December 28-29
If I were to say Ethiopia to you, what would you think of?
Maybe not this…
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| Fruit stall in Addis |
Ethiopia made global news in 1985, when a horrendous famine
ravaged the country. It was the purpose behind Live Aid. Famine and crop
failure has been a problem here for time immemorial. The 1985 famine, however,
was the culmination of three failures across the country and exacerbated by
politics, initially the West’s reluctance to aid a socialist country and then
Chairman Mengistu’s refusal to help the Tigrai province, near what is now
Eritrea in the north.
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| Michael Buerk's BBC report sent shockwaves around the world in 1984 |
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| One in five Ethiopians were affected by the famine |
This is what many people think of when they hear ‘Ethiopia’.
Though famine does happen about once a decade, they are often in isolated areas
in the north and east. Ethiopia produces lots of amazing food, and was a major
factor in me wanting to visit.
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| Talapia is a fish found in Ethiopian lakes |
Traditional Ethiopian food is said to be unique in Africa,
and I have never had anything like it. The closest dish I can think of is a
south Indian thali, in that there are lots of different little dishes and one
bread-type food on which to place morsels of the other dishes. Even then,
that’s quite a tenuous link.
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| A traditional meal, consisting of different wats and tips |
That bread-type dish is called injera, a soft, flat, pimpled flatbread made of tef, an endemic grain. It is spread very
thinly, like a pancake, meaning it can be easily torn to grab the mini dishes
which sit atop it. These are necessary – injera is bland on its own,
reminiscent of sourdough. It’s also required as it works as your cutlery. You
pull a piece of injera, grab a bit of the little dish, twist slightly so it can
close up in your fingers (right hand only), and then pop it into your mouth.
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| Injera gluten-free and more calcium than a glass of milk |
It’s the mini-dishes that make Ethiopian cuisine so
delicious and different. Full of different herbs, spices and colour, these
sauces – called wats – bring your mouth to life. My favourite one of these so
far is called something like shiro niter
kibbeh, which is chickpeas cooked in clarified butter. They may also use
meats in these dishes: tips.
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| One of these meals is very filling - I get the feeling they put extra rolls of injera on the side for a challenge |
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| Cubed beef is a popular bar snack - I can't remember its local name |
Fasting is different to that of other religions. A fasting
‘day’ finishes at 3pm, and no meat products are allowed at all on those days. A
consequence of this is that much of Ethiopia’s cuisine is vegan.
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| This was called 'fasting food' on the menu: completely vegan |
In fact, many things are different here. For one, Christmas
hasn’t happened yet. It’s on its way, as you can see from the pictures below,
but it will happen on January 7th. This happens in Russia, too – they
follow the Julian calendar, rather than the Gregorian calendar followed in much
of the world.
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| I guess Santa doesn't have to deliver to much of Ethiopia on December 24th - should save him some time? |
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| Christmas market at the Piazza |
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| Church of St. Gabriel |
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| Pilgrims dress in white and come to celebrate Gabriel's special period |
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| The time on the TV says 7:17 - I watched this whilst eating my lunch |
Oh, and the year is 2010. Meaning I was born in 1980…
The language is also unique. Amharic has a script that often
looks like stick drawings of people; it’s also very difficult to translate into
the Roman alphabet. Some phrases are simple – ‘ishi’ can mean ‘thanks’ or ‘OK’.
Others, such as the formal way of saying thank you, are a bit more of a
challenge.
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| If you say 'I'm a Single Lady', it sounds vaguely similar... |
One of the easier Amharic words is ‘buna’: coffee. Coffee
happens every day and is an Ethiopian institution – after all, they have claims
on being the first use the bean.
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| Ethiopia is the world's fifth-largest coffee producer |
The legend behind coffee’s discovery is brilliant. A young
boy saw his goats going wild after eating some leaves. He then tried some,
became hyperactive, and ran to tell monks in a nearby monastery. They basically
called him evil and threw the berries into the fire, where they of course
roasted and released their intoxicating smell.
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| The beans are roasted on a pan |
Today Ethiopians drink Arabica coffee in espresso form and
often serve it in an elaborate ceremony. The burning incense brought Indian
temples to mind: until the beans start to burn and char in the pan. I was told
that it’s rude to drink fewer than three cups of coffee in a sitting, as it’s
mainly a time for chatting; most foreigners are excepted, and I was feeling
enough of a buzz after one. It’s not quite as strong as espresso and reminded
me more of Turkish coffee, albeit without the silty dregs at the bottom of the
latter.
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| The beans in their different phases |
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| The green leaf is added to create flavour |
No matter what time it is – Western or Ethiopian – coffee is
a way of life here. After the bucket-loads of delicious food, it’s a good way
of ensuring one doesn’t fall into a food coma. Selfishly, I hope that, a bit
like Korean food until it exploded a few years ago, Ethiopian food doesn’t
become a global phenomenon – more for me!
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| Strawberry, orange, mango, papaya, avocado, pineapple, banana... |
Love you all,
Matt
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