Ethiopian Cuisine?

Of course Ethiopia has a traditional cuisine. Why wouldn't they? I just didn't know about it until Friday when friends Laurie, Deb, Anja, Michelle and I became enlightened. We met in Spokane to see Elton John (that's right!) and before the concert we shared (literally) an Ethiopian experience at Queen of Sheba restaurant.
Vegan food is readily available in Ethiopian restaurants since, traditionally, the Ethiopians have a meat and animal product fast on Wednesdays, Fridays and other holidays throughout the year.
The information in the menu (and in many articles I have read on the net since then) describes their eating traditions. Food is shared. Food is eaten with the hand (some articles say the right hand). A crepe-like flatbread called injera is used as a base on which to serve the variety of foods on the menu, and extra pieces of injera is used to pick up the food and transfer it to the mouth. Injera is made using flour from a grain called Teff. Teff flour is high in protein, iron and calcium (bring it on). The batter is fermented, which creates little holes when the batter is cooked. It is a bit spongy, but definitely holds the other foods quite well.
We liked the spicy dishes, which were seasoned with a mixture of spices called Berbere.  Berbere is a mixture of red chilis and other tasty spices.  Naturally we asked for the spicy food, and we meant it, but we don't think they believed us, because they brought some pretty mild selections. The tastier ones were definitely the ones with the berbere, though. I also enjoyed a potato, carrot and cabbage stew-like dish with hints of ginger.
I have been looking up a few recipes that I think will resemble some of what we ate. I'm looking forward to trying these at home.

Injera (Ethiopian bread)

Serving for 2 people, yields 5 to 6 Injera.

Mix by hand, 1lb of Teff with 3 cups of water along with 1 teaspoon of yeast.

For fermentation to take place, set aside overnight (24 hrs) outside. (I don’t know if it needs to be as hot as Ethiopia, but I think for a Canadian girl like me, I’ll try leaving it inside). Preheat pan, and leave on low heat during baking. Swirl pan while heating, to spread batter into large circle (as large as you can- the ones in the restaurant were about 18 inches in diameter). Heat only on one side for about 2 minutes.
Take injera out carefully (hot) and set aside on a plate to cool down before eating.

* If this is your first batch of injera, use the teaspoon of yeast; but if you plan to make injera regularly... then save about 3 spoonsful of the mix for your next injera. This will act as a self-rising yeast on your next batch of injera; save it in your fridge it will stay for over a month. This is the same process of saving some of your current dough for your next batch of sourdough cakes or cookies.

Alecha (Ethiopian Vegetable Stew)

6 servings

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups red onions (chopped)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic
• 6 new potatoes, chopped
• 5 carrots, chopped
• 1 small cabbage, chopped
• 6 medium chili peppers, chopped (3, if you like it milder)
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 2 teaspoons parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons basil, chopped

Cook onions and garlic in oil until transparent. Wash and chop vegetables and add them to the onions, lightly browning. Add nutmeg, garlic and cardamom then cook slowly for 30 mins. Season to taste then add chili, parsley and basil just before serving. 

Berbere Stew (Ethiopian Lentil Stew)

• Berbere Spice mixture
  1 Tbs. ground cardamom
• 1 Tbs. ground coriander
• 1 Tbs. fenugreek
• 1 Tbs. ground nutmeg
• 1 Tbs. ground cloves
• 1 Tbs. ground allspice
• 1 Tbs. cinnamon
• 1 Tbs. paprika
• 1 Tbs. turmeric
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 1 Tbs. ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs. ground sea salt
• Store in a cool, dark place.
  
  The stew:
  1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 + 1/4 cup red lentils
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1-2 Tbs. berberé spice mixture, above
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

Mix lentils with water, garlic, onion, and spices. Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 20 minutes or until the lentils have softened.   Watch carefully and add water if it starts to dry out.  Add the tomatoes and heat at least 15 more minutes. Could be served over brown rice, if you aren’t doing the injera.

I'm looking forward to trying these dishes at home. I really liked the flavours, and I'm excited to have found another ethnicity to draw my food interests from.