Traditional food
 The Ethiopian national dish is called wat. It is a hot spicy stew accompanied by injera (traditional large spongy pancake made of teff flour and water). Teff is unique to the country and is grown on the Ethiopian highlands. There are many varieties of wat, e.g. chicken, beef, lamb, vegetables, lentils, and ground split peas stewed with hot spice called berbere.
Eating with Injera - Handling Instructions
Starting Note:-
- Side A = With Holes
- Side B = Flat & Without Holes
- Use one hand (left/right - ok)
- Tear of a small piece (size of your palm)
- Side A - side with holes is the one that contacts with the sauce/meat
- Scoop/Grab sauce or meat with the injera (similar to Indian/Middle Eastern eating)
- Use your fingers to control; so pieces wont fall down as you put the scoop your mouth
- Its ok to grab/sample more than one sauce or dish on each scoop-trip.
- Finally you can proceed to eat the bottom/table cloth injera where the sauce was first served, by now it soaked with all the tasty juices and is full of flavors.
Side Note:
Gursha / Act of feeding fellow diners by hand
Ethiopians (less practiced outside Ethiopia) often hand feed their guests, or guests of honors during dinner/lunch. This is to show respect(often it grabs foreigners by surprise) sometimes the person receiving the Gursha responds in kind and in turn feeds his feeder. Often gurshas are much larger than the regular scoop due to tradition, so you might find your mouth full from front to back. Its ok to decline a Gursha if you are uncomfortable, people wont take offense from this.
|
