Eastern Orthodox tradition, the faithful may not consume any animal products (including dairy products and eggs) during the fast. Ethiopian cuisine therefore includes many vegan and vegetarian dishes. Orthodox Christians - like Muslims and Jews - do not eat pork, and Ethiopian Protestants have also banned this meat.
Among the habits and customs, we'll start by noting that people eat with their hands, and therefore use little or no cutlery. A common dish is usually eaten, and traditionally shared between guests. Since the use of the left hand, considered impure, is forbidden (this is also the case among Christians), pieces ofinjera are cut with one hand, then used to collect the other food, which requires a certain dexterity.
Don't be surprised if your host opens the meal by bringing the first portion of collected food directly to your mouth. This sign of respect and affection, called guscha, cannot be refused. While it's a good idea to show your contentment by tasting a little of everything, it's also polite not to finish the whole dish, so as not to let the host think you haven't eaten your fill.
Ethiopians working in big cities generally have the same mealtimes as Westerners: lunch is taken between 11am and 1pm, dinner between 7pm and 8pm. However, the notion of mealtimes is foreign to Ethiopian culture, and above all, a hearty meal in the morning, at noon and in the evening is not necessarily within everyone's reach. Although the country's food situation has improved, part of the population is still threatened by malnutrition. In most rural areas, the diet remains basic and unvaried, dominated by cereals and vegetables, with meat reserved for feast days. As for the nomadic tribes, their diet consists mainly of curdled milk.
Most restaurants are very affordable, although prices vary, particularly in the capital. For those who find it hard to get used to these new tastes, Addis Ababa offers a full range of international dishes in its major hotels and numerous restaurants serving Italian, French, Indian, Chinese, Yemeni and Armenian cuisine.
Classics of Ethiopian cuisine
The centerpiece of every meal in Ethiopia is the famous injera, a large, soft, elastic wafer used as a place setting and on which garnishes are placed. A platter containing several dishes to share is called yetsom beyaynetu. There are usually several varieties of wot. Wot refers to a variety of meat or vegetable dishes in sauce, with varying degrees of spiciness. Among the great classics are doro wot (chicken), beg wot (lamb and potato) or kaï sega wot (very spicy beef). The term alicha wot refers to a milder, spice-free variant, often based on beef or lamb with vegetables.
Vegetable dishes are still very common in the country. For example, shiro wot, a smooth, creamy stew made from chickpea flour, or misir wot, made from lentils and garnished with garlic and onion, are typical dishes for fasting days. Kik alicha is a thick soup made with split peas and mild spices. Gomen is a spicy compote of leafy vegetables, usually green cabbage. Samoussas - or sambusa - are triangular fried turnovers originally from South Asia, but very popular in the country, where they are often garnished with vegetables, particularly lentils.
A common breakfast dish, shahan ful is widely present in the Horn of Africa. It consists of a coarse purée of spiced broad beans, garnished with green onion, tomato, chilli, yoghurt and fromage frais. Also served in the morning,injera ferfer or firfir confirms Ethiopians' passion for their fetish food: this dish consists of shreddedinjera topped with a spicy sauce and served - unsurprisingly - in an injera. A variant,enqulal firfir, resembles scrambled eggs with minced onion and vegetables.
In addition to the ubiquitousinjera, restaurants and hotels in the highlands of south-west Ethiopia also serve kodjo, a highly-perfumed patty made from the fermented pulp ofensete, or false banana. Tihlo is a barley flour dough rolled into small soft balls, usually served with a meat stew. Closely related, genfo is a very dense barley-based dough that is molded into a crown shape and topped with a clarified butter and berbere-based sauce.
Grilled or pan-fried meats (zebu, goat or lamb) are called tibs. Shekla tibs is a variant where the meat is served in a dish placed on another container filled with glowing embers, while zilzil tibs, served in strips, is often garnished with green chillies. The dulet, a mix of finely sliced and fried giblets and tripe, is a sure bet. Kikil is a meat dish in a light, spicy broth.
But meat is also enjoyed raw. This practice is said to date back to the 16th century, during the war between the Kingdom of Ethiopia and the Sultanate of Adal, when it became common practice to eat meat raw to avoid detection when lighting campfires. Tere sega, for example, consists of raw meat cut into strips and served with a spicy mustard-based sauce(senafich) and mitmita. It's sometimes called gored gored when the meat is first cut into cubes. Of course, it's served withinjera. Another surprising dish, ketfo, is steak tartare mixed with clarified butter and mitmita. It can be slightly warmed or pan-fried for a few seconds, but is most often served raw.
Desserts, coffee and spirits
Those with a sweet tooth are likely to be particularly disappointed in Ethiopia, where the notion of dessert is totally foreign, apart from fruit, which is readily available fresh or in juice. There are, however, a few pastries, notably of Italian inspiration, such as bombolino, a ring-shaped doughnut similar to a doughnut, and fatira, an egg-based flaky pastry often coated with honey, but also available in a savory version. There's also himbasha, a brioche bread common to both Ethiopia and Eritrea, flavored with a variety of spices and usually prepared for Christmas.
Much more than a simple beverage, coffee(buna) is a veritable art of living in Ethiopia. Nothing could be more natural: the coffee tree has its origins on the Ethiopian plateaus, where it grows naturally. According to legend, around the year 850, a shepherd named Kaldi noticed that his goats, which had just gorged themselves on coffee beans, were strangely overexcited. Showing them to a monk, the latter wanted to burn them, as he believed they were the fruit of the devil. As he did so, he filled the room with a delicious fragrance: coffee was born.
In reality, it's more likely that coffee beans were already being chewed by locals as a stimulant on long journeys, in the same way as the coca leaf in South America. Rather, it was the Arab-Muslim merchants who came up with the idea of roasting the seeds before gradually spreading coffee to the region through trade.
The ceremony(jebena buna) that accompanies the preparation of coffee is the subject of an immutable ritual, almost always performed by women. The offering of a cup of coffee remains the irreplaceable sign of welcome to all new visitors. The utensils needed to perform the ceremony include a brazier, an incense burner, a jug(jebena), a mortar and a raised tray lined with small, handleless cups.
The green coffee beans, rinsed several times, are first roasted over the embers. Before being crushed and infused in a jug of boiling water, the steaming beans are presented to the guests, the olfactory pleasure preceding that of tasting. To further enhance the coffee's aroma, incense is burned, and small snacks (peanuts, popcorn, pieces of himbasha bread, etc.) are served to keep the guests waiting. Finally, the hot coffee is served. The same grind is used for three successive preparations, making the beverage lighter and lighter. If you like your coffee without sugar, you'd be well advised to ask before serving, as Ethiopians are accustomed to sweetening their coffee generously. Spices and clarified butter are often added to coffee, especially in rural areas.
Partly occupied by Italy in the early 20th century, Ethiopia also has a dual heritage when it comes to coffee: in the country, machiato, espresso and cappucino are also popular.
Alongside coffee, deliciously scented tea(shaï) is the other most frequently consumed beverage. A mixture of the two - known as spris - is also an excellent stimulant. This term also refers to a blend of papaya, mango, pineapple and avocado juices, presented in a multicolored layered appearance. A surprising, but excellent and extremely nourishing combination.
Among the alcohols consumed in Ethiopia, the most emblematic is probably tedj. This local mead is a mixture of honey and the buds of gesho, an East African shrub, fermented to produce a yellow-orange drink with an alcohol content of around 15 degrees. The quality of tedj depends largely on the exclusive use of honey, often replaced in the city by sugar to speed up the fermentation process. Connoisseurs should be warned that the mixture of alcohol and sugar can be treacherous. On the other hand, very good tedj can be found in the countryside, from Gondar to Arba Minch.
Other traditional alcohols are also available. One of the most popular is tela, a beer made from germinated cereals(bekel) and gesho leaves. The mixture is ground to a powder and fermented for three days in water to which pieces of bread are added. The result is a dark, more or less aromatic potion. All along the roads, a cup turned upside down on a stick serves as a sign for tella bet, the small houses - sometimes modest huts - where only tela is served. Bordé, in Dorzé country, or besso, in Amhara country, are two non-alcoholic cereal-based drinks.
Beer is widely consumed: the most popular brands are Castel and Saint-Georges, Bédelé in the west and Harar in the east, not forgetting Dashen, a very frothy Gonder beer that is delicious on draught. In Muslim areas, Harar Sofi, a kind of non-alcoholic beer with a honey-like aroma, is a popular drink. Local Axoumit or Gouder wine is of uncertain quality, better in white than in red, and often presented as export wine. There are also an increasing number of imports, notably of South African and Italian wines, particularly in the capital's upmarket restaurants.
