Posted on 04/08/2016 4:43:56 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
I worked for several years in a large office that included many people who were originally from other countries. We had people from India, the Philippines, China, Korea, and Africa; and our office potlucks were amazing.
I first tasted Ethiopian food at one of those parties, when a young woman made 'Siga Wot', a spicy beef stew; and 'Injera', the spongy, fermented sourdough bread that is used to scoop up other foods, and sometimes used as a sort of 'plate'.
To make Siga Wot, you must first have Berbere, a spicy seasoning used in many Ethiopian dishes. There are many slightly different versions of it - some include Fenugreek, which I'm not crazy about and leave out. (I believe that Berbere may be the same type of seasoning that shows up in many Ethiopian recipes as "chow".)
Here is the Epicurious recipe for Berbere:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ethiopian-spice-mix-berbere-104015
And here is a recipe for the Siga Wot (there are many versions, just as with any of our classic American dishes; this is just one):
http://www.african-food-recipes.com/ethiopian-siga-wat.html
The narration of the following video appears to be in Amharic, but it gives you an idea of the technique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR5o0lpI-bw
This is best served with real Injera; I haven't made the bread myself yet, but we were recently in a local Seventh Day Adventist shop and they had Teff flour, so I bought some and will try making it soon. (Be sure that you get Teff *flour*, and not the whole grain. The grain (the plant is actually a grass) is so fine that you would have difficulty trying to grind it into flour. The brand we purchased is Bob's Red Mill; but it is also sold in bulk in health food stores.
Here is the Exploratorium's recipe for Injera; it's a recipe that uses some whole wheat flour, which many Ethiopians who have come to America have adapted to include, probably because until very recently Teff was not widely available in the US, and mixing it with other flour made the Teff that they did have go further. But you can also find recipes made entirely of Teff; which is what I'm going to try.
https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/recipe-injera.html
Lastly, one of the most fascinating things to me about Ethiopia is Lalibela, and its rock-cut churches:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalibela
-JT
Ethiopian food is truly wonderful, rich and spicy. Very satisfying. This thread has reminded me—time to trek into the nearest city and have that Ethiopian experience again.
Or maybe some escargot.
I truly haven’t had any decent restaurant meals since my last time in New Orleans. Fried alligator and étouffée! But I’m an ok Cajun cook myself.
The tiny town where I now live is very conservative, which is good, but has no good restaurants. Nothing ethnic at all. Just fast food chains and Americanized Mexican and Chinese buffets that are truly awful. But the parking lots are always full.
The Chinese buffet tried to go high-hat and started serving Japanese sushi. (”Oriental” food—it’s all the same. Not!) It looked so festive with weird little red and yellow sprinkles that looked like confetti on it, so I got some. Turned out it was mustard and ketchup. On sushi !?! Nasty!
There is one so-so seafood joint run by a very nice Cambodian lady who fled, but lost most of her family in, the killing fields of Pol Pot. She sat at my table one day and was surprised that I knew who Pol Pot was. She told me she wasn’t even gonna try to serve authentic Cambodian food. Nobody around here would go for it.
This town is the safest place I’ve ever lived, but DANG! I miss the food, the music and the museums of the liberal cesspools!
Re: fenugreek.
Yes, it is nasty.
When I was in college I worked in a health food store. The owner recommended fenugreek tea —laced with lots of honey— as a curative for body odor.
There was a fellow in my class whose feet stank like limberger cheese. Nobody wanted to sit near him, so I gave him a box of fenugreek tea. He started drinking it and then he began to smell like maple syrup. The change in his body chemistry was remarkable.
Oddly, the Ethiopian restaurant near me is called Blue Nile. Maybe the owner moved to Houston.
Yes!
I haven’t had Ethiopian since we left the West coast to resettle in the South. There are no restaurants here and it is hard to find ingredients unless you shop online.
Thanks for the great sites.
I have made these lentils and like them as they have fresh ginger in them.
http://hapanom.com/spicy-ethiopian-red-lentils-misr-wat/
Just an aside, but this week I took the plunge and signed up for a degree in culinary arts at my local technical college. I had been thinking about this for a year or two but finally had enough money to register.
Given the culinary math course, it’s going to be somewhat difficult. My textbooks include Italian, Indian and French instruction manuals!
I am a big fan of Marcus Samuelsson’s recipes. Some are at this site.
http://www.marcussamuelsson.com/recipe-tag/ethiopia
Samuelsson has such an interesting heritage. He was raised in Sweden and had an absolutely wonderful restaurant in Minneapolis called Aquavit. It was upscale Scandinavian food, which if one thought that could make a go of it, it would in Minnesota. It was highly critically acclaimed but I think the recession knocked it out.
There are many, many Somali and Ethiopian places here. We also had a Blue Nile restaurant that closed after 25 to 30 years. Not a huge fan of injera, but the stews and such are very tasty. I love complex spices.
This is a Samuelsson recipe I have on my list of “to try”, but haven’t done so yet. It is a bit complex. I think I would not deep fry the tortillas, but would heat them up and serve with the chicken and cheese curds.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe/marcus-samuelssons-ethiopian-chicken-tacos-aka-doro-wot-17828799
His cookbook “Marcus Off Duty” is really good.
For years, there was a successful Scandinavian restaurant in New York City also called Aquavit. I remember it spurred an Aquavit craze for a while.
Yes. The Minneapolis Aquavit was a spinoff of the NYC restaurant for Samuelsson. It’s amazing that it didn’t remain a mainstay here in the heart of Scandanavian culture. I think it was a bit too pricey for those that prefer to eat their lefse and Swedish meatballs in church basements. (smirk)
What a gorgeous presentation.. I want to check this thread out more thoroughly when I get a chance and the recipes for your pix. working 12 hours today and tomorrow in a busy situation where time to play is limited. :-(
Ethiopian food. Wow.. and I thought I was “hot-stuff” learning to cook Thai and Indian (small stuff for most of you)
Have a stellar day. COLD. Icy. Snow here in NE Ohio
Thank you for the thread and ping
I only know Samuelson from Chopped. I’ve never been to any of his restaurants. Probably your community does Swedish meatballs just as good as he does them. If he does them, of course.
That was a good website you posted. I like Ethiopian food a lot. One of my good friends is Ethiopian, so I have gotten to go to many Ethiopian weddings, holidays, and even funerals (Eastern Orthodox). The community always serves up a potluck feast of Ethiopian foods. Especially good is the chicken and whole boiled egg combo. It’s pretty spicy.
How exciting! Learn lots and have fun :)
Thank you, Trillian!
Maybe ‘Blue Nile’ is just the go-to name for Ethiopian restaurants. A quick google search reveals a bunch.
One in Winnipeg offers a hookah lounge. LOL. Not goin’ there.
I have always wanted to do this, but life got in the way. Best of luck with this culinary adventure!
I’ve made his grandmother’s meatballs. They are delicious. I used a cranberry conserve as I could not find the lingonberry.
I think he serves this at his Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe/marcus-samuelssons-helgas-meatballs-15207560
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