{"id":4551,"date":"2024-01-15T19:31:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T19:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandholidaysethiopia.com\/el6zhak\/?p=4551"},"modified":"2024-01-18T10:51:10","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T10:51:10","slug":"ethiopian-food-the-15-best-dishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandholidaysethiopia.com\/el6zhak\/ethiopian-food-the-15-best-dishes\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopian food: The 15 best dishes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eating Ethiopian-style means rethinking some assumptions you might have about dinnertime \u2013 for most of us, this means starting with eschewing cutlery and being ready to get messy fingers. The foundation of the vast majority of Ethiopian meals is injera, a giant gray spongy pancake-like\u00a0bread<\/a>, upon whose strangely rubbery surface are served an array of foods, including multicolored mounds of spicy stews, vegetable curries and cubes of raw meat.<\/p>\n

This mode of eating is highly communal, with everyone gathering around a large circular metal tray of injera heavily laden with food as hands go back and forth scooping up food with strips of injera torn from the edges.<\/p>\n

Like Indians, the Ethiopians aren\u2019t shy of adding spices. One of the most common accompaniments is berbere, an spice mix containing up to 16 constituent elements including chile powder, fenugreek, ginger, garlic, cardamom and cinnamon.<\/p>\n

Beyond the endless dishes, it\u2019s essential to try Ethiopian coffee after a meal. Ethiopia is reportedly the birthplace of quality Arabica\u00a0coffee<\/a>, and its coffees are praised as some of the best in the world.<\/p>\n

Here are 15 essential dishes to try:<\/p>\n

Tibs<\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sliced beef or lamb, pan-fried in butter, garlic and onion, tibs is one of the most popular dishes among Ethiopians.<\/p>\n

It comes in a variety of forms, varying in type, size or shape of the cuts of meat used, and can range from hot to mild or contain little to no vegetables. A particularly recommended variation is shekla tibs, in which the strips of meat arrive at your table roasting atop a clay pot stoked with hot coals \u2013 dramatic and delicious.<\/p>\n

Historically, tibs was served to pay a compliment or show respect to someone. Today it\u2019s still viewed as a special dish, hence its popularity for commemorating special events and holidays. At the same time, though, if you walk into a rowdy bar on a Friday afternoon in Ethiopia\u2019s rambunctious capital, Addis Ababa, it\u2019s likely that most of the revelers will be enthusiastically ordering and eating tibs.<\/p>\n

Typically, the meat of the tibs that arrives at your table has just been cleaved from carcasses hanging outside beside the restaurant\u2019s entrance. Don\u2019t be put off; meat rarely comes fresher or tastier.<\/p>\n

Kitfo<\/h5>\n

Made from the leanest meat, kitfo is viewed as a big treat by ordinary Ethiopians, while its nutritional powers are also praised.<\/p>\n

Similar to French steak tartare, the meat is minced and warmed in a pan with a little butter, mitmita (a stronger version of berbere) and sometimes thyme. Kitfo is typically served leb leb (warmed, not cooked), though you can ask for it to be betam leb leb (\u201cvery warmed,\u201d which basically means cooked).<\/p>\n

Kitfo can be served with aib (like dry cottage cheese) and gomen (minced spinach), a recommended pairing making the meal even more delicious, as well as especially filling \u2013 highly recommended after a hard day\u2019s traveling or if one is confronted with a hangover after a long night.<\/p>\n

Beyainatu<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/h5>\n

The name of Ethiopia\u2019s most popular vegetarian dish translates as \u201ca bit of every type,\u201d hence your injera arrives blanketed in piles of tasty and colorful vegetables, potatoes, curries, lentil stews and more, creating a riot of colors and tastes.<\/p>\n

Because of Ethiopia\u2019s strong tradition of religious fasting and abstaining from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays, beyainatu is widely available around the country, and served just about everywhere from fancy hotels to tiny food shacks beside the road. Hence when traveling or faced with a menu only printed in Amharic, beyainatu is a safe and simple go-to.<\/p>\n

Many visitors to Ethiopia return proclaiming \u2013 regardless of whether they are vegetarian or not \u2013 beyainatu their favorite meal.<\/p>\n

Fuul<\/h5>\n

Popular across East Africa and the Middle East, Ethiopian fuul is a mix of stewed and spiced fava beans eaten by many Ethiopians for breakfast.<\/p>\n

Regular fuul is usually served as a modest portion for one \u2013 while still filling you up \u2013 supplemented with an endless supply of fresh bread. So-called special fuul is usually large enough to share, and served with yogurt, tomato, green chile, onion, egg and occasionally avocado. Locals mash this together and season further with salt, additional spices and fresh chiles.<\/p>\n

You can tell you are in the right sort of fuul-serving diner if it\u2019s brought to you in small metal bowls that are too hot to touch, with eaters using a piece of torn-off bread to grip the bowl\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

Fuul serves as a healthy fast food, especially in Addis Ababa, where it is often cooked and dispensed out of vast pots, with most customers well fed in under ten minutes before they head off into the teeming city for their day\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Tere siga<\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not for the faint-hearted, one of Ethiopia\u2019s most popular delicacies is cubes of raw red meat. Two people typically order half a kilo of\u00a0tere siga\u00a0to share, which is eaten with injera or bread to clasp the meat you carve off the raw slab, and dipped in copious amounts of\u00a0mitmita.<\/p>\n

One of the stories about how Ethiopians developed a love of raw meat is that it was developed as a military tactic during the 16th century so fighters could avoid detection by not having to start fires to cook their meat.<\/p>\n

While most Ethiopians seem to suffer no adverse effects from eating tere siga \u2013 the majority avow it makes them feel on top of the world \u2013 eating raw meat does carry a relative health risk.<\/p>\n

This ranges from tapeworm to salmonella, though this author hasn\u2019t experienced any problems post-tere siga. If you\u2019re concerned after a trip to Ethiopia, a simple tablet available from pharmacies can be taken to neutralize any tapeworm risk.<\/p>\n

Doro wot<\/h5>\n

Wot is Ethiopia\u2019s version of curry, and the ubiquitous companion of injera. While beef and goat are often used with wot, chicken \u2013 doro in Amharic \u2013 reigns as the wot champion.<\/p>\n

Doro wot is made with chicken drumsticks or wings cooked and served in a hot sauce of butter, onion, chile, cardamom and berbere. In the midst of this stew incongruously bobs a hard-boiled egg. It proves a delicious accompaniment \u2013 typically offered to a guest as a sign of respect.<\/p>\n

For Ethiopians, doro wot is the go-to meal of celebration during national and religious festivals (the day before, women can be seen everywhere carrying upside-down clucking chickens by their feet).<\/p>\n

Enkulal firfir<\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While basically just scrambled eggs, which might not sound that exciting, Ethiopia\u2019s enkulal firfir is not to be missed at breakfast. Cooked with nitre kibe \u2013 Ethiopian spiced butter \u2013 it is further enhanced with a combination of green and red peppers, chile, tomatoes and onions, all of which is scooped up with fresh tasty bread rolls, often still warm from the bakery.<\/p>\n

A notable feature of enkulal firfir is how fantastically yellow it is, which translates into a far superior taste compared to the results of pallid egg yolks in the west. The omelet version is known as enkulal tibs. Be warned: your appreciation of scrambled eggs back home will never be quite the same after savoring enkulal firfir.<\/p>\n

Dulet<\/h5>\n

For the uninitiated, this dish of mixed meats might be more enjoyable if not translated and explained. It\u2019s made with minced tripe (an animal\u2019s stomach lining), along with liver and lean beef fried in butter, onions, chile, cardamom and pepper.<\/p>\n

Like kitfo, much of its popularity stems from it being very filling and hitting the spot after a hard-going day or night. Offal has never tasted so good \u2013 give it a go.<\/p>\n

Shiro<\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A lightly spiced chickpea or bean pur\u00e9e, shiro is particularly favored by Ethiopians on fasting days. One of the most unassuming dishes you\u2019ll encounter, it can appear as not much more than slop. Don\u2019t be deceived, it\u2019s very tasty.<\/p>\n

Shiro is often prepared with the addition of minced onions, garlic and, depending upon regional variation, ground ginger or chopped tomatoes and chile peppers, further boosting the flavor.<\/p>\n

Tegabino shiro is a type of shiro made with heavily spiced legumes, flour, oil or butter, and water brought to the boil, and then brought bubbling all the way to the table in a miniature clay pot.<\/p>\n

Ti\u2019hilo<\/h5>\n

A specialty in Tigray, Ethiopia\u2019s most northern region, Ti\u2019hilo is Ethiopia\u2019s answer to Swiss fondue, consisting of barley balls pierced by carved sticks with two prongs at the end and dipped in a fiery-looking sauce made from pulses, flour and spices.<\/p>\n

As with much eating in Ethiopia, a touch of ceremony attends this dish: A person comes and sits by your table while scooping from a triangular wedge of barley and rolling the barley between hands into little balls to be placed on the tray of injera for you to pierce, dip and eat.<\/p>\n

Having long been associated with just a small part of Tigray, around the city of Adigrat especially, the tasty and nutritious benefits of ti\u2019hilo mean it\u2019s now catching on and spreading around Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

Dabbo firfir<\/h5>\n

Comprising torn-up bits of unleavened bread mixed with clarified butter and berbere, and often accompanied by yoghurt, dabbo firfir is a good example of Ethiopian cooking\u2019s ability to take something simple and do much more with it.<\/p>\n

Like shiro, it might not look much but dabbo firfir is surprisingly tasty. And as another incentive, in this rare instance Ethiopians are willing to resort to a spoon or fork.<\/p>\n

Fatira<\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A breakfast dish popular around the Horn of Africa, fatira usually comprises a thin pastry top and bottom with scrambled eggs and honey wedged in the middle. Typically served as a large portion, this perfect combination of savory and sweet can happily feed two.<\/p>\n

Fatira also comes in a street food version comprising small square pieces cooked in the open on a giant frying pan in the likes of Ethiopia\u2019s beguiling eastern city of Harar.<\/p>\n

Accompanied by freshly brewed Ethiopian coffee, there aren\u2019t many better ways to start a day of exploring Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

Asa<\/h5>\n

Eating fish \u2013 asa \u2013 in Ethiopia is quite an experience. Typically, a fish such as Nile perch is fried and served entirely whole, the gaping mouth of jagged little teeth looking like you have a piranha on your plate.<\/p>\n

As ever, it\u2019s eaten by hand with either bread or injera, accompanied by a fiery sauce to dip into. Bar a few bones, Ethiopians eat every bit, and justifiably so \u2013 the grilled fins are particularly tasty.<\/p>\n

Asa tibs are chunks of fish marinated in berbere spice and lime juice and then fried in sesame oil, olive oil and paprika, with grated garlic and ginger added. It\u2019s a good option if you don\u2019t want the hassle of picking out bones or having to contemplate the fish\u2019s angry-looking face.<\/p>\n

Spriss<\/h5>\n

Dotted all over Addis Ababa are juice houses \u2013 often not much more than a shack \u2013 serving spriss, delicious juice mixes made from the likes of avocado, guava, papaya, mango, pineapple and orange.<\/p>\n

Spriss is mixed by pouring layers of juice \u2013 typically from three fruits \u2013 on top of each other. There\u2019s no water added, no sugar and no ice, just unadulterated pureed juice topped with a lime squeezed over the top. Some Ethiopians choose to add a squirt of a purple cordial that the author has never quite identified, though it adds a satisfyingly sweet touch.<\/p>\n

A juice is often served with a triangular wedge of sweetened bread, the combination of which serves as an effectively filling snack, especially if you opt for your glass to just be filled with pureed avocado. Spriss is extremely refreshing and a nice sweet break from all the other spicy foods.<\/p>\n

Pasta beu injera<\/h5>\n

Italy\u2019s historical involvement in Ethiopia means that if you need a break from endless injera \u2013 or if your stomach is feeling tender and you need to play it safe \u2013 help is at hand in the form of pasta beu atkilt, pasta with vegetables, being readily available all over the country.<\/p>\n

Ordering pasta beu siga \u2013 pasta with meat \u2013 will get you something resembling a tasty spaghetti Bolognese.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, if you haven\u2019t been overwhelmed by injera and you want a quirky mix that would be sure to raise eyebrows in Italy, you could try pasta beu injera: a great dollop of pasta incongruously lumped in the center of injera.<\/p>\n

Even in this challenging instance, Ethiopians stay true to tradition: a fork is only used to cut the pasta into manageable bits, after which it is all scooped up with injera clasped between fingers, as usual.<\/p>\n

Particularly tricky for first-timers, but one of the most filling meals you can get. Carbs galore.<\/p>\n

By: James Jeffrey<\/span>, CNN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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