Ethiopian Cuisine

Today I cooked nearly ten dishes, and nine of these were vegetarian. The only non-vegan ingredient amongst these vegetarian dishes was the use of the Nit’Ir Qibe. Nit’Ir Qibe and Berbere paste were common ingredients in most of these dishes. The Nit’Ir Qibe is a spiced clarified butter, which alike the Berbere, can be made before and stored ready to be used in the dishes. The Nit’Ir Qibe is made from melted butter cooked with red onions, garlic, ginger root, fenugreek seeds, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon and basil leaves. Berbere is a paste made from blended and cooked Pasilla chiles, red chiles, ginger, garlic, red onion, cardamom, fenugreek seeds, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon and basil. Cooking with Nit’Ir Qibe and Berbere paste, I realized that the commonness amongst all of the Ethiopian food I have eaten in the past, were the use of these two ingredients.

Three types of stews that we cooked were Yemiser We’t, Red Lentils with Pepper and Doro We’t. Yemiser We’t is an Ethiopian Lentil Stew where the black/green lentils are still intact and not completely blended. Flavored with paprika and spices, this lentil dish was my favorite because of its rich and flavorful taste. Similar in texture yet much milder in taste, the Red Lentil dish was not completely blended, yellow-orange in color, due to its paprika and is mild lentil soup type of dish. The Doro We’t Chicken Stew, was a type of chicken stew cooked with allspice and ginger and a liquidy dish. The stew definitely tasted like ginger was delicious with a brown gravy like sauce.

Three hot vegetable dishes that we cooked were Collards with Nit’Ir Qibe, Squash with Berbere and Amhari-Atklit. The Collards we cooked were different to the ones we made last week as a New Orleans dish. Instead of using the fat (bacon), the sugar (from beer and sauces), these greens were cooked with onions, garlic, cardamom and the clarified butter, giving a mild, almost blanched taste. The Squash with Berbere was delicious, similar to the taste of baked potato dish cooked on Thanksgiving, this squash was naturally sweet in taste, and because a hand blender was not used, was meaty and textured. The natural sweet taste did not call for the optional maple syrup, which was not used, and because it was cooked with the butter and Berbere, it was a spicy and flavorful alternative to traditional American ways of cooking squash/yam. The Amhari-Atklit was a vegetable stew which was light, textured and chewy in taste. The turmeric made the stew a bright yellow color and the ginger was present in its lively taste, similar to a refreshing hot salad! Speaking of salads, I loved the Ethiopian salad that was cooked. This salad tasted similar to a Mediterranean salad in its dressing, because it was made from olive oil and wine vinegar. The simple salad was made from red onions and tomatoes, and mint which is usually included but we did not as it was unavailable.

Three different types of Ethiopian breads that we made were Injera, Chapati and Ugali. The Ethiopian Injera is delicious, and it is sour in taste because it is made from a fermented teff dough that must wait three days in advance. This dough is similar to a sugarless pancake in taste, but in texture to a European crepe. This dough is brown in color and it is spongy and used as a utensil by the right hand to eat all of the dishes. The Chapati, actually Tanzanian, is a floury and thick flaky bread, similar to the bread of Corn Quesadillas, this bread is made from all purpose flour and makes a thin white bread. The Ugali, is a bland bread, made from corn millet and hot water. The Ugali is served as small little balls which as bland in taste and thick in texture. The balls are indented with the eaters thumb and then used as a utensil to scoop a dish. The Ugali was the most bland, the Injera the most spongy and sour and the Chapati the most chewy of all the breads.

My overall opinion of Ethiopian cuisine was pure delight! I loved the many vegetable and healthy light options. Eating plentiful amounts of these dishes was possible because of their ingredients, they were all fiber rich with plenty of spices and therefore benefits! The main oil used in the dishes were the Nit’Ir Qibe and olive oil, so they were all healthy options. The only meat dish was chicken, which was light in taste and not heavy at all to the palate. The injera was delicious and much fun to use as a utensil. I love Ethiopian food and would definitely eat it again and again!