Like
much else in Ethiopia, the country's cuisine is unique, and partaking
of a traditional Ethiopian meal means participating in what resembles
another of the country's colourful and fascinating ceremonies. A formal meal in Ethiopia begins with the washing of hands. A decorative metal or earthenware jug is brought to the table and water is poured over the guest's outstretched hands into a small basin. This small ceremony is sometimes followed by a short prayer or grace.
The first course, served immediately after the washing of hands, is often a mild dish of curds and whey, giving no hint of the spicy feast about to come.
Spicy speciality
The national dish of Ethiopia is wot, a type of spicy stew that comes in many varieties. It is invariably accompanied by injera, a fermented pancake-like bread made from teff, a locally grown grain, and water. The mixture is left to ferment for three or four days until ready for baking, which is done in a covered flat earthenware griddle.
The injera is placed in layers on a special 'basket table' or mesob. Resembling colourful mushrooms, the finest of these tables are produced in the Harar region and are notable for their elegant, tightly woven geometric patterns.
Dollops of different types of wot are artistically placed on top of the injera in the mesob. All you need to do now is tear off a piece of injera and dig in, wrapping the bread around chunks of meat or using it rather like an Indian chapati or Mexican tortilla to scoop up the savoury sauce.
Often, as a sign of affection or respect, an Ethiopian diner will choose a particularly appetizing morsel and place it in the mouth of a companion at the table. In some regions, the meal does not begin until the head of the household (or a priest, if present) has torn off a piece of injera for each person present, which is done in a strict order of precedence.
The fiery, peppery wot is a spicy concoction of meat, fish or vegetables simmered in an onion and spice sauce. Doro (chicken) and beef are the most common bases for wot. The secret of a good wot lies in the berbere, a mixture of red pepper, herbs, spices, and other flavourings - such as black pepper, garlic, onions, cloves, nu tmeg, cardamon, fennel seed, coriander, and fresh ginger.
For those who simply can't handle such 'hot' food - and be warned, it is hot you would be advised to try alicha, a much milder but equally delicious dish, usually based on chicken or lamb and flavoured with onions and green ginger. Alicha never contains berbere. In either case, the mildly sharp taste of injera offers an ideal contrast to the rich, succulent flavours of the wot or alicha.
Lenten offerings
The ingenuity of the talented Ethiopian cooks really comes into play during the lengthy Ethiopian Lent, when all forms of animal products are forbidden to members of the Orthodox Church and only vegetable dishes are eaten.
Weeks before Lent begins, large quantities of mitin shiro, which will be used as the basis of fasting wot, are prepared. Mitin shiro is a mixture of dried peas, lentils, beans, and chick-peas, which, after being lightly boiled, roasted, and ground, is then combined with berbere and a host of other herbs and spices. Then the mixture is ground very fine and stored in a cool, dry place to be used as needed. The wot made from mitin shiro is made with vegetable oil instead of butter and is generally eaten cold.
There are fasting variations of alicha too,
usually with a basis of pea flour, potatoes, or split peas. One very
popular version includes carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, and green peppers. An interesting feature of fasting cooking is the fashioning of 'fish' and 'eggs' from a dough of chick-pea flour. These are cooked in and served with a variety of spicy onion-based sauces.
You would normally wash down a traditional Ethiopian meal with either tej, a type of mead or honey wine with a light, winelike taste, or teLLa, a light local home-brewed beer made from malted barley or some other grain. Once reserved for the monarchs and their guests, tej is now enjoyed by everyone and can be bought in special shops, bars, and restaurants in all parts of the country.
Ethiopia's commercially brewed beers are also tasty, as are the very palatable yet inexpensive wines: try Guder and Dukem if you like red; Awash Cristal and Kemila are the better whites.
Regional delights
Different parts of the country have their own special delicacies. In and around Harar you may be offered a biddena, another pancaketype bread made of millet, which has a slightly sugary taste because the dough is not fermented.
A much-esteemed Harari speciality is the kwalima, a beef sausage. The beef is mixed with onions and highly spiced with pepper, ginger, cumin, basil, cardamon, cinnamon, and cloves, and coloured with turmeric. The sausages are smoked and dried and may be eaten either raw or cooked in soup for a few minutes. They are generally considered a festival food, eaten at marriage feasts and similar celebrations. A popular Harar drink is the tasty hojja, a sort of tea made from the dried leaves of the coffee tree, which is served with salt and milk.
An Ethiopian meal is not usually followed by dessert, but in many areas honeycomb dripping with fresh honey is served. The soothing sweetness of the honey somehow seems to 'put out the fire' of the spicy meal you've just enjoyed.
An Ethiopian meal simply wouldn't be complete if it wasn't rounded off in the traditional fashion with coffee - a drink that was 'born' in the country.
It is still possible in many restaurants throughout the country to watch the elaborate and charming coffee ceremony take place at the end of the meal. There are many excellent 'national restaurants' in Addis Ababa, offering the visitor a perfect opportunity to experience a wonderful Ethiopian meal.
