Dine Like an Expert: Ethiopian Edition
Are you a newcomer to injera and the many joys of Ethiopian cuisine? We share some tips and restaurant recommendations.
If you know one thing about Ethiopian food, it’s probably injera—the thin, slightly sour, crepelike delicacy made from the tiny supergrain teff.
I was around 12 years old when I laid eyes on injera—and Ethiopian food in general—for the first time. It was my sister’s rehearsal dinner in Washington D.C. at a (now-closed) Adams Morgan institution called the Red Sea. The meal instantly became a formidable food memory for me.
I recall sitting down at the table for our dinner, and injera was nicely folded at each place setting. I was raised with good manners, so I grabbed the spongy injera and put it in my lap thinking it was a napkin.
Major faux pas.
Little did I know that years later, I would be marrying an Ethiopian man named Fiteh and serving Ethiopian food at our own rehearsal dinner. I’ve learned a lot about Ethiopian food culture since then, and would love to share it with you, lest you make the same kind of mistake as my 12-year-old self.
Communal Dining
One thing I love about an Ethiopian meal is that it’s communal. Instead of everyone ordering their own entree, your group will all gather together around a large platter of injera topped with a bunch of dishes to share–including meat stews, stir fries, veggies and salad. It’s interactive, family-style dining at its best.
Since your hands will serve as your utensils, it’s important to wash your hands before enjoying an Ethiopian meal (lest you get side-eyed). You’ll then use your right hand, with the help of the injera, to scoop up bites of food. (Traditionally, the left hand is considered unclean–sorry, lefties.) Just tear off a small piece of injera, cover a bit of food with it and then pinch, twist and eat.
All About Injera
Despite my inclination to call it flatbread–injera is not bread, my husband insists vehemently. Would you call French crepes or Indian dosa bread? I guess he has a point. (Like David S. Pumpkins–it’s its own thang.)
Injera is made by mixing teff flour with water and a starter and then fermenting it, much like sourdough. Making injera at home is time intensive, so most home cooks (and probably most restaurants) buy it at Ethiopian groceries. The darker the injera is the better—a sign that the injera is made with a higher percentage of teff flour (and therefore gluten-free). If your injera is lighter in color, it probably means that wheat flour has been mixed in. After all, teff can be quite expensive. (Locally, you can buy bags of injera at Yasmin International Market, Dire-Dawa Grocery and at the Shell station next to Safina World Cuisine.)
During an Ethiopian meal, the injera usually serves as the foundation, with the proteins and veggies scooped on top. Rolls of extra injera are provided on the side for scooping; always feel free to ask for more if you run out. One of my favorite parts of a meal is when the injera at the bottom soaks up all the juices from the dishes above—don’t leave that flavor-packed injera behind!
Meats: Stews, Stir Fries and Kitfo
The big three meat preparations you need to know are wats/wots (stews), tibs (stir fries) and kitfo (raw and minced, much like a steak tartare). At most restaurants you’ll find tibs, which are strips of beef or lamb stir-fried (often with onions and bell peppers). A sign of good tibs? That the meat is tender and not too chewy.
The less-saucy tibs are usually easier to execute than wats, which are stews that cook down for hours and develop flavor over time. If you see onions in your wat, that’s not ideal–the onions should be cooked down to a paste. Two must-try examples include doro wat (spicy chicken stew) and sega wat (spicy beef stew).
For lovers of steak tartare, I highly recommend kitfo. The finely minced raw beef is marinated in mitmita (an Ethiopian chile blend) and mixed with niter kibbeh, a clarified butter redolent of garlic, ginger, cardamom and other spices. Ayib, an Ethiopian cottage cheese, is usually served alongside the kitfo. If you aren’t into raw meat, you can ask for kitfo lebleb, which is cooked rare.
Veggies: Stews, Stir Frys and Salad
Ethiopians love meat, but a meal almost always incorporates a wonderful variety of vegetarian options as well. A veggie-only combination platter is known as yetsom beyaynetu—often eaten during periods of fasting.
Some of the most common vegetables you’ll see in an Ethiopian meal include lentils, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, chickpeas, collard greens, beets and green salads. I particularly enjoy key sir alicha (beets and potatoes), kik alicha (yellow lentils), misir wot (spicy red lentils), gomen (collard greens) and shiro wat (chickpea stew). A green salad, lightly dressed with romaine, tomatoes and jalapenos is a must.
Heat Levels
Ethiopian food can pack some serious heat. Keep in mind that bright red or orange dishes are going to be quite hot since they employ one of the two Ethiopian chile blends: berbere or mitmita. The more deeply red, the more lethal. The chicken stew doro wat, for example, is often one of the spiciest (but also most delicious) parts of a meal. Meanwhile, dishes that are yellowish in tint, such as alicha, have been cooked with niter kibbeh and are going to be less spicy. To cool down, resist the temptation to drink a lot of water when eating an Ethiopian meal. Injera is known to expand in your stomach, leaving you feeling too full. Instead, you might look for a bite of ayib.
How to Order + Drinks
If you’re with a group, I recommend ordering two to three meat dishes and even more veggies. For example you might order a beef stew (such as sega wat) and lamb stir fry (such as lega tibs) along with three to four veggie dishes and salad. For drinks, see if the restaurant carries Ambo, a naturally-carbonated mineral water from Ethiopia, or an imported Ethiopian beer like St. George lager. You could also try out tej, the traditional Ethiopian honey wine.
Remember, coffee (buna) is integral to Ethiopian culture. Before you visit a restaurant, you might call to ask if they perform traditional coffee ceremonies. If the answer is yes, don’t skip it after your meal. During a coffee ceremony, the green coffee beans are roasted in a pan over an open flame, filling the room with a wonderful aroma. The coffee is ground down with a mortar and pestle and then brewed in a traditional clay pot called a jebena. Buna is wonderfully strong stuff, served in adorably small cups and often accompanied by a snack like popcorn.
Where to Find Ethiopian Fare in Columbus
Most of the Ethiopian restaurants in town are located on the East Side, and Lalibela Restaurant on Hamilton Road is our house favorite. It even received my mother-in-law's approval, which is a big deal since she’s an amazing home cook who doesn’t dine out for Ethiopian food often. I also recommend Addis Restaurant on Cleveland Avenue and Habesha Garden off Hamilton Road. A new Ethiopian coffee shop called Sheger Grocery and Coffee just opened at 4551 Wright Ave., and I’m excited to check it out.
Have a favorite Ethiopian restaurant or a question about Ethiopian fare? Let us know in the comments below.
Great explainer for those of us who love Ethiopian food (but aren’t always sure of what we’re digging into)! Thanks!
That Red Sea meal is a fond memory for me as it was my first venture into very exotic food for me and my mother (your Gram). Beautifully written article. I learned so much.