Ethiopia By: Bahaar Frost Julie Wiechec Jeremiah Xavier

Origin of Ethiopian Food Although Ethiopia has been an independent country for a very long time it remains very diverse and is made up of many different cultural groups. There are over 100 different languages spoken among cultural groups. Groups have their own traditions, but certain staple foods remain prominent.

Staple Foods: Injera A flat, spongy, pancake-like bread made mostly of fermented teff flour with a bitter taste. Stays true to tradition and is prepared today as it was thousands of years ago; by baking in a flat pan until it becomes spongy. Is more than just a food, but a staple of everyday living acting as a plate and utensil. A popular way of consuming this is covering it with hot food and wrapping it in a fajita fashion to be eaten all at once.

Staple Foods: Wat Wat (the Ethiopian name for stew) can be prepared with many different kinds of meats and vegetables. The most popular kind has either chicken (doro), beef (sik sik), or vegetables since many Ethiopians restrict meat from their diet most days. Traditionally Wat contains a very spicy type of paprika. Wat is traditionally served on Injera.

Key Ingredients Niter Kebbeh is a butter that is mixed with garlic, ginger, onions, and other spices to make an incredible flavor. Berbere is a red paste- like seasoning made up of many different spicy herbs and spices. It is essential as a base for most Ethiopian meals.

Dinner Traditions Before beginning a meal it is traditional for Ethiopians to wash their hands under a water basin and say a prayer. The meal begins by laying out the injera in a basket known as a mesob. The wat, or other meal is then placed on the injera. The meal is served usually with beer or honey wine. Coffee is always the end of the meal and is the most popular drink of Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Cuisine vs. American The food in Ethiopia revolves mostly around exotic spices, which were originally meant to preserve the food and flavor, but have now grown to be the base flavor for most Ethiopian dishes. Spices used would likely overpower American taste buds, although enjoyed on occasion, they’re definitely not tolerable for everyday eating. Ethiopian cuisine tends to lack textural variety. Most is mushy so that it is easily wrapped into injera. Americans seem to prefer foods of all different textures.

Meals in Ethiopia tend to contain one course. Although an appetizer of curd may be offered, normally the entire meal is laid out on the injera. In contrast most Americans enjoy having multiple sides and their foods separated rather then all mixed together. –This facet of Ethiopian meal habits also facilitates another major difference of eating between the two nations of Ethiopians’ traditions of sharing the meal and consuming it together from the same basket. Also, utensils are barely used since they are exchanged for the use of the injera. Ethiopian Meal Traditions VS.

Agriculture - Grains Most important field crop and chief element, examples include teff, wheat and barley; Grown in cool weather settings 1,500 meters above ground level.

Agriculture - Grains Sorghum, millet, and corn are grown in warmer climates in southeast and southwest regions. Sorghum and millet do not require much water, while corn does.

Pulses 2 nd most important staple food and most eaten protein source. Grown 3,000 meters above sea level. Boiled, roasted and included in wat.

Fruits and Vegetables Consumption is limited due to high costs. Common vegetables in the Ethiopian diet include onions, peppers and squash. The ensete, or “false banana”, resembles an inedible red banana. Ensete leaves are used as starch for flours to create kocho bread.

Coffee Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. Originally found in the Kaffa region. Coffee is either washed or dry-processed (washed is preferred by most). Over 300,000 coffee farms and 12 million coffee workers. All coffee grown is organic.

Foods Avoided – Lenten Season Despite droughts, the Ethiopians have observed sacred fasting days. Fasting in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church involves staying away from meat or dairy products for up to 55 days. Fasting is a time for purification and has been done since the time of the Ancient Greeks.

Because most Ethiopians are either Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, Muslims, or Jews, there is no pork of any kind in any Ethiopian food. Depending on which religion Ethiopians follow, most fast throughout the entire Lenten season, Wednesdays, Fridays, or the Ramadan Season. Because fasting seasons allow no animal products of any kind, most dishes are vegetarian. Foods Avoided

Typical Lenten Meal Gogo is eaten. (A thick pancake made from barley bread). Various vegetarian paste dishes are put on the gogo platter and are eaten with just washed hands. Vegetable oils are also used during the season including flaxseed, neug seed and sesame seed.

Breaking the Fast - Easter On Easter eve Ethiopians attend a midnight Easter mass service. After mass, Ethiopians return home to break their fast with chicken or lamb, slaughtered the previous night, accompanied by injera and traditional drinks. Easter is a day of family reunion, and an expression of good wishes with exchange of gifts (i.e. lamb, goat or loaf of bread) is typical. Ye’assa Minchet Abish is a stewed mix of dried fish, fenugreek, flax flour and vegetables, served over injera also eaten to break the fast.

Holidays - Timkat Biggest Ethiopian festival begins on January 19 and lasts for 3 days, celebrating the day of baptism of Christ. People dress in traditional white, while priests wear ceremonial sequined velvet and satin costumes and hold umbrellas (symbolic to protect the Tabot and priests). Reenactments of biblical scenarios are preformed. the third day is devoted to the Feast of St. Michael

Holidays - Timkat The third day is devoted to the Feast of St. Michael Fat-tailed African sheep are fattened up for slaughter. Ethiopian honey wine, called tej, and beer (tella) are drank. Tej is a drink reserved for special occasions made of a mix of honey and water flavored with gesho plant twigs and leaves, traditionally drunk in tube-shaped flasks. High-quality tej has become a commodity of the upper class, whom have the resources to brew and purchase it.

Holidays - Meskal Meskel celebrates the anniversary of the discovery of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified, and falls on September 27 th. Yeqwalima We't is a spiced sausage stew which is generally served only on this and other special occasions due to the labor intensive nature of the dish.

Holidays - Enkutatash Meaning the “gift of jewels”, this is the first day of the Ethiopian New Year, celebrated on September 11 Legend says that the holiday celebrates the Queen of Sheba returning from her visit to King Solomon and the welcoming that she received. Traditionally, Ethiopians eat dulet on New Year’s which is chopped tripe, liver, raw beef and a variety of spices.