[Sca-cooks] Ethiopian food

[Bonne of Traquair]

> > Consider Ethiopian food,
> > >for example, which is a good deal more bizarre than medieval
> > >European--yet there are Ethiopian restaurants, and at least some of
> > >them draw customers from the non-Ethiopian population.
> >
> > I must question the idea that Ethiopian food is 'a good deal more
>bizarre'
> > than medieval food.  From the perspective of someone born and raised in
>the
> > southeastern U.S., I'd have to say that although the Ethiopian bread is
> > definately different, but the rest of it was familiar and would go
>nicely
> > with cornbread at a 'supper on the grounds' (church picnic).  The foods
>and
> > finished dishes were perhaps a tiny bit spicier than but not much.
> >

>So, how would you describe Ethiopian food? What makes it unique? I
>thought it was mostly piles of things which you scooped up with a piece
>of bread.

Yes, that part is different.  But the piles of food themselves aren't so
much different.  It's been over a year, and I'm sure they modified recipes
slightly to suit the types of vegetables and peppers available, so perhaps
not as 'authentic' as possible.  I can recall:

a greens dish, in which the mustard or collard greens were well chopped and
well cooked, and seasonings included peppers - not all that different from
the well cooked collards with pepper vinegar I grew up eating.

a potato salad type dish--no mayonaise.  cooked, cooled, bits of other
vegetables, incl. bits of jalepeno peppers all stirred in. I don't recall
further details.   There might have been vinegar or lemon juice or some
other liquid added, but overall, rather dry.

a fried fish dish

a fried then stewed in spicy sauce chicken dish--invariably served with a
boiled egg that had been peeled and also cooked in the sauce

a lamb stew with many spices, similar to Indian dishes.
a beef stew the same

These last two might also have had eggs cooked/served with

all the stews had thick sauces, runny sauces would spoil the platter sized
pancake they were served on.  You also get more of the pancakes to tear up
and use for scooping.  The pancake is a little sour--the batter is fermented
(like sour dough).   We could never decide if scarfing the remaining pancake
as plate was polite or not.  Decided not to worry about it--all the juices
that had soaked into it were too good to miss.

>
>A friend has mentioned an Ethiopian resturant in Dallas. We may try
>it out sometime.

Go with your friend, leave your lady wife home to eat food she is
comfortable with.

Bonne
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