This is strictly my opinion. I have tried Moroccan, Sudanese, Egyptian, Kenyan and other few African cuisines but Ethiopian is my ultimate favourite and I’m sure a lot of people will agree.
My first Ethiopian experience was at home in UAE. Our helper was from Ethiopia and one time we went to her local restaurant and bought Injara (Ethiopian Bread) and she cooked a spicy potato stew and I immediately fell in love with Ethiopian cuisine. The first time, Tim and I had Ethiopian food was at Harlem in New York City with my friend, Marwah. Tim really enjoyed it so we tried several restaurants in U.A.E and his favourite thing about their cuisine is their famous coffee. One of the best coffees around the world.
When we had the opportunity to travel to Ethiopia, the first thing that crossed our mind was ‘OMG!!!! We are going to have authentic Ethiopian cuisine’.
Our first day in Addis Ababa, we learnt that Ethiopian Christians fast on Wednesdays and Fridays which means they only have vegan food on those days and avoid meat. I LOVED it because I really enjoy vegan food. My favourite dish is called ‘Shiro’, it is a stew made out of chickpeas. Our first meal was ‘Wat’ which is a spread of the injera bread with lots of stews for everyone to share. Since we landed on a Friday, we had vegetarian stew and their cooked spinach was soo…. delicious.
Tim is a meat lover and especially a red meat lover. At the age of 14 years old, I decided to become ‘pollo-pescatarian’. A person who eats only white meat. That’s why I married a white man LOL. Just Kidding. It was for health reasons and also I was never a fan of red meat anyway. When I married Tim, I tried some steaks from his plate but honestly, I couldn’t have more than a bite except in Tokyo; he begged me to eat a whole Wagyu Steak and once his step-mum cooked steak at home which I ate and it was good too but that did not convince me to like red meat. After turning 30, I decided that I want to cut down my meat intake so I starting having vegetarian or meatless meals on weekdays and eat fish or chicken on a Saturday. My family and friends found it weird but I feel happy so when I knew that Ethiopia had a variety of vegetarian and vegan dishes, I was so pleased.
Ok meat lovers, I won’t bore you. Tim’s favourite dish was ‘tibs’, meat mixed with vegetables and our tour guide told us that the meat are all organic and that I should give it a try. I had a piece and honestly, it didn’t taste fatty at all and really had a fresh taste to it. Tim also liked ‘Gored Gored’ which is a beef stew.
For breakfast, we had ‘Fir Fir’ which is Ethiopian and Eritrean meal. It is basically made out of shredded bread, butter and Berber spice. Berber spice is the most famous spice in Ethiopia. Another breakfast meal is ‘Kinche’ similar to an oatmeal.
When it comes to Ethiopian beverages, all we think about is their coffee and yes, their coffee is extremely delicious. They also have a coffee ceremony.
Another famous drinks are their honey wine called ‘tej’. Ethiopia has a variety of beverages and dishes but this is what I encountered during our trip and I love it and I highly recommend it.
Let me know your favourite Ethiopian dishes.
