Eat like an Ethiopian: 5 Must-Try Dishes that Bring the Flavor

by Katina Ahling

Food is cultural identity on a plate—and Ethiopia’s plate is laden with timeless flavors. Although this East African country has undergone transformation throughout the years, it’s preserved a lot, too. Its enduring culinary traditions, in particular, have been enticing palates for centuries. After all, Ethiopia was the only African nation not colonized by European powers; therefore, unlike much of the continent, its culture has remained intact.

Eating in Ethiopia is a social affair, with food served in a circular presentation atop injera, an absorbent, pancake-like flatbread that accompanies everything from piquant stews to hearty curries and cubes of meat. The food is traditionally placed in a mesob, artfully woven baskets that come in a diversity of sizes, patterns, and hues. No one wastes time with such trivialities as cutlery; instead, locals scoop up piles of food with torn strips of injera using their right hands—this is an important distinction, as the left is frowned upon at mealtime.

To fully appreciate Ethiopian cuisine, one must recognize the complex interplay of the myriad spices in every dish. Perhaps the most frequent to appear in Ethiopian cooking is berbere, a fragrant symphony of chili powder, fenugreek, ginger, garlic, cardamom, and cinnamon, among other flavors. You can find it in signature dishes like kitfo, raw meat warmed in butter and spices, and wot, curried meat stew with vegetables and spices. Regardless of which delicacy you try, though, this cuisine packs a punch on the flavor scale.

Another fact to savor about this spice-happy fare is that it’s a vegan food paradise. Being predominantly Ethiopian Orthodox, this devout nation requires fasting from animal products on Wednesdays, Fridays, and during the entire Lenten season. Therefore, Ethiopians have had ample practice perfecting the art of meatless cooking.

Below, find five Ethiopian dishes that will inspire you to stock your spice cabinet:

Tibs
This dish is proof that simplicity rules. A standard preparation of tibs is sliced beef or lamb, pan-fried in butter, garlic, and onion. That said, it comes in numerous variations, depending on the cut of the meat or whether vegetables are added. Historically, this dish was used to honor or compliment someone. Today, it’s eaten on celebratory occasions, as well as in daily life. Tibs is all about the freshness and spot-on preparation of the meat, so carnivores—come hungry.

Ful
You won’t find any added sugars in this breakfast superfood. Although ful is not exclusive to Ethiopia (in fact, it’s consumed throughout East Africa and the Middle East), we’d be remiss not to include it, as it’s delicious and commonly enjoyed by locals. Ful consists of stewed and berbere-spiced fava beans, ground down to a paste and usually accompanied by bread. It’s often served with sides such as green onion, tomato, yogurt, and feta cheese. Jam-packed with equal parts protein and flavor, don’t be ful-ed into skipping this breakfast staple.

Beyainatu
Sometimes you just want options. The name of this dish appropriately translates to “a bit of every type,” which is precisely how to describe beyainatu, a smorgasbord of aromatic lentil and vegetable curries served atop a round, spongy slab of injera. This dish is a go-to for locals during fasting, but it’s also widely enjoyed by vegetarians and meat-eaters alike throughout the year.

Doro Wot
Move over boring, baked—and let’s be honest, probably dry—chicken. Doro wot is an onion-based chicken stew drenched in a sizzling sauce of butter, chili, cardamom, and berbere. It’s traditionally accompanied by a boiled egg and injera. Though typically reserved for celebratory occasions or religious holidays, doro wot is a consistent crowd-pleaser.

Shiro
Legumes don’t typically command the spotlight in Western dishes—and shiro proves why they should. Commonly consumed on fasting days, shiro is a lightly spiced chickpea or bean purée often paired with minced onions and garlic, among other flavor-boosting ingredients. Although it doesn’t resemble much, this dish adds a creamy layer of complexity to any meal, whether it’s enjoyed with injera or combined with other stews and sauces.

• New! Ethiopia: Cultural Discoveries in an Ancient Land

Ten Fascinating Facts about Ethiopia

by John Bregoli

Ethiopia’s unique blend of ancient history, natural wonders, and rare wildlife make it one of the most intriguing places on Earth. And as you’ll see from the following, it’s also a destination that is very different from its African neighbors … 

1. Ethiopian Calendars Have 13 Months
Many cultures have their own calendars, but almost all of them adhere to one aspect of the Western Gregorian calendar—a rather unspoken rule that there should be “12 months to a year.” Not Ethiopia. They continue to follow the ancient Coptic calendar (a form of the Julian calendar), which has 13 months and is seven to eight years behind the calendar we’re all familiar with. So, while it’s 2019 in the rest of the world, it’s still 2012 in Ethiopia. It’s all rather confusing, but there’s a nice upside to it all: Just by getting off the plane in Ethiopia, you’ll be about seven years younger than you were when you left the United States.

2. Ethiopian Clocks Have 12 Hours
Ethiopians say that the day should begin at dawn—so they use a 12-hour clock. If you request a cab at 8:30pm in Addis Ababa, don’t be surprised if the driver picks you up at “two o’clock, 30 minutes.” So when you’re purchasing bus tickets or checking out train schedules, it’s always safest to ask whether those departures are in Ethiopian or Western time.

3. The Rastafarian Movement Was Named For an Ethiopian Emperor
When you think about Jamaica’s Rasta movement, you’ll probably conjure up an image of Bob Marley belting out a reggae tune with a headful of swirling dreadlocks—and Marley is certainly a Rastafari icon. But the man at the heart of Rastafarianism lived continents away from the Caribbean island of Jamaica—Haile Selassie. In fact, the entire movement was named for the man that Rastafarians consider their messiah. When Ethiopia’s 225th and last emperor was crowned in 1930, he took on the regal name of Haile Selassie. But his birth name was Ras Tafari.

4. Thank an Ethiopian Goat for Your Morning Coffee
One of the oldest countries in existence, Ethiopia lays claim to a lot of firsts—including the discovery of coffee. And goats had a lot to do with it—or at least an Ethiopian goatherd named Khalid. Legend has it that sometime in the eighth century, Khalid noticed that his goats began bleating and acting strangely after they ate the berries of a nearby bush. So Khalid decided to pop a few into his own mouth. Feeling a pleasant euphoria, the young goatherd ran to a nearby monastery to share his discovery. Pretty soon, the monks began chewing coffee beans to help them get through their lengthy prayer sessions. The custom then spread throughout Christian Ethiopia. And after spice trade routes took it to Yemen, Turkey, and Europe, a global obsession was born.

5. The Cradle of Humanity—Is Ethiopia Where It All Began?
While the jury is still out on the actual birthplace of mankind, Ethiopia is certainly a strong contender. Just a few years ago, scientists unearthed the jawbone of what they claim is one of the very first humans. The 2.8-million-year-old specimen was found in Ethiopia, in the very same area that another specimen was found a few decades earlier—that of the famous “Lucy.” At 3.2-million-years-old, Lucy wasn’t really human—she was a hominin, a human-like primate. And scientists believe that this new discovery fills in the missing gap and represents a clear link from Lucy to the very first primitive humans.

6. Ethiopia Made UNESCO’s Original List of 12 World Heritage Sites
When UNESCO first established its list of World Heritage Sites in 1978, there were just a dozen sites around the world chosen for this special honor. And Ethiopia had two of them on the original list of twelve—the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and Simien Mountains National Park. Since then, seven more have been added and Ethiopia currently has nine sites on UNESCO’s coveted list. No country in Africa has more UNESCO sites than Ethiopia—including Egypt.

7. Ethiopia is the Only African Country That Was Never Colonized
Perhaps we should say Ethiopia was never “formally” colonized, since Italian forces under Mussolini did manage to invade and occupy the country in 1935—although Emperor Haile Selassie regained control at the end of World War II. But it’s still quite a feat, because there are few countries on the entire planet that managed to escape the influence of European colonizers at one time or another. Between the years 1880 and 1914, when various European powers competed to invade and colonize Africa, they succeeded in colonizing roughly 90% of the African continent—but not Ethiopia. Side note: While Liberia can technically be classified as “never colonized,” this African nation founded by freed American slaves in the early 1800s escaped European domination only because it was backed by the United States.

8. Ethiopia is Home to Animals Found Nowhere Else on Earth
While Ethiopia is home to many wildlife species found elsewhere in East Africa—elephants, giraffes, hippos, zebras, and others—there are several unique animals that can only be found here. These include the world’s rarest canid, the Ethiopian wolf. Fewer than 500 of Africa’s most threatened carnivore now roam the wilds of the Ethiopian Highlands. Gelada baboons are also unique to Ethiopia. Actually monkeys, these friendly and furry vegetarians can be found foraging in large troops throughout the Simien Mountains. Another magnificent beast found only in Ethiopia is the black-maned lion. Once thought to be extinct, about 50 black-maned lions were spotted in the mountains of Ethiopia in 2016.

9. The First African Olympic Gold-Medalist Was an Ethiopian
Ethiopian distance runner Abebe Bikila was the first native-born African to win the gold medal in an Olympics. He won his medal in the marathon at the Summer Olympics in Rome in 1960—and he ran it barefoot. He wasn’t planning on running it barefoot, but the new shoes he bought for himself in Rome gave him blisters so he figured he’d do better without them. Even more impressive, Bikila would go on to win the marathon again in Tokyo four years later, becoming the first person to win the race twice—setting a new world record each time.

10. Ethiopia Has the Most Mountains in Africa
Northeast Africa usually conjures up images of vast deserts. But Ethiopia is home to a remarkably lush landscape of rich green highlands and breathtakingly beautiful mountain ranges. In fact, 70% of the mountains in the entire continent of Africa are in Ethiopia. The mountains of Ethiopia are part of a massive fracture in the crust of the Earth known as the Great Rift Valley—the only physical feature of Africa than can be seen from space.

• New! Ethiopia: Cultural Discoveries in an Ancient Land