Vegetarian Ethiopian Feast

What comes to mind when you think of cuisine from Ethiopia?  Now put away the snide jokes that Ethiopians don't eat anything and look deeper.  Ethiopia has some of the most fun to eat, tastiest, and complex food around, and is one of my personal favorites.  The history stretches farther back than most of the storied European cuisines, to the very beginning of man's agricultural renaissance.  It contains spices worth more in their time than gold is now (even in this current economic climate!) and rich, filling meals.  There are vegan, vegetarian and completely carnivorous meals, usually washed down with sweet honey wine (Tej) or tea, and traditionally just roasted and ground coffee.  The word "coffee" in fact may originate from Kefa, a city in Ethiopia.

The main part of the meal that ubiquitous spontaneously fermented sourdough bread/pancake/crepe Injera.  This forms the backbone of every meal, and consists of naturally leavened Teff Flour dough, cooked on a hot pan and allowed to cool.  This is the knife, fork and spoon of the meal, and often forms the plate underneath.  Yes, you do eat the plate.  It can be successfully made at home, but it takes about 2 days.  I have Ethiopian markets nearby that I can buy 10 large (20 inch) injera for 5 dollars, and they are better than I can make at home.  So to the market I go when I want injera.

Traditionally, every meal is served in a family style manner, with portions of each dish placed on a communal injera, and diners using their RIGHT hand scooping the dishes up and eating them.  It is considered an act of love or friendship to feed another diner with your own injera.  Each meal usually consists of a few wat or stews, tibs or sauted dish, lentil dishes, potato and cabbage dishes and salad.  It is a very filling experience.

All of the dishes have some amount of niter kibbeh or spiced ghee.  Most contain berbere or a very spicy ground spice mix.  The wats can either be vegetarian or meat based, but all contain plenty of onions.  This is a bad breath meal to be sure.

2 cups of picked through, rinsed and soaked split red lentils

4 cups of water or broth

1 Large red onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste

1 large ripe tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 inch section of peeled ginger, chopped

3 Tablespoons of Berbere (or to taste...this can be very spicy)

3 Tablespoons of Niter Kibbeh or ghee (or butter or oil etc...)

salt

Soak lentils for at least 30 minutes in warm water.  Place peeled and lightly chopped onion, garlic and ginger into food processor and process to paste.  Heat niter kibbeh or cooking oil over medium high heat in large heavy stew pot.  Add onion paste and saute until liquid is almost gone.  Add berbere, tomato paste and tomato and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add lentils and liquid and bring to simmer.  Cook until lentils are done to your liking, stirring regularly to avoid sticking, about 30-45 minutes.

2 lbs of Collard Greens, washed and stripped of stems and chopped into bite size pieces

1 red onion, diced

1 inch piece of peeled ginger, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons Niter Kibbeh

1 Tablespoon of berbere

salt

In a saute pan, add niter kibbeh or other cooking oil over medium high heat.  Add onions, saute until they are transparent, add garlic, ginger and berbere.  Add greens and cook over medium-low for 30 minutes or until done to desired consistency.

1 Lb Unsalted Butter

1 inch piece of peeled ginger, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

3 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed

1 - 1/2 stick of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of whole fenugreek seeds, lightly toasted

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric

1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg

1 clove

Melt butter over medium heat, until all water has evaporated or foaming has stopped.  Add all wet ingredients, wait until foaming has subsided, add dry ingredients and simmer over lowest possible heat for 1 hour.  Pour off clear liquid into clean jar, or strain through multiple layers of cheesecloth.  Will keep in refrigerator for up to 3+ months.  Also can be frozen in smaller, easily usable quantities.

A good pairing for this meal is the traditional Tej honey wine or even a QbA riesling.  A light lager would also pair nicely with the spices.